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People often have more than one nationality or move across borders, i.e. emigrate. This article looks at the EU-wide validity and scope of driving licences. For example, a person may have obtained their driving licence in Austria (where it is called a 'steer licence'), but now drive their vehicle in Germany.

This is not a problem, as the 3rd Driving Licence Directive states that you can drive anywhere in the EU without any concerns, provided that the licence was obtained properly and legally.

The problem is that police officers' knowledge may be limited to national police law. They may only be familiar with the laws of their own federal state.
Driving licences issued in another EU Member State are often not recognised, and in some cases are confiscated immediately or lead to criminal proceedings for driving without a licence. The ECJ has already ruled that licences must be recognised within the EU.

Even if an MPU is still pending in the home country, this does not justify refusing to issue a driving licence. Furthermore, a foreign driving licence does not meet the criteria for confiscation under Section 94 of the German Code of Criminal Procedure. This means that, under Section 21 of the German Road Traffic Act, proceedings would be discontinued very quickly. Consequently, legal action is very promising in this case.

To round off the topic and return to Austria, it is worth noting the regulations there and possible differences.

Germany for example, refers to either a criminal or administrative offence when dealing with minor matters. Austria has a separate driving licence law, and an administrative offence is referred to as an administrative violation.

A distinction is made in Austria between the circumstances in which you are caught: not having a driving licence, having an unsuitable one, having your driving licence temporarily revoked, or being banned from driving. In such cases, you can expect to be fined between 363 and 726 euros. However, criminal prosecution is not possible in such cases. The latter is assessed differently in the case of repeat offenders, though. The police may intervene immediately in the aforementioned cases, but not in cases involving a driving licence issued in a different country. As previously mentioned, this is not a valid point.

Source: Pixabay/drivers-license-2534805_1280 (1).