Pakistan: Procedures to obtain a driver's license; appearance of driver's licenses (2013-January 2017)

Research Directorate, Immigration and Refugee Board of Canada, Ottawa

1. Procedures to Obtain a Driver's License

In correspondence with the Research Directorate, an official from the Pakistan High Commission in Ottawa indicated, without providing further detail, that the issuance of driver's licenses in Pakistan is handled both by the Pakistan Highways and Motorway Police and by traffic police offices in the provinces (Pakistan 20 Dec. 2016). The website of the Pakistan National Highways and Motorway Police states that the "Drivers Licencing Authority" (DLA) was established in 2014 in Islamabad, and further notes that the DLA "would be extended to the provincial capitals in the next phase and thereafter to the rest of the country" (ibid. n.d.a). Further information on the DLA could not be found among the sources consulted by the Research Directorate within the time constraints of this Response.

1.1 Requirements and Procedures at the National Highways and Motorway Police

The website of the National Highways and Motorway Police indicates that in order to apply for a driver's license from the DLA, applicants must submit the following:

• a valid copy of the Computerized National Identity Card (CNIC);
• a challan (receipt) for 600 Pakistani rupees (PKR) [approximately C$7.67]. For Learner's Driver Permit, the fee is 300 PKR [approximately C$3.84]; and
• a copy of a blood group report (Pakistan n.d.b), issued by a "registered laboratory / hospital" (ibid. n.d.c).

The applicant is also required to bring his or her personal copy of the Highway and Motorway Code Book to the DLA (ibid.). For conversion cases, the applicant must further provide his or her original license (ibid. n.d.b).

The website of the National Highways and Motorway Police provides information regarding the procedures at the DLA to obtain a driver's license in the following paragraph:

After having his or her CNIC verified against the National Documentation and Registration Authority Database (NADRA), the applicant undergoes a medical examination to check vision, hearing, blood presure or "any other deleterious disease." Following the medical test, the applicant provides information on his or her personal data, including address, phone number, email address, blood group, and, if applicable, passport number and details of previous driver's licenses. The applicant also provides the required documentation outlined above. Subsequently, the applicant provides an electronic impression of his or her thumb and an electronic signature. The applicant is also photographed. They must then take a theory test on traffic signs and rules. After a learner period of 42 days, which the applicant is granted upon receiving a pass mark on the theoretical test, a "fresh applicant" must the pass two practical driving tests in order to receive a driver's license. This 42-day learner period does not apply in case of conversion of a license. If the applicant fails either the theoretical or practical tests, he or she can retake the failed test after 14 days. If the applicant fails three attempts at the tests, he or she will have to undergo the entire application process again (ibid.).

The website of the National Highways and Motorway Police also indicates that the minimum age for issuance of a driver's license is 18 years, with the exception of the driver's licenses for a "Light Transport Vehicle (LTV)" (21 years), "Heavy Transport Vehicle (HTV) [and] agricultural and construction machinery" (22 years), and "Public Service Vehicle (PSV)" (23 years) (ibid. n.d.d).

Regarding the validity of driver's licenses, the same source provides the following details:

1. Learner's driving permit of Motorcycle / Motorcar / LTV / HTV / PSV / Tractor (Agriculture) shall be valid for six months, however the applicant can appear for practical driving test after 42 days
2. Learner's driving permit of construction / agriculture machinery shall be valid for one year, however the applicant can appear for practical driving test after six month
3. Foreigners Driving Licence shall be valid for the duration of valid Pakistani Visa
4. International Driving Permit shall be valid for one (01) year
5. All other categories of Driving Licences issued under these Rules other then [sic] PSV licences shall be valid for 5 years
6. PSV Licences shall be valid for three years unless otherwise provided in these Rules, canceled/suspended by the Authority or a competent Court earlier. (ibid. n.d.e)

1.2 Requirements and Procedures in Provinces
1.2.1 Punjab

The website of the Driving License Information Management System (DLIMS) of the province of Punjab indicates that in order to obtain a learner's driving license, an applicant must provide a copy of the CNIC, a fee of 60 PKR [approximately C$0.77], a medical certificate (for candidates aged 50 or older), and obtain a copy of the Code Book of Traffic Rules & Regulation from the Traffic Police Office (Punjab n.d.). The learner's permit is issued on a daily basis and is valid for six months (ibid.). The same source states that the minimum age required to obtain a learner's driving permit for "motor cars," motorcycles and LTVs "(Rikshaw, Taxi, Tractor Commercial)" is 18 years; to obtain a learner's permit for an HTV verhicle, one must be at least 22 years of age (ibid.).

