How to get a driverХs license
o be driving down a rutted street and see a goofy-looking Kyiv police officer in a silly hat and unfashionable white belt point his little stick at you, ordering you to pull over?
If you donХt drive in Kyiv, you really are missing out on a big chunk of the adventure of living here. All you need is a license, a car and a wad of hryvna to pay for over-price benzine and bribes. YouХre on your own getting the car and the hryvna, but weХll help you out with the license.
Foreigners who have international driverХs licenses are allowed to drive in Ukraine. Those who donХt, need to get a Ukrainian license from the Inter-regional District Examination Department (MREV) #2 in Kyiv.
According to the MREV #2 deputy head Oleksy Stepanov, foreigners are allowed to drive with their countryХs driverХs license as long it is accompanied by a translation certified at the embassy. Long-term ex-pats, keep in mind that you can use your license from home for only one year. After that, youХre expected to exchange yours for a Ukrainian license.
If you want to get a Ukrainian driverХs license, you can either attend driving courses and pass an exam or exchange your domestic driverХs license for Ukrainian one. If you turn in your license, you wonХt get it back.
Your license must correspond to the 1968 international convention format. If you arenХt sure if it does, ask officials at MREV.
To exchange a driverХs license, you need to bring to MREV your driverХs license, passport and an official document showing your Ukrainian address, medical certificates (proving that you are drug-free and fairly psychologically balanced) and at least two passport-size photos. Only Kyiv-issued medical certificates are accepted. You can obtain such certificates from a clinic.
You also need a Ukrainian translation of your license data confirmed at the embassy.
You can get a license without taking an exam if you present your carХs technical passport or a note from your company or the embassy that you will be driving a car, the car type and the plate number.
If you take an exam, you need to know enough Russian or Ukrainian to understand the instructions and read road signs, which tend to be more complicated than in the West.
If all your documents are correct and you pass the exam, you receive the license within an hour.
If you fail the exam, you must wait five days before trying again. The license costs Hr 22.75 and the exam costs Hr 2.
MREV #2 is located on Tupoleva 17 (Take bus 13 from Nivki metro. Also, many mini-buses come from metro Svyatoshyn.), open Tuesdays, 9 a.m.-7 p.m.; Wednesdays and Fridays, 9 a.m.-6 p.m.; Thursdays 9 a.m.-3 p.m.; and Saturdays 9 a.m.- 4 p.m. Bring your documents to windows 1 or 2.
Anya Kozmina
