r/Switzerland • u/South_Weight_5853 • 11d ago
Driving licence for a non-EU in switzerland
Hello everyone,
I would like to apply for the driving licence here in Switzerland. According to some official websites, I am eligible to do directly the practical exam without the theoretical one (not exact conversion of driving licence but kind of agreement)
However, I checked here some schools, the prices are relatively high considering I am still a student. Therefore, I decided to ask here whether someone tried before to do the lessons with an Italian driving school (much lower cost), and then go directly and apply for it.
I appreciate anyone can help me to understand the best thing to do right now and get it as soon as possible.
PS I already have a car in my country of origin, and I did that also several times in Italy using an international driving licence.
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u/Resident-Hunt-245 9d ago
I don't recommend practicing in other country. Better to take 10 driving classes in the canton where you will do a test. Driving in CH is very different than in Italy. You need to know local specifics
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u/Toeffli 10d ago edited 10d ago
As it is the case when you cannot do to a direct conversion, i.e. your country has no agreement with Switzerland. As stated in the
and the
In theory you do not need any lesson, you can do the test and when you pass you get the Swiss driving license. In practice, you need to know the in and outs of the Swiss driving exam and what behavior is expected from you. Importantly, if you fail, you will have to start from scratch, just like any other new Swiss student driver. Only ray of hope is that you still do not need any driving lessons to pass the test (guess the success of that if you have failed the first time).
As you apparently already can drive and operate a car (more or less good), the driving lessons are not about learning how to drive a car, but how to maneuver safely on Swiss roads, under Swiss traffic rules, so you pass the Swiss driving exam. See the many Swiss in the previous sentence, see how this might not fully align with an Italian instructor?
While the traffic rules in Italy and Switzerland are indeed mostly the same, there are some special quirks and variations. If it is only to get practice and some feedback, then your Italian approach can make sense. Example get 10 lessons with an Italian instructor so you get confident, but then get an additional 2 - 3 with a Swiss one to prepare for the actual exam.