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Overseas Indians can now renew int'l driving permit at missions

New Delhi - The new system will come into effect from February 15.

Indians living abroad (NRIs) can now renew their International Driving Permit (IDP) through their Embassies or Missions abroad. The new system will come into effect from February 15.

The Ministry of Road Transport and Highways will facilitate the issuance of International Driving Permit (IDP) for Indian citizens whose IDP has expired while they are abroad.

The Ministry of Road Transport and Highways on Sunday informed that there was no mechanism for its renewal while citizens were abroad and their IDP had expired.

Now, with this amendment, it is proposed that Indian citizens can apply for renewal through the Indian Embassies/Missions abroad, from where these applications would move to the VAHAN portal in India, to be considered by the respective Regional Transport Offices (RTOs). IDP would be couriered to the citizen at his/her address abroad by the respective RTOs.

This also removes the conditions of a Medical Certificate and a valid visa at the time of making the request for the IDP in India, the Ministry said.

The idea is that a citizen who has a valid driving licence should not have a requirement for another medical certificate.

“There are countries where the Visa is issued on arrival or Visa is issued at the last moment. In such cases, VISA is not available when applying for the IDP in India before travel. Hence, IDP application can be made without VISA now,” it added.