LEGAL
TIPS |
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Expatriates
that come here to live sometimes want or need to get a drivers license.
Whether the reason is because it to difficult to get renewals from the Country,
State or Province they are from, or it’s because they want another form
of Mexican I.D., or they are trying to get non-residency status from the
Country they are from, it makes no difference. The requirements to obtain
a drivers license are simple, but the process is sometimes not so simple. First
the requirements. You will need to provide the originals and copies of the
following: Migratory Status (Tourist Visa is not accepted), Passport, proof
of residency (electric or phone bill, last property tax receipt, etc), drivers
license from where you are from, and your blood type. The driver’s license
is required to avoid taking the driven part of the test. Now
that the requirements are in place, you should go to the SVT (Secretaria
De Vialidad y Transporte) in Riberas del Pilar and show them your requirements.
They will then provide you with the actual application that you will need
to complete, and then take to Chapala to pay. The Hacienda office is locatedon
Juarez, between Dellogado and Lopez Cottilla, on the left side. Now that
you have made your payment, you are ready to take the test. The
Ocotlan SVT comes Lakeside to assist foreigners the last Monday of every
month. They recommend you get the above requirements completed before these
Monday’s. Ocotlan has a special agreement with the Jalisco Government to
provide foreigners with a 4-year drivers license. If you try to obtain a
license elsewhere in the State such as Guadalajara, they will make the renewal
date the same as the renewal date in your FM2/3. This means you will have
to renew your driver’s license yearly, which is not the best of options.
Inmigrado holders need not worry about the renewal date as the Inmigrado
status has no expiration. On
the last Monday of the month, the SVT wants you there when they open, ready
with all your documents. Unfortunately they sometimes are not ready until
ten or eleven, but you should be there at nine just in case they are ready
and you don’t miss anything. When they are ready, they will provide an answer
sheet to you, and then have someone read out the questions, and give you
the multiple-choice options. They will help you in most cases if you are
having some trouble. The reason they read them out loud is because they
are in Spanish, so they read them out in English. They
then grade your tests, and will inform you at that time whether you failed
or passed. If you failed, you will be asked to come back in a month’s time
to try again. Once you pass, they will then ask you to sign a form and provide
your thumbs prints, and then they will take your picture and have you wait
again to produce the license, or make you come back another day to pick
it up when they get it ready. Please
be prepared, this will take you a better part of the day, if not all day.
Also expect delays such as broken equipment, holidays, etc. It is not uncommon
that they will ask you to come back the following month in the event of
equipment malfunctions. There
are several people at lakeside that can assist you with this process, to
guide you through all the motions, and help with translations as well. Some
of these individuals also have contacts in other towns that can help you
on other days that will give you the 4-year license. Adriana Perez Flores |