Sorry to say that I went through the exact same problem and I still do not have a valid Hungarian license. The test is now available in English .... sort of. It is a long test of 175 questions, many of which are highly technical and some are heavily weighted. You get 45 seconds per question but you can go back and use any unused time for ones you skip. The problem is the test is translated from Hungarian and IMHO it looks like somone used Google translate which scks badly. Worse, the Minister of Interior's wife is who did the translation so good luck in complaining. It isn't cheap to take either and I have failed it twice now. I got 64% both time which isn't sufficient. Actually, given how horrible it was that isn't too bad. Often the questions were completely unintelligible and you can sort of figure it out by the available answers but you only have 45 seconds so you have to be quick. I am not joking but I had one question with 4 possible answers and all were identical and I mean verbatim. I complained to the proctor who of course could do nothing.

I ended up flying back to the US to renew my license as it is just cheaper in the long run. It is ridiculous but this is where we are at. The EU has implemented reciprocity for US licenses (and I assume Canada as well) but Hungary has refused to implement this so until Fidez is voted out and a better government put in place this is going to be the way it stays. I have an acquaintance who is an official English translator for the Hungarian government in Budapest (hence why I know about the wife doing the translations) and he told me 2 years ago that of the 250 or so people taking the test all except 2 have failed. The same is true for the same test in Spanish and German. He did offer me to take intensive training with him as he has the master book of 2500 questions possible on the test and you can memorize all of them. The cost was 100,000 HUF. I declined. These are the 2 people that passed who bought the test book and memorized it. I am just not that motivated.

There is probably some "other" way to get around this problem given that corruption in government is massive but I haven't bothered to look into it. I am more or less okay with my US license as long as I leave the EU every 90 days. So far, this hasn't been a big problem for me. Most cops just freak out when they see a US passport and US driver's license but I drive well and don't break any laws, ever. Hungarians hate people who do things like use turn signals, don't tailgate or speed recklessly. Actually, given how difficult and expensive it is to get a license I am shocked how terribly they drive. It is a real paradox or it means a lot of people use extra-official ways to get licenses.

What really sucks is my wife who is a dual American/Russian citizen and also has a US driver's license (Virginia) was given one without any problems as she handed over her Soviet Driver's license which expired in 1992. Go figure.

So, my advice is to choose between taking the test in Hungarian, flying back to Canada to renew your license there, or figure out who you can negotiate this with.

Last I heard they were negotiating a verbal test for people with dyslexia and that a translator might be acceptable in this case. So, that might be one other option but you will need a physician to state your are dyslexic. You have to get a physical anyway so you could do it at that time. You still need to take 6 months of driver's lessons (again you can negotiate that with the driver's ed instructor) and you must take the practical test in his official training car and you will need an official translator to accompany you. All of this is quite expensive so in a way it is cheaper to fly home, especially if you have a reason to go back for other business etc.

I am hopeful that Fidez will become a distant memory in 2018 and Hungary might just decide to become a part of the EU again and then my license will be acceptable.

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WOW! I read with great interest what "bor " had to say and well it was worse than I could of imagined! Since I'm not a "resident" and of course not a citizen I'm happily drive on my US license and AAA issued (1 year at the time) $15.00 Int'l Drivers license which is funny because it is not really a license but a notebook that states what you qualified to drive in 10 billion languages, LOL! Since I go back to the states at least once a year this is not a problem. I been stopped by cops and never been a problem (you must understand that cops are poorly trained in Hungary). The rule is that they afraid to make a critical decision as the rule "ask for permission" applies. As long as they can ascertain that you are a foreigner they don't dig deeper. If you have your residence permit or alien registration permit and address card (lakcim kartya) they will not spend much time with you! Ultimately Hungary has a long way to go to get up to speed (and I been saying that for some time now). In Romania that used to be considered "backwards" and less developed when compared to Hungary the written test consists of 26 questions. In the US of course is 20 as I recall. It was a communist thing that you had to know how the engine work and all the other stuff to pass a driver's exam. I certainly agree with "bor" about the assessment that while the testing progress appears so rigourous and prolonged it seems to produce really POOR DRIVER! Ultimately maybe it is just money making scheme like many things around Hungary. It is like owning a gun...almost impossible. Health exam, subject exam, gun club membership, gun safe, ammunition accounting, police inspection etc, etc. It is harder than getting your doctorate! LOL! Yet...just the other day a cop got shot by a citizen. As a cop I hope the higher ups realize that better/different police training is required. I observed a number of police stops and I can tell you that in the US we used to fail cadets at the police academy if they acted like Hungarian police veterans...but well that is another story! LOL!

