MOFA says local drivers can apply for Swiss license

Taiwanese tourists and immigrants in Switzerland who are eager to drive automobiles, motorcycles and scooters no longer need to test for a local driver's license as they can use their Taiwanese license to apply for a Swiss one, an official at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs (MOFA) said yesterday.

Speaking to the Taipei Times, Sung Wen-cheng (宋文城), deputy director of the ministry's Department of European Affairs, praised the Taipei Cultural and Economic Delegation in Switzerland for successfully concluding "more than a year" of negotiations with Swiss authorities on allowing Taiwanese motorists to apply for Swiss drivers' licenses using their valid Taiwanese licenses.

Taiwanese there no longer need to take a test as part of the application process, Sung said.

"More and more [Taiwanese] tourists who have visited Switzerland want to drive there," he said.

He added that the "agreement is reciprocal -- Swiss visitors can also obtain licenses here without taking a test."

The Web site of the Taipei office in Switzerland states that all Taiwanese citizens 18 years of age and above with valid Taiwanese drivers' licenses can "exchange" their licenses for Swiss licenses for corresponding small vehicles or motorcycles.

The agreement has been in effect since Wednesday, a delegation press release said.

Sung added that a Swiss license would also allow Taiwan-ese motorists to drive in other European countries that recognize it.