Report: driving licences for expats

Foreign knowledge workers can easily exchange the driving licence from their home country in the Netherlands through a special scheme, without taking an exam. “80 percent can't drive,” according to a driving school owner in a report by Omroep Brabant.

Driving school owners in the Eindhoven region are deeply concerned. They feel that most expats cannot simply take to the road without an exam. “Many knowledge workers got their licence locally, almost as an afterthought. That's strange,” says John Dekker of the driving school of the same name to the regional broadcaster of Brabant. “They don't look; they just steer. They assume the other person will make room for them,” says Walter Houbraken of Rijschool Acht. “Some expats can barely keep their vehicle under control.”

Highly educated employees

Knowledge workers can exchange their licence without a Dutch driving test through a tax scheme dating from 1995. This scheme applies only to highly educated employees from outside the EU who earn at least 46,000 euros gross per year. The aim of the scheme was, and is, to attract more highly educated foreign workers to our country.

Since the start of 2023, in Eindhoven alone more than 3,500 licences belonging to people from outside the European Union have been exchanged for a Dutch licence. At John Dekker's driving school they give extra lessons to hundreds of expats each year. He recognises them quickly by now: “They can't drive. In some countries you have to do very little to get your licence: a lap around a small car park. It bears no relation to what we have to do in the Netherlands to earn a licence. We're in ASML territory here and see many newcomers every day who struggle to take part in traffic safely.”

TOP RIDE

TOP RIDE offers this group a focused course, built above all on taking part in traffic safely. That remains a challenge, but it is certainly possible to learn a new observation technique and driving style.