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Ped, the actual law here is a visitor on a tourist visa can only drive for 90 days on a foreign license. As you say I have a permanent residence visa but it is a card now and no longer a full page stamp in the passport. So, technically I am violating the law. Luckily, our car is registered in my wife's name and I have one of those stupid semi-official paper "permission to use a vehicle" instruments Hungary requires when you let someone else drive the car. But, it hasn't been a problem as you say. The insurance appears to work as I backed into a pole and ruined our rear bumper (being ground guided by my wife which is why she wasn't angry at me about it) and just had it repaired under a claim which went fine.

As for police training here, that is an entirely different story and relates partially to what happened after the fall of the Soviet Union. Shortly thereafter they also fired (early retirement later reneged on by Fidez) every policeman over the age of 40 and the same for all military, ambulance drivers, and firemen. The result was a police force (and military, fire, etc.) made up entirely of young and inexperienced police. The result is an ineffective police force. On the plus side violence is particularly absent here in Hungary. Property crime is rampant though and I see the force doing very little about it. That would require actual police skills which are obviously absent, but generally things seem fine regardless. As for driver enforcement this si a weird problem. The country has invested in 500+ new fixed cameras (which are so obvious you would have to be an idiot to get caught) and several hundred mobile radar cameras. At the same time I was told by a friend who is a policemen here, that they have restricted patrol cars to only 30 km a day to save on fuel costs. So, the powers that be feel that it is sufficient to only use cameras. This must be entirely a revenue based and not safety based decision. There are 2 reasons to issue citations, one to raise revenue (as is common in the US) the other is to encourage motorists to obey the laws by exacting painful penalties. Speaking of which Hungary doubled all fines a few years ago.

Also, as I sail on the lake and am painfully aware of police enforcement of bizarre rules on the lake, the lake patrols have been completely absent this year (which is nice for me). They like to write citations for major offenses like not displaying your country flag (30,000 HUF), not raising a tiny black plastic circle which is only observable at short distances or by police using binoculars (again 30,000 HUF), sailing 300 meters beyond port under power (50,000 HUF and measured using radar). God help you if you get stopped and searched and they count life vests (a 6 passenger rated yacht must have 6 life preservers even if you are alone), not having grappling hook with the newly required black stripes every 10 cm. It is a long list and they are particularly rabid about enforcement for "some" people and not "others" if you get what I mean. I digress - anyway the police have been completely absent and I was told they are all on the border getting ready to shoot illegals.

I could go on at length about the driver's test as it was really bizarre. there were CPR questions, brake pedal clearance distances, steering wheel play tolerances, brake caliper adjustment, oil changing requirements, etc. Those are weighted at one point or so thus not particularly important. But the nutty traffic right of way pictures are worth 6 points each and there are quite a few. It is an exhausting test. I am surprised I did so well given how bad the translations were. Some questions even if they were perfectly translated would be impossible to know without studying intensely. Not at all like the 20 question test we have in Virginia.

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I'm with you "Bor" on this all the way! Traffic fines while suppose to partially raise revenue seems to be the SINGLE most important in Hungary where fines are "administrative" therefore practically not appealable. Here you never see less than two cops but sometimes three or four. Yes gasoline cost and the number of vehicles certainly is a factor the real legal reason so cops can be witnesses for each other. Cops are NOT trusted here by the courts like thy are in the US. Yes I been grilled by defense attorneys but often in was the judge who told them "the officer I think answered the question, let's move on"!~ The strangest in the enforcement process is really that the police is NOT interested who drives the car and they even black out your face on the camera/picture taken by the three legged radar (harom labu). The registered owner is really fined weather he/she drove it or not. If there is no payment the car is de-registered. There is no driver discouragement or points that would endanger your license and since there is almost no real patrolling except a small amount in very large cities there is no on the spot penalty (birsag). Of course they can stop you for no reason at all just to check your papers and so there is where the citizen's rights end and of course yours and mine. I asked one pair of Hungary's finest about raining last year thinking I offer to come and teach them some "real police skills". They just looked at eachother and said "yeah we go fire our guns". I said yes but you of course have CPR training, law updates, anti-terrorist response, active shooter etc, etc. They again looked at each other like I asked them about the best UFO landing spot in the neighborhood. Then they said "well maybe but they just make us sign the roster, that is all".
So Hungary has a long way to go in this regard. ... Funny that you mentioned "boating" as I am or was one. I owned 14 to 31 foot power boats and a 27 foot sailboat. I looked in to owning one here but the bureaucracy is just insane. First you need a license like you need for driving a car. The docking winter/spring haul out runs roughly 400,000 forints. It is not the poor man's past time in this country so I gave up! Sad but our reality here!

