MPs call for probe into expat driving licence swaps

MPs have overwhelmingly backed a motion calling on the government to investigate the way some foreign workers can exchange their driving licence for a Dutch one, without taking lessons or a test.

The motion was drawn up by the far-right PVV and opposition CDA and follows a report in the Parool newspaper in June, in which some driving instructors claimed expats are causing dangerous situations on Dutch roads.

Everyone who wants to drive a car in the Netherlands must have a Dutch licence, but EU and Efta nationals have five or 15 years to swap, depending on the category of vehicle they wish to drive. Others have 185 days grace before they must have a Dutch licence.

EU and EFTA nationals don’t have to take a test to swap their licence for a Dutch one and nor do people in the Netherlands with a highly skilled migrant visa and who are eligible for the 30% ruling. This, say safety experts, is where the problem lies.

According to the Dutch driving licence authority 26,264 people took advantage of the 30% ruling option last year, most of whom came from India, Turkey, South Africa, Russia and Brazil.

Now MPs have told the government to check out which countries expats claiming a Dutch licence via the 30% ruling come from. The government must also “research if these countries are suitable for this” and if the drivers themselves “have enough knowledge to take part in traffic”.

Road safety organisation Veilig Verkeer Nederland says it is also concerned about the risk. “We should not want to have people driving around who don’t know the rules,” spokesman Willemijn Pomper said in June.  “The expat ruling should not be at the expense of road safety. Let employers pay for driving lessons.”

• The long and winding road to a Dutch driving licence

Only the VVD, Volt and pro-animal PvdD voted against the motion.