Experienced biker - licence options?

**JulieBahrain** · 15th December 2009, 01:19

My hubby and I are in the process of relocating to Auckland. Unfortunately I obtained my bike licence in Bahrain, which is not on the list of countries which qualify for automatic conversion.

I learned to ride on a HD Fat Boy and V-Rod, and my regular rides are a Buell 1125CR and a 2009 V-Max.

Any work-around for the provisional licence with CC and speed restrictions??? I'm going to go nuts on a 125 at 70 kms per hour!

**McDuck** · 15th December 2009, 05:04

Can you convert it to a licence from another country and then convert it to NZ?

**CookMySock** · 15th December 2009, 05:08

You can apply for an exemption to the graduated licensing system in NZ. Basically, you fill out the form, pay your $22, and tell them in writing why they should give it to you.

If you are an older rider, ride with a group, are used to riding on the left, or have substantial experience, or all of the the above, you should apply to sit your full license and quite likely they will give you a one-shot chance to attempt the full license test. Don't screw it up though.. points at the 125 and the 70clicks speed limit.. you MUST know our road rules down to the smallest detail, and you must take the process very seriously.

If you want more information about exemptions, use the search function on this forum, as the topic has been repeatedly done to death here.

Good luck, and welcome to NZ.

Steve

**YellowDog** · 15th December 2009, 05:22

Hey Julie, that's quite a predicament you have there. The learner bikes out here are 250cc.

There have been some recent rule changes. When I came to NZ 3 years ago you could ride on any international licence for up to 12 months I had to take two theory tests (one for bike and one for car) to convert it to an NZ one. That has since changed and you can now convert a UK licence without taking any test at all.

Surely there must be a way of convertning your Bahranian licence to an internationally accepted one of some kind?

If this can't be done you will find that the NZ authorities are really good at finding workarounds to such situations (better than others I have experienced).

Good luck with that. I guess after that soccer match there was only one option for you

**kwaka_crasher** · 15th December 2009, 12:11

It doesn't look like it's an issue. Get an international driving permit then within 12-months you sit a theory & practical since and get an NZ drivers licence without going through the GDL.

See here.

**magicmonkey** · 15th December 2009, 16:31

You can also use your license from overseas for 12 months while you're over here, after then you have to get a kiwi license. The more machivelian of us moght getthe NZ learners, go sit tests at 6 month intervals and have the full by the time that you can no longer use the overseas one.

Of course this isn't exactly legal...

**Marmoot** · 15th December 2009, 17:03

Originally Posted by JulieBahrain

My hubby and I are in the process of relocating to Auckland. Unfortunately I obtained my bike licence in Bahrain, which is not on the list of countries which qualify for automatic conversion.

I learned to ride on a HD Fat Boy and V-Rod, and my regular rides are a Buell 1125CR and a 2009 V-Max.

Any work-around for the provisional licence with CC and speed restrictions??? I'm going to go nuts on a 125 at 70 kms per hour!

You can use your license here for 12 months from your first arrival date. The conditions of your motorcycle would have to match the one imposed to you by the country that issues the license (i.e., if it is learner license there then you are a learner here, and if it is full license there then you are full here too).

You can then use it to apply for a conversion. No "automatic conversion" means you would have to go through the license tests, both written and practical.

If your license condition is equivalent to NZ full license (e.g., no cc restrictions, etc) and you have held it for more than 2 years, you can apply for a conversion to full NZ license.

Here's the fun part: when taking your practical test, you are allowed to use any vehicles that your current license permits. So yessir I did my full license practical test on a 900cc monster sportsbike

Note: This info was valid in 1999/2000 and was the path that I took. So, it is advisable to check if there has been any changes since.