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Yes, the lake (and Duna River) are equal problems to the driver's license. In Hungary the license test fee is 650,000 HUF so somewhat prohibitory. However, Hungary signed the treaty for boating competence so any country that issues an ICC (International Certificate of Competence) is automatically recognized. Luckily, Croatia is nearby and everyone there speaks English (mandatory school language which was implemented under Tito and remains today) and there are several ways to get certified. I got mine through the Croatian National Police (kind of like Coast Guard although they do the pilot boats and Captain's license as well) test and am certified as for sail and motor yachts up to 20 meters in length, 20 gross tons on lakes, inland waterways and ocean. The test fee was still steep at 800 Euros but way cheaper than in Hungary or Germany. The ICC is recognized by many countries but not in the US. Of course not as the US almost never signs international treaties despite our pretension to be leaders in the world we are actually the worst offenders in nearly everything. I suppose that is because we are "exceptional". Hungary causes driver's license problems for Americans (and apparently pseudo-Americans aka Canadians) because the US doesn't give reciprocity to Hungary's drivers license. So, it is a tit-for-tat and we are still having political problems between the US and Hungary which might get a lot worse soon.

One problem you refer to is the moorage fees on the lake which are high. But, this is true everywhere. I am purchasing a 7.5m regatta daysailor and will moor it at the new marina in Alsoors and yes, it will cost 450,000 HUF a year. I do not need to put in or take out though as the marina has an underwater turbine which keeps ice from forming in the harbor. I am waiting until Spring before I make a final decision on that mostly to see if the harbor remains ice free. It isn't all that bad a fee compared to German lakes. Of course yachting is expensive but so is fishing. I understand the annual license fee for fishing from a vessel is something like 65,000 HUF (not sure but sounds about right) and the non-tourist fishing license is similar to the automotive driver's license with required school and another inane 175 question test. But, once you pass you have it for life as is true for the ICC as well. I don't fish so don't care. But, I have relatives who are avid fisherman so will have to look into this next year.

I am also a licensed airplane pilot (Commercial/Instrument) and in this case there is reciprocity between the US and Hungary and I am legally allowed to fly here. I don't as it is prohibitively expensive but can if I want and have worked a tiny bit flying parachutists for a friend whose family owns a company doing this business. But being an elevator isn't too much fun so I have begged off unless they are desperate for a pilot. I am getting a bit old for that anyway and the annual physical is getting harder to pass.

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I was going to bring my 2013 fiesta to Hungary.it seems like a nightmare to ever pass the drivers test .plus living in a big city would probably be a waste for me to own a car.seems like cars are stolen quote often in Hungary.

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Did it cost 650,000 for a driver's license or pertaining to a boat.

Thanks

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I have a 100Ton US.Coast Guard Master license but I guess it is useless here and I don't feel like jumping through any more loops here.If you have any sailing ideas for me,please let me know.(I do speak hungarian fluently)

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Thank you so much for the information. It really sacks to hear just how stubborn this Hungarian system is .My husband is so angry he will probably do the same think, go back to Canada to renew it I do have one more question to ask in you don't mind. Do you have a dual citizenship Hungarian as well. My husband was born in Hungary ,lived all his life in Canada, but two year ago took up Hungarian citizenship .I wonder if you have the same status .because we hope to find some sort of loopholes He is driving for more than forty years,
Regards

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Could be wrong here but for small daysailers w/o any motor there may be no or very little criteria. Certainly less than sailing a 27 footer with a 9.9 HP outboard.

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Registration and license are required if your sail area is above 10 sq. meters. I have an inflatable catamaran I use to zip around on and it is barely lega without registration as it is 9.9 sq. meters. If I fly a spinnaker then I exceed this so I will be registering it next year and park it inflated and assembled except sails but under a tarp, at the marina (for an additional nominal fee) so I don't have to fiddle about putting it together each time I use it. There are some great wind days which are perfect for a fast catamaran and other days for a larger slower boat. That cat can go 40 kph in perfect winds which is a hairy ride.

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The 650k was for the Hungarian sailing license. It might be less somewhere or even more with bribes, but still the 800 euros is a lot less overall and includes all the sub-licenses. In Hungary it is separate for motor and sail.

As for my registrations status. No we are not citizens. We came on a temporary residence visa and changed to permanent residents 2 years ago, which must be renewed every 5 years so in reality semi-permanent. However, at age 65 you can apply for full citizenship without language requirement which we are thinking about. I am unsure what advantages there are but it would be nice to have a second passport.

As for driving licenses being different between natural Hungarians and anyone else, I don't believe there are any differences nor any legal shortcuts. I am certain there is a mechanism for bypassing the entire exam altogether as that is the only explanation as to how all these horrible drivers could pass in the first place.

