Russian embassy doesn’t know

Lithuanian driver’s license issuer “Regitra” states that Lithuanian driver’s licenses are valid in all European Union countries as well as in Iceland, Norway, and Lichtenstein. Licenses are also valid in countries, which have joined the 1968 Vienna Convention for road traffic. Russia has also signed this convention. However, these countries possess the right to demand a translation for a Lithuanian driver’s license.

To find out if a certain country may require a translation, “Regitra” representatives recommend asking the embassies of the countries directly. However, after calling the Russian embassy in Vilnius, the embassy workers were not able to provide a concrete answer because they did not know. They recommended calling the Russian ministry of Internal Affairs or the customs offices, but the best way, according to the embassy workers, was to have a notarized translation of the driver’s license.

“Linava” representative in Moscow is not aware of such requirement

Julius Salenekas, head of the Lithuanian National Road Carriers’ Association “Linava” office in Moscow, who is well aware of the Lithuanian carriers’ problems in Russia, agreed to help in looking for the answer to this question.

“The rules are regulated by a Russian law for qualification exams and the order of issuing driver’s licenses. The law stated that foreigners, temporarily visiting the Russian Federation, do not need translations if their driver’s licenses apply to the 1968 Vienna convention for traffic safety, or are in latin letters in one of 8 approved languages. If the driver’s license does not apply to the rules of the convention, it must be translated into Russian following a preset order and notarized. This law was approved in 2001 and I do not have any information about it being changed. According to this law, a temporary visit is up to 6 months since crossing the border. After receiving a permission to live within the Russian Federation territory, it is necessary to take a qualification exam to receive a driver’s license”, - said Mr. Salenekas.

According to “Linava” representative, there is no requirement for Lithuanian cargo carriers to translate their driver’s licenses into Russian, and that he hears about such problem for the first time: “We have not had such requests before. If Lithuanian cargo carriers face problems, such as last year’s changed order of cargo inspection, we can hardly answer all calls that come in. I have specially asked the members of our association, who frequently go to Russia, and they confirmed that they did not face such problems, although their drivers were pulled over and inspected by Russian officers for a number of times. I can only say that sometimes some requests might be illegal, because of the human factor.”

Cargo carriers will translate for peace of mind

Lithuanian cargo carriers are aware that Russia is a difficult country to predict, and the last thing everyone wants is having problems with the police. A head of transport for company “Agroimpulsas”, Andzej Devic told that their drivers have faced requests of driver’s licenses translated into Russian from Russian officers.

“Our drivers have heard remarks from Russian police officers for licenses not being translated into Russian, but have not heard strict requests or been fined. We have only faced this problem in Russia – in no other countries we had such occurrences. However, having our drivers’ experience and information in mind, we will translate their licenses just to avoid possible problems”, - said Mr. Devic.

The transport attaché in the Lithuanian embassy in Russia also recommends everyone going to Russia not only to have all the necessary documents, but also have them translated into Russian. If not in Lithuania, this procedure can be done in the Russian road inspection office. The Lithuanian embassy also has a translator.

Everyone can get into a situation when Russian officers might question the authenticity of traveler’s documents. The reason is simple: there are people in all positions and there is always a possibility of error or selfish purposes. Thus, before going to Russia, it is not only necessary to have all the documents, but also have in mind, where to look for help in cases of officers’ incompetence.