Democratic Republic of the Congo: The biometric driver's licence, its appearance and the procedures to obtain and renew it (2014-April 2015)

1. Overview

An article published on 14 March 2012 on the website of Radio Okapi, the UN radio in the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC) (Radio Okapi n.d.), states that the biometric driver's licence was introduced in the DRC in early March 2012 (ibid. 14 Mar. 2012). It is a [translation] "secure document" produced by the National Commission for the Issuance of Driver's Licences (Commission nationale de délivrance des permis de conduire, CONADEP), in partnership with ISIS-Congo [Computer and systems security printing (Imprimerie de sécurité informatique et système) (Agence Ecofin 2 May 2012)], [translation] "a private company specializing in computer printing" (Radio Okapi 14 Mar. 2012). According to an article published on 2 May 2012 on the website of agence Ecofin, [translation] an "industry economic information agency, created in December 2010," (agence Ecofin n.d.), on that date, the biometric driver's licence had just been launched thanks to a partnership between the Ministry of Transport and Communication Channels and the ISIS-Congo company (ibid. 2 May 2012). The ISIS company is described by agence Ecofin as [translation] "a Congolese company that specializes in marketing highly secure printed material" (ibid.).

Nicolas Nkan, president of CONADEP, stated in an interview with Radio Okapi that the new biometric licence was implemented to combat the [translation] "forgery" that occurred with the previous type of driver's licence (Radio Okapi 14 Mar. 2012).

2. Cost

According to an article published on 7 March 2012 by Radio Okapi, an applicant for a biometric driver's licence must pay US$30 for the application form and US$5 for bank fees (ibid. 7 Mar. 2012). However, during the interview with Radio Okapi, the President of CONADEP stated that the fee for the driver's licence application form was US$20 (ibid. 14 Mar. 2012).

According to the article of 7 March 2012 by Radio Okapi, the fee for issuing the new biometric driver's licence varies according to the category:

categories A and B cost US$50,

category C costs US$65,

categories D and E cost US$80, and

the international licence costs US$140 (ibid. 7 Mar. 2012).

According to agence Ecofin, the fee payment for the issuance of the biometric driver's licence is made at banque Afriland, and the licence is issued [translation] "only to the person concerned," at the CONADEP head office (2 May 2012).

3. Procedures to Obtain the Biometric Driver's Licence

On 21 June 2012, during an interview with Radio Okapi, the Director General of ISIS/Congo explained that, to obtain a biometric driver's licence, the applicant must appear in person at CONADEP and provide, as identification, a voter's card or a [translation] "valid passport," his or her old driver's licence (if it exists) and two passport-size photographs (Radio Okapi 21 June 2012). Applicants requesting a driver's licence for the first time must provide [translation] "professional certification that they attended a driving school" (ibid.). The same source added that the applicant also has to pass, on site, a [translation] "sign recognition" test, a "driving simulation" test on the computer and a driving test in a vehicle provided by CONADEP (ibid.).

According to the President of CONADEP, each applicant for a biometric driver's licence must appear in person at CONADEP to purchase the application form and to do the evaluation tests (ibid. 14 Mar. 2012).

According to sources, obtaining the driver's licence is conditional on passing three tests:

a medical examination to confirm physical aptitude for driving (ibid. 7 Mar. 2012; agence Ecofin 2 May 2012; Le Potentiel 3 Feb. 2014);

a theory test on rules of the road (ibid.; Radio Okapi 7 Mar. 2012); and

a practical professional competence driving test (ibid.; Le Potentiel 3 Feb. 2014).

According to the President of CONADEP, if the candidate fails the professional competence test, they are [translation] "sent back to a driving school to ... improve" (Radio Okapi 14 Mar. 2012).

According to the same source, individuals who have the old driver's licence have three months to apply for a biometric licence (ibid. 7 Mar. 2012).

In another interview with Radio Okapi, the President of CONADEP explained that the new biometric driver's licence is valid for five years (ibid. 18 June 2012).

4. Procedures to Renew the Biometric Driver's Licence

Information on the procedures to renew a biometric driver's licence could not be found among the sources consulted by the Research Directorate within the time constraints of this Response.