I forget the precise fees involved in the process (and it is a process with multiple checkpoints and separate authorities) but it was substantial. Not 650k worth but at least over 100,000 HUF if you add in the driver's education training. It includes a medical examination, written test and practical test. There are some other fees in there as well but if I recall correctly the written test was 40,000 each time I took it and something like 10,000 for the medical certificate, 40,000 for the driver's ed guy to sign off after I drove with him a couple of times, then the application itself costs something like 25,000. Not sure about the actual practical test as I never got that far but I would assume it is one day's car rental, the driver ed guy, a translator, plus the examiner and whatever fees are involved. I would estimate all that at another 100,000 HUF. Then there is a fee for issuing the license at the Mayor's office which I recall was more or less trivial at 17,000 HUF or thereabouts. The tests are done at a regional testing center. The driver education guy is on you. The license and application start at your Mayor's office (or whoever locally issues driver's licenses and car registrations).

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It doesent make any difference if u are foreigner ,or you have dual citizenship. How long Hungry didn't sign agriment with your country your driving licence can't be change to Hungarian one.
If you have a EU licence is not a problem even you licence is 100 years old. And the same story is in any EU country not only Hungary.
If you drive 1 year or 50 years also don't change the fact that you have to pass driving licence test...one is computer one....you can have in English but the translation is google one ,word by word so you just don't understand the question and in short time you can't work out what they asking for. The translation is a joke!
My husband born in Hungry went True all of it .Always he missed 1-2 points...I think he went for the test 10 x ! Also you need to pass driving test. He did one lesson to just have a feel what they want and the test.... and after this he had to go for a two days first aid lessons and ihen has to pass the test. It's a night mare!! Get your international licence from your own country. Some country will send you here....like,Australia once a year you need to send the photo,with the application ...pay it and u drive here ,no worries .

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If u planing to live in Budapest or other big city you don't need a car. It cost you lots of money to keep it and you hardly will be using. Public transport is great and not expensive.
Shops like TESCO have a home delivery.And on the end if u need you can use the taxi....still you will be better off with out the car.

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To be honest I don't know how the "dual citizenship" plays out here but this is one reason I for one didn't become a citizen to the dismay of my relatives. I was not born in Hungary but I'm Hungarian and speak the language. I always figured that dual citizen or not if you ARE HUNGARIAN citizen the expectations to conform are higher. It is bad enough that I speak the language so in government offices I always get the "citizen" treatment. In another word comply, know and obey! If foreigners who don't speak the language (or not well) they seem to be more tolerant and try to be more helpful.

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So ridiculous! For someone that drove over 40 years and me in 12 different countries it is an INSULT really! But there you go.....I stick with my Int'l paper license at $15/year!

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Indeed! The AAA will mail it to you if you ask!

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Hahaha Peddington....the same said my husband ...after 50 years of driving in many countries they here wanted from him to learn how to drive and pass egxams!!
When he took driving lessons the "teacher" told him that my husband is better driver then him and in absolutely nothing what he can teach him. So this was good! On the exam guy said to him that he doesent like his still of driving as is too confident.....lol! And more funny was first aid.... He got his hung licence but he said he will never do again.
But this are EU rules....they don't look it is insolt...just follow the law.

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Not to rain on the parade, but the International Driver's License is only a translated version of your real license and meant for tourists and is only valid for 1 year. It is in fact completely unnecessary and the 90 day rule still applies. Anyone who gets a visa to reside in Hungary must obtain a Hungarian license after 90 days OR leave the country every 90 days. I am doing the latter as it happens. Proof has never been required in my experience and I am certain the Hungarian police would be baffled by the IDL but they are equally baffled by a valid US driver's license.

The original question was about what to do if your host country's driver's license (in this case Canada) expires. IMHO you have three choices. (1) get a Hungarian driver's license. It is possible to do but just very difficult, (2) fly home and renew your host country's license, or (3) get a Hungarian license through extra-legal means. If you get citizenship here then you have no other recourse than to get a Hungarian license. There is also the possibility of a 4th option which would be to get another EU country's license. Some countries like Cyprus seem willing to sell anything so that might be an option. Then you can exchange it for a Hungarian one straight across. I plan to explore this option next year as my wife's family is buying EU citizenship in Cyprus without actually ever going there. It isn't cheap though and costs over a million dollars. It might also be possible in Croatia or Slovakia and may be more reasonably priced. Hard to say. I would prefer to do it the right way but at the moment it is impossible for me, until FIDEZ is replaced and some more reasonable government officials put in charge who accept EU mandates.

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