While moving to Kongsberg, we figured out that owning a car is more or less a necessity. Singapore has a wonderful public transport system and owning a car there could be a luxury, considering the cost of owning and maintaining it. Public transportation in smaller towns like Kongsberg is not frequent or convenient, unless you live close to the town center (Sentrum).
Foreigners are allowed to drive in Norway with a non-EU driver’s license for a maximum period of 3 months (based on current rules). Since our stay is longer, I had to get a Norwegian driving licence (category B), which requires me to go through the same process as a first timer here would do. There are exceptions to license holders from few non EU countries like Japan, Australia, US and so on, who can directly ‘exchange’ to a Norwegian license.
Getting a new license in Norway is a very expensive and time consuming affair. This is what I did:
1. After getting my Norwegian personal ID number (nothing really gets done in Norway before getting this 11 digit number), walked in to the Kongsberg Statens Vegvesen (road transport authority or similar) office and registered for getting a driver’s license. This link gives a lot of general information about the training.
2. Take the theory test. Highly recommended to do some reading on these topics and clearing few practice tests (available online) before taking the actual test. It costs 700 kr for the actual test (+ photo taking). I used the english version of site teoritentamen.no and was quite good. Actual test question pattern was a bit different though! The actual test consists of 45 questions to be answered within 90 minutes. Minimum required number of correct answers if 38. Achievement of the year 2018 – passed the test at first attempt!!! 😇
I came to know later that completion of theory test is not mandatory to start driving lessons. Clearing theory test before the practical test is good enough. Anyways, good to know the rules before hitting the road!
3. Driving School. It is a requirement to complete few mandatory driving lessons (even if you are a Himalayan rally winner) before taking the practical test. Kongsberg Trafikk Skole is the school I chose. Finding instructors with good English speaking skills can be a challenge! It wasn’t a big issue for me – special thanks to my instructor Daniel!
I had to take an evaluation drive with the instructor before they confirmed that I have to take only the mandatory lessons. Driving in this part of the world is definitely different from what I’m used to!
4. Mandatory lessons. Approximately 25 hours of lessons were required which consists of both practical driving lessons and classroom lessons. It was divided into 8 to 10 sessions over 4 weeks. In total, this costs about 25,000 kr (4200 SGD)!!! For each session the instructors have a set of criteria that they evaluate on and provide feedback. Some of the mandatory ones are
- City driving
- Highway driving
- Varied traffic environment driving
- Overtaking
- Night driving
- Driving under slippery conditions (very useful considering winter conditions)
- First aid and road accident procedures
- Risks on the road
5. Practical Driving Test: After all the mandatory lessons were completed, the school helped to book an appointment for the final practical test at Statens Vegvesen. Remember to place a request for ‘English speaking’ evaluator in case you don’t speak Norwegian. Since the test was few weeks after my lessons ended, I was advised to take a ‘practice test’ at the school ($) on the day before actual test. This turned out to be quite useful and I highly recommend this experience before the final test.
For the final test, you need an authorised car to drive, which can be booked at the driving school ($). After the fees for the test (1100 kr) is paid, the evaluator will take you out for the test. The test starts off with a random safety check or maintenance question. I got a question about summer vs winter tyres and minimum tyre tread depth. After that, you will be asked to drive with clear instructions on which way to go. There were no comments / questions while driving except the directions. The test lasted about 20-25 minutes – driving through country road, expressway (E134) and inside Kongsberg town. Test ended with parking the car at Vegvesen office. Outcome of the test and its explanation was immediately informed by the evaluator. Yes, I did PASS on first attempt. 😎
The last item was to pay ($) and order the driving license card and collect the temporary letter which allows you to drive in Norway for a month. The card would be sent within a month to your postal address.
Finally, I received the card after 2 weeks. The drivers license card is one of the two popular photo identification accepted in Norway, other being bank ID card issued for locals. Somehow, I still feel quite strange that it was OK driving to take all these driving lessons and tests.
The whole exercise is very expensive and time consuming. Moreover, all these tests / visits / training sessions are during working hours! The driving school operates only during normal business hours as other offices. So you have to plan accordingly. Thanks to the flexible working culture in Norway.
There wasn’t much information / personal experience like this available when I was looking for the procedure to get a driving license or convert a foreign drivers license in Norway. Hope this helps someone.
Life is a Journey.. 
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