Car and/or Motorcycle Rental

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RichLB
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Car and/or Motorcycle Rental

Post by RichLB »

A friend of mine is coming to Thailand and may wish to rent a motorcycle or car while here. Does he have to get a Thai Drivers License to do that? He tells me Thailand does not accept International Licenses. So, how do tourists rent vehicles here?
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Gaybutton
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Re: Car and/or Motorcycle Rental

Post by Gaybutton »

Your friend is incorrect. First, if he's coming on a tourist visa he can't get a Thai driving license at all. Eligibility for a Thai driving license requires a non-immigrant visa, such as the retirement visa, and a residence certificate.

An International Driving Permit is perfectly valid if it specifies motorcycle. It must also be accompanied by his home country's driving license and that license must be valid and should also specify motorcycle.

If he has those, despite the fact that the International Driving Permit is supposedly good for a year, Thailand will honor it only for 90 days upon entry to Thailand.
Alex
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Re: Car and/or Motorcycle Rental

Post by Alex »

Gaybutton wrote:First, if he's coming on a tourist visa he can't get a Thai driving license at all. Eligibility for a Thai driving license requires a non-immigrant visa, such as the retirement visa, and a residence certificate.
Wrong. For a temporary Thai DL (validity: 2 years) the visa doesn't matter, as long as the applicant can obtain a Certificate of Residence. Jomtien Immigration, unlike Bangkok Immigration, does issue Certificates of Residence for tourists. A long-term visa is only required for the "permanent" Thai DL (validity: 5 years).

I agree with the rest of your post though, a tourist usually doesn't need a Thai DL, so getting one could well be a waste of time and money...
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Gaybutton
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Re: Car and/or Motorcycle Rental

Post by Gaybutton »

Alex wrote:Wrong. For a temporary Thai DL (validity: 2 years) the visa doesn't matter, as long as the applicant can obtain a Certificate of Residence. Jomtien Immigration, unlike Bangkok Immigration, does issue Certificates of Residence for tourists.
You're saying someone in Thailand on a tourist visa can get a Certificate of Residence? Somebody coming to Thailand for a holiday, but doesn't live in Thailand, can get a Certificate of Residence? Am I understanding you correctly? That's news to me.
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Undaunted
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Re: Car and/or Motorcycle Rental

Post by Undaunted »

http://driving-in-thailand.com/type-of- ... -required/

This topic brings up another question......For those retired living in Thailand and no longer have a drivers license from country of citizenship but have a Thai licence and country of citizenship has an agreement with Thailand can you go home and drive with your Thai license?
"In the land of the blind the one eyed man is king"
puan
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Re: Car and/or Motorcycle Rental

Post by puan »

Undaunted wrote:For those retired living in Thailand and no longer have a drivers license from country of citizenship but have a Thai licence and country of citizenship has an agreement with Thailand can you go home and drive with your Thai license?
In the United States, the use of a foreign drivers license is determined by the respective state law. In my home state, and in many states, it is permissible to use a foreign driver's license as long as the license is in English. No International Drivers Permit required. The Thai license is in both Thai and English.
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Re: Car and/or Motorcycle Rental

Post by Dodger »

RichLB,

GB is correct. Your friend should just get an International License specifying car and motorcycle before coming to Thailand and he won't have any problems. He can go to his local DMV office to get this.

I obtained my Thai drivers licenses (car and motorbike) years ago with a Tourist Visa and Certificate of Residency. You don't have to have a Non-Immigrant Visa to accomplish this...but the Certificate of Residency is a must.

For a tourist (someone traveling on a Tourist Visa), they would have to provide proof to the immigration office that they either own their own condo in Thailand or have a documented annual lease on a rental property in order to get the Certificate of Residency. I went through this process for 10 years and it's a fairly a simple task.

For those who don't qualify for the Certificate of Residency it's best to just bring along an International Drivers License.
For those who have never driven in Thailand it's best not to drive at all.
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Gaybutton
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Re: Car and/or Motorcycle Rental

Post by Gaybutton »

Undaunted wrote:can you go home and drive with your Thai license?
I forget how long it is valid, but at least in Florida it is legal to drive with a Thai driving license. I checked it and I've done it.
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Re: Car and/or Motorcycle Rental

Post by Gaybutton »

Dodger wrote:For a tourist (someone traveling on a Tourist Visa), they would have to provide proof to the immigration office that they either own their own condo in Thailand or have a documented annual lease on a rental property in order to get the Certificate of Residency.
Aha! So that's it. Now I understand how someone coming to Thailand on a tourist visa can get a Certificate of Residency. They have a valid residence. It's not quite the same as someone coming to Thailand for a holiday and staying at a hotel for a week or two.
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Re: Car and/or Motorcycle Rental

Post by Alex »

Jomtien routinely issues Certificates of Residence even for people who stay at hotels. So yes, even a bona fide tourist can get a Certificate of Residence. Thailand being Thailand, that's inconsistent between different immigration offices. Chaeng Watthana (Bangkok) won't issue one unless you do 90 days reports with them, for example. That's why it's a good idea to check on ThaiVisa before applying.

Another option is getting a Certificate of Residence from your embassy. Again, rules vary. The American Embassy will issue a Certificate of Residence to an American tourist. The German Embassy will refuse to do the same for a German tourist.

There might be other options, district offices and police stations. That doesn't work everywhere, too, predictably.
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