Driving licences of drivers from Ukraine will be recognised throughout the EU

"This European legislation removes unnecessary bureaucracy and helps refugees in their daily lives. I am very happy that we can also help Ukrainian citizens fleeing war in this way," says the transport minister Martin Kupka.
 
Since the start of Russia's aggression against Ukraine, more than five million Ukrainian citizens have fled to European Union countries. The ability to drive on European roads without having to obtain a new driving licence will not only make their daily lives easier, but also open the door to easier social and economic integration in their host country. And last but not least, the approved measure will facilitate the agenda of the competent authorities of each member state, which would be faced with the need to process applications for millions of new driving licences. In the Czech Republic, for example, this would mean the possible exchange of up to several hundreds of thousands of licences.
 
Another innovation is that the member states will also be able to issue temporary driving licences to Ukrainian citizens who have left them in Ukraine or lost them, but provided that they are verified, for example, in the Ukrainian electronic driving licence register. This regulation then also defines the steps for obtaining certificates of professional qualification for bus and truck drivers and the specific identification of these documents. Here, drivers will have to undergo compulsory additional training ending with a test.
 
The validity of expired documents may be extended after their expiry if Ukraine decides to proceed and notifies the Commission and the member states of this intention.