Me again, after I read the Sticky Posts about License Conversion, well, I do not need a License Conversion and here is the problem which I hope someone here can explain me.
I have a Swiss Driving License which was issued around 2004. I used it here a bit and then had a License in Israel and then a German one. So far so good.
And I lost the License Cars, I admit, careless, but it also happens I heard
I lost my Israeli one also once, and just declared it as lost and got a new one from the Machine.
As we just moved here to CH, I emailed the Transport Office and asked kindly, how / where / whom do I approach in order to ask for the Plastic Card again?
So i was asked where I came from now and when I replied Germany I received an Answer that I MUST convert the German one to Swiss. I asked why, I just need, please, happy to pay for a lost Plastic Card, maybe I need to prolong the Expiry Date / make a Test Drive, no problem.
But again, I get an answer with Links to convert and thats it.
Any ideas? Yes, I can ask for a meeting there I assume, but it is far from where I live and I would like to come prepared and do HomeWork.
You should not be able to hold more than one licence. If you had a Swiss one, you should of converted it to a Israeli one then that to a German one then that back to a Swiss one. I don’t know how you managed to get the German one without swapping your Swiss?
Plus swapping your German one is super easy, take an eye test and fill out a form, job done!
Actually, as i wrote, it is normal in Israel if you lose ur Card u just go pay like 10 EUR and get a new one.
A Friend in Germany told me same when he lost his.
I mean, no Rocket Science, right? The cynical comment is not for you, but for the Swiss...
Anyhow, I have a License in CH in their Systems, which helps me with Insurance and other aspects in Life, so I do not understand why I need to have now a "clean" new License?
Not everwhere in the world do they care if you hold more than one. We are Swiss so may that is the difference but when we left for Singapore, we keptmour Swiss licence also when we got the Singaporean one. When we returned we just told the Strassenverkehrsamt. Always just kept the original cards. Foreigners may be subject to different regulations though but it's not true that "you can only hold one licence" - depends on the different regulations.
Because you likely "lost" your right to a Swiss licence when you moved your residence away from Switzerland. So you do not hold a Swiss driving licence anymore in their eyes. Can you get a replacement German one? Where are you resident now?
What is complicated? You left Switzerland hence anything related to CH was "cut". Even if you still had the physical card it would likely not be valid. When you return you need to request it again using your valid one. Not that complicated really.
I gave up my previous license within a year of arriving. I had no choice. They told me then that the returned the license to the rightful owner, the government that issued it.
Get used to it, the Swiss have rules. You may dislike them or find them inconvenient but they don’t care.
I know a lot about Rules, I have some many Years actually in Law enforcement. But we have a say in my Language "Head in the Wall" means just going straight into the Wall, not giving the possibility to think out of the Box - I mean - I could say now that I lost my German as well - what will they do ?
You do understand, who said Rules and that is it - that I and everybody else can just Convert the License and then go next Week and ask the Germans for a new Plastic Card? Or the Israelis? Or any other Country that I have a License there? And that is why I say - just shooting, not thinking.
As someone who is resident in multiple countries, domiciled in 2, and having passed a driving test in multiple countries - you CAN hold multiple driving licenses.
Also, if you come from a country that uses the driving license as ID (e.g. USA), the Swiss just put a sticker on your USA license saying "not valid in CH" and give it back to you to use normally when you convert it.
What are u talking about? Just stick to the RULES. Get used to it. So what, if the Americans conquer another Country, should the Swiss do same with France?
Sorry for being cynical, just had to write once something stupid like the Comments I get..
TomLis, you are banging your head against the wall. You don’t understand why the rule exists. But what do you want? They are not going to bend their rules for you. Suck it up.
Other licenses are issued for a fixed period of time. Israel is 10 years. Swiss licenses do not expire. That alone could explain why their rules are different