After New Year, old driver’s licenses issued before 1979 will be phased out. Now the government wants to make an exception for Norwegians living abroad who have these driver’s licenses.
“Norwegian residents abroad should still be able to use their old Norwegian driving license when visiting Norway. With this, we want to remove uncertainty as the current rules have created for some Norwegian residents abroad about how they can drive when visiting Norway,” says State Secretary Tommy Skjervold (FRP) in the Ministry of Transport and Communications in a press release.
The so-called “green driving licenses” in model N1 shall, according to the current rules, be phased out by 1 January 2020.
The Norwegian Public Roads Administration also proposes that people without a permanent residence in Norway should be able to have a class S driving license, ie snowmobile. In the current scheme, it is a requirement that the person must have permanent residency in the country, which has created challenges for foreign workers in tourist industries where snowmobiles are part of the job.
“It will be easier for people who do not live in Norway to obtain a driving license for snowmobiles in Norway. This can make it easier for Norwegian companies to use foreign workers in seasonal work within the tourism industry. Traffic safety is ensured by the drivers having completed training and passing the test according to Norwegian rules,” says Skjervold.
© NTB Scanpix / #Norway Today
