Sweden has the safest roads in the EU, and this is reasonably largely due to the fact that we place high demands on how good a driver you have to be in order to get a driver’s license.
The phenomenon of driver’s license tourism is something like Swedens radio has repeatedly reported on, and revolves around the fact that in some countries you can change your driver’s license when you move there.
An EU-related problem
Free movement within the EU includes all EU countries accepting driving licenses from another EU country.
If you have a driver’s license from another EU country, you can also exchange this for a Swedish one at the Swedish Transport Agency. In Sweden, on the other hand, it is not possible to exchange for a Swedish driver’s license from certain countries outside the EU, without taking either a theory or driving test.
However, this is possible in Romania, and going there on a “driving license trip” has therefore become popular according to SR.
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A widespread fraud
The only requirement in Romania to change a driver’s license from, for example, Syria or Egypt – which you are not allowed to drive on in Sweden – is that you are registered in the country and pay around 10,000 kroner.
An industry of “driver’s license sellers” has therefore emerged, offering people living in Sweden an address in Romania and everything else that is required to exchange for a Romanian driver’s license.
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Must accept EU driver’s license
The Swedish Transport Agency has explained how to handle the situation in one press releasewhere it is explained that it is not possible to deny anyone who has a Romanian driver’s license to exchange it for a Swedish one.
“The Swedish Transport Agency may not refuse the exchange of an EEA driving license if the driver’s license holder meets the formal requirements, that is to say that it is a valid driver’s license and the holder has permanent residence in Sweden. Sweden may not question the driver’s license assessments of another member state. The issue has been tried in the EU Court of Justice and the outcome has been clear,” it reads.
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Introduced increased controls
However, it is said that it has increased its checks to ensure that those who change their driving license actually do so on legitimate grounds.
Among other things, increased controls have been introduced to determine where the person who wants to exchange their driver’s license actually resides, as well as taking a closer look at cases where the driver’s license being exchanged was issued relatively recently.
They have also reviewed the possibilities for reporting suspected cases of driver’s license tourism to the police, and sought an expanded dialogue with other countries’ driver’s license authorities.
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