5. Characteristics of the Biometric Driver's Licence

In the interview with Radio Okapi, the Director General of ISIS/Congo stated that the biometric driver's licence is a secure document that contains fingerprints, a photograph and the signature of the holder (ibid. 21 June 2012).

A sample of the biometric driver's licence issued in the DRC since March 2012, which comes from the website of the government of Belgium's Federal Public Service Mobility and Transport (Service public fédéral Mobilité et Transports) is attached to this Response.

In the 14 March 2012 interview, the President of CONADEP stated that the biometric driver's licence would be produced in Kinshasa, but that some [translation] "kiosks" would be opened gradually in the provinces to receive the applications and to issue licences to holders (ibid. 14 Mar. 2012).

According to the website of the government of Katanga, the biometric driver's licence began to be issued on 8 January 2013 in that province (Katanga 15 Jan. 2013). Regarding replacing former driver's licences, according to that same source, [translation] "there is a risk that the objective of replacing all the former licences may not be met by the end of the three months" (ibid.).

An article published on 4 April 2013 by Radio Okapi states that [translation] "nearly 2,000 drivers are waiting for their biometric driver's licence" in Lubumbashi (Radio Okapi 4 Apr. 2013). According to a division chief at the Ministry of Transports (ministère des Transports) in Lubumbashi cited by Radio Okapi, only [translation] "one hundred and fourteen [licences] have been issued" of the two thousand applications, because of the "difficulties experienced by the service in sending the files to Kinshasa[,] where the licences are printed" (ibid.).

This Response was prepared after researching publicly accessible information currently available to the Research Directorate within time constraints. This Response is not, and does not purport to be, conclusive as to the merit of any particular claim for refugee protection. Please find below the list of sources consulted in researching this Information Request.

References

Agence Ecofin. 2 May 2012. "RD Congo : lancement du permis de conduire biométrique." [Accessed 7 Apr. 2015]

_____. N.d. "Contacts." [Accessed 7 Apr. 2015]

Katanga. 15 January 2013. "Les permis de conduire biométriques au Katanga : modalités d'accompagnement pour l'octroi de nouveaux permis." [Accessed 7 Apr. 2015]

Le Potentiel. 3 February 2014. "Ministère des Transports et Communications : des actions de sape infructueuses autour de la délivrance de permis de conduire." [Accessed 7 Apr. 2015]

Radio Okapi. 4 April 2013. "Lubumbashi : Près de 2000 conducteurs attendent leurs permis de conduire biométriques." [Accessed 7 Apr. 2015]

_____. 21 June 2012. "Comment obtenir le permis de conduire biométrique?" [Accessed 7 Apr. 2015]

_____. 18 June 2012. "Nicolas Nkan appelle les conducteurs à se procurer rapidement le nouveau permis de conduire." [Accessed 7 Apr. 2015]

_____. 14 March 2012. "Nicolas Nkan explique la procédure à suivre pour obtenir le permis de conduire biométrique." [Accessed 7 Apr. 2015]

_____. 7 March 2012. "RDC : des permis de conduire biométriques disponibles à Kinshasa depuis le début du mois de mars." [Accessed 7 Apr. 2015]

_____. N.d. "À propos." [Accessed 7 Apr. 2015]

Additional Sources Consulted

Oral sources: The following people and organizations were unable to provide information within the time constraints of this Response: Archivist, Le Potentiel; President, CONADEP.

Attempts to contact the following people and organizations within the time constraints were unsuccessful: Democratic Republic of the Congo - Embassy in Bruxelles, Embassy in Ottawa, Embassy in Paris, Embassy in Washington; Fédération automobile de la République démocratique du Congo.

Internet sites, including: Africafil; Belgium - Service public fédéral Mobilité et Transports; Congo Forum; Democratic Republic of the Congo - direction générale de Migration, Embassy in Ottawa, Embassy in Washington, ministère de l'Intérieur, Sécurité, Décentralisation et Affaires coutumières, Sénat; DriverAbroad.com; France - ministère des Affaires étrangères et du Développement international; United Nations - Refworld; United States - Department of State; ville de Kinshasa.

Attachment

Belgium. 4 November 2013. Service public fédéral Mobilité et Transports. Sample of new biometric driver's licence issued in the DRC.