Do not speak Vietnamese, can foreigners get a driver's license in Vietnam?

According to the regulations for registering for a driving test for foreigners in Vietnam, foreign nationals who can read and write Vietnamese fluently can register for and take the driving test in Vietnam.

Therefore, for foreigners who do not speak Vietnamese or do not read and write Vietnamese fluently, they cannot take the A2, B2 driving test in Vietnam.

However, there is an exception, which is if a foreigner only needs to take the A1 driving test for foreigners, and the person has a foreign driver's license, they can go through 2 steps to take the driving test.

Specific steps to take the A1 driving test for a foreigner who does not know Vietnamese:

Step 1: Convert the foreign driver's license to a Vietnamese driver's license.

Step 2: After obtaining a Vietnamese B1 or B2 driver's license, register to take the A1 motorcycle driving test for foreigners. Foreigners will be exempt from the theoretical test.

Note: Exemption from the theoretical test only applies to registering for the A1 driving test for foreigners. For cases of registering for the A2 driving test for foreigners, both the theoretical and practical tests are mandatory, and the theoretical test cannot be exempted like in the case of registering for the A1 motorcycle driving test for foreigners.

In Vietnam, there are no driving tests for foreigners in English. Therefore, foreigners must take the same test as Vietnamese nationals, with the same content and program.

To obtain a car driver's license in Vietnam, foreigners must pass both the theoretical and practical exams.

The registration, examination, and expiration of a Vietnamese car driver's license for foreigners are exactly the same as for Vietnamese nationals.

If a foreigner's Vietnamese car driver's license is obtained by directly registering and taking the test in Vietnam, when the Vietnamese car driver's license expires, the foreigner can apply for an extension without having to re-learn and retake the driving test in Vietnam.

Note: When the Vietnamese car driver's license is near expiration or expires within the first 3 months, foreigners need to contact a driving school or the Department of Transport to proceed with the license extension process because if the Vietnamese driver's license expires for more than 3 months, it cannot be extended and it is mandatory to retake the test.