(If you’ve ever had to deal with bureaucratic red tape, you’ll love the short clip above)

We became residents of Portugal in 2017. Initially we purchased a small apartment in the Alfama area, the old town district of Lisbon, and then began the process of establishing everything else that comes with residency – bank accounts, home services, tax accountants, and deciding whether to buy a car/motorcycle or not, or both. We decided on both. And that’s where the fun began.

Having lived in Mexico for the past 30 years, my driver’s license was obviously Mexican, allowing me to drive both a car and a motorcycle (I drove both in Mexico). I had held onto and kept my Canadian one up-to-date, but it only had me down for driving cars.

In early 2016 I had begun to look into what it took to obtain a Portuguese license as a new resident, and I discovered that for EU residents they can use the license of their original country, they just have to register themselves with IMTT (Institution that issues drivers licenses). I also discovered that Portugal has a reciprocal exchange program with some countries, (such as the USA, Australia, and in my case, Canada), but not with Mexico. Meaning if I wanted a Portuguese license and I was showing them my Mexican one I’d have to take the Portuguese driving course and test, as if I were a new driver.

My first initial problem was that my Canadian license isn’t for motorcycles and I needed that. So rather than taking the course in Portugal (and in Portuguese), I decided I’d just go back to Canada and do the motorcycle test there, hoping I could fast track it.

So began the process… Continue reading →