According to the DLIMS website, in order to obtain a permanent driver's license, an applicant must provide an application form, original learner's driving permit "of at least six weeks," a medical certificate, three passport-size, "fresh," "attested" photographs, an "attested" copy of the CNIC, and the fee (ibid.). Additional information could not be found among the sources consulted by the Research Directorate within the time constraints of this Response. A copy of the application form is attached to this Response.

1.2.2 Sindh

A document on the website of the Sindh Police describing the standard operating procedure for the "e-driving license system" indicates that in order to obtain a learner's driver's license, an applicant myst provide two copies of recent photographs, and a copy of a valid CNIC with the original (Sindh Police n.d.). The procedure to obtain the learner's driving license involves filling out application and medical forms available at the reception desk, obtaining a slip of 100 PKR [approximately C$1.25] for the medical fees, and "appear[ing] before [a] doctor for a medical fitness certificate" (ibid.). Once declared fit, the applicant pays the required fee, and "moves to the snap shot counter" (ibid.). According to a fee schedule posted on the Sindh Police website, the cost for a learner's driving license is 100 PKR (ibid. n.d.b.).

According to the same source, the fee for a permanent driver's license for a motor car with 3 year validity is 960 PKR [approximately C$12.06], and one with a 5 year validity is 1260 PKR [approximately C$15.82] (ibid.) To obtain a permanent driver's license, an applicant has to provide two recent photographs, a valid copy of the CNIC with the orignal, and the valid original driver's license (ibid. n.d.a.). The applicant follows the procedures as described above, but following the medical test, he or she must "appear for oral/written tests" and if those are passed, take a "physical driving test" (ibid.). When those tests are passed, the applicant has to pay a fee of 250 PKR [approximately C$3.14] (ibid.). The same source indicates that "the period prescribed to obtain perm[a]nent driving licenses after issuance of learner's driving licenses" is 42 days for cars, motor cycles and "invalid carriage[s]" and 90 days for transport vehicles (ibid.). The "age limit" to obtain a license to drive a private motor vehicle is 18 years; one must be at least 21 years old to drive an LHV; and an applicant must be at least 22 years of age to drive an HTV (ibid.).

Further and corroborating information on driver's licenses in the provinces of Pakistan could not be found among the sources consulted within the time constraints of this Response.

2. Appearance of Driver's Licenses

Without providing further detail, the official at the Pakistan High Commission in Ottawa indicated that driver's licenses "may vary in format" as they are issued either in "electronic card" or in booklet format (Pakistan 20 Dec. 2016). Further and corroborating information could not be found among the sources consulted by the Research Directorate within the time constraints of this Response.

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

Pakistan. 20 December 2016. High Commission in Ottawa. Correspondence from an official to the Research Directorate.

Pakistan. N.d.a. National Highways and Motorway Police. "Drivers Licensing Authority - Introduction." [Accessed 19 Dec. 2016]

Pakistan. N.d.b. National Highways and Motorway Police. "How to Get a Driver's License?" [Accessed 19 Dec. 2016]

Pakistan. N.d.c. National Highways and Motorway Police. "Documents Required for Different Categories of Licenses / Permits." [Accessed 19 Dec. 2016]

Pakistan. N.d.d. National Highways and Motorway Police. "Minimum Age for Issuance of Driver License/Permit." [Accessed 19 Dec. 2016]

Pakistan. N.d.e. National Highways and Motorway Police. "Validity for Different Kinds of Licenses/Permits." [Accessed 19 Dec. 2016]

Punjab. N.d. Driving License Information Management System (DLIMS). "How to Apply." [Accessed 20 Dec. 2016]

Sindh Police. N.d.a. "Standard Operating Procedure Issuance of E-Driving License System." [Accessed 11 Jan. 2017]

Sindh Police. N.d.b. "Driving Lincense Fee Schedule." [Accessed 11 Jan. 2017]

Additional Sources Consulted

Oral sources: Pakistan – National Highways and Motorway Police; Punjab – Police.

Internet sites, including: ecoi.net; EU – European Asylum Support Office; Factiva; IRIN; Keesing Reference Systems; Norway – Landinfo; Punjab – Police; Switzerland – State Secretariat for Migration; UN – Refworld, ReliefWeb; US – Central Intelligence Agency, Department of State, Embassy in Islamabad.

Attachment

Punjab. N.d. "(Form A) From [Section 7 (2) of the Motor Vehicle Ord. 1965]: Form of Application for License to Drive a Motor Vehicle." [Accessed 16 Dec. 2016]