Three Classes of Foreign Licence, and Which One You Are In Is Decided by a List
Answer
The general rule applies to you
No exception is recorded for citizens of Saint Kitts and Nevis on this topic. That is the answer, not a gap - everything below is the rule you get, unchanged.
98 exceptions recorded across 37 countries · none match Saint Kitts and Nevis to Portugal · Driving and licence exchange
Portugal sorts foreign driving licences into three classes and the difference between them is the whole answer. Licences from the states named under Decreto-Lei n.º 46/2022 - CPLP members and non-EU OECD members that signed a traffic convention or a bilateral agreement - are accepted for driving here even after the holder becomes resident, subject to six conditions including that no more than fifteen years have passed since issue or renewal and that the holder is under sixty. Licences from states that acceded to the traffic conventions or hold a bilateral agreement are good for 185 days from the day after entry and only while the driver has not settled. Licences from states in neither group are not valid to drive on at all, and exchanging one means passing a theory test and a practical test for every category.
At a glance
- If your state is named under Decreto-Lei n.º 46/2022
- You may keep driving on your own licence, even after becoming resident
- Age limit on that class
- Under 60
One of the six conditions on the Agency's page, and nothing to do with nationality.
- Age of the licence
- Not more than 15 years since issue or last renewal
- If your state acceded to a traffic convention
- 185 days from the day after entry, and only as a visitor
- When that 185 days ends
- When you settle - the page ties it to not having fixed residence
- If your state is in neither group
- Not valid to drive on at all
- Exchanging in that case
- A theory test and a practical test for every category you hold
- Which of this corpus is in the first class
- Brazil and Chile
The Agency names the states; Colombia, Costa Rica and Mexico are OECD members and are not among them.
Requirements
- A valid foreign licence that is not seized, suspended, expired or withdrawn
- The minimum Portuguese age for the categories held
- For the named states: no more than fifteen years since issue or last renewal, and a holder under sixty
- For states in neither group: a theory test and a practical test for each category
What applies to you
Nothing changes for a citizen of Saint Kitts and Nevis
We have no rule recorded that treats your citizenship differently here, so the general rule above is the one that applies to you. That is an answer, not a gap.
What the law says
«Para efeitos de circulação em território nacional, são aceites os títulos de condução dos países da OCDE e CPLP, ainda que os condutores sejam residentes, se observarem os seguintes requisitos: - O Estado emissor seja subscritor de uma das convenções de trânsito (Genebra, 1949 e/ou Viena, 1968) ou tenha celebrado acordo bilateral com o Estado Português para reconhecimento de títulos de condução; - Não tenham decorrido mais de 15 anos desde a emissão do titulo de condução estrangeiro ou última renovação; - O titular tenha menos de 60 anos de idade; - O título de condução estrangeiro tem de se encontrar válido; - O condutor tem de ter a idade mínima estabelecida em Portugal para conduzir o(s) veículo(s) da(s) categoria(s) constantes no seu titulo de condução estrangeiro; - O título de condução estrangeiro não se encontre apreendido, suspenso, caducado ou cassado por força de disposição legal, decisão administrativa ou sentença judicial aplicada ao seu titular em Portugal ou no Estado emissor. Observando-se os requisitos acima indicados passará a ser permitida a condução em Portugal com estes títulos de condução, mesmo após os condutores obterem a residência em território nacional.»The whole class, including the sentence that makes it different from everything else: driving stays permitted after the holder becomes resident. The six conditions are cumulative and two of them - fifteen years since issue or renewal, and being under sixty - have nothing to do with nationality.
Read it at the sourceAbout this source
The Portuguese transport regulator's own description of driver licensing, one page per situation, including the three classes of foreign licence and the documents each needs.
Standing: Applies the rule
Cannot be cited for: Guidance, not law: the regulation behind it is the Regulamento da Habilitação Legal para Conduzir, published in the gazette. The site splits a single regime across pages whose landing page carries only a menu, so a fetch of the obvious address returns nothing of substance.
We re-read it every 90 days. More about this source
«Estados membros da CPLP, que são signatários de uma das Convenções de Trânsito (Convenção de 1949 ou de 1968) – Brasil e Cabo Verde; - Estados membros da CPLP, que assinaram acordo bilateral com Portugal – Angola, Cabo Verde, Moçambique e São Tomé e Príncipe; - Estados membros da OCDE que não são membros da EU ou do EEE e que são signatários das convenções de trânsito (Convenção de 1949 ou de 1968) – Austrália, Canada, Chile, República da Coreia, Estados Unidos da América, Islândia, Israel, Japão, Nova Zelândia, Reino Unido, Suíça e Turquia.»The named list. Of this corpus it reaches Brazil and Chile and nobody else - Colombia, Costa Rica and Mexico are members of the OECD and are not on it, so membership of the organisation is not the test the Agency applies.
Read it at the sourceAbout this source
The Portuguese transport regulator's own description of driver licensing, one page per situation, including the three classes of foreign licence and the documents each needs.
Standing: Applies the rule
Cannot be cited for: Guidance, not law: the regulation behind it is the Regulamento da Habilitação Legal para Conduzir, published in the gazette. The site splits a single regime across pages whose landing page carries only a menu, so a fetch of the obvious address returns nothing of substance.
We re-read it every 90 days. More about this source
«Pode conduzir em Portugal com o seu título de condução estrangeiro por um período máximo de 185 dias, contados a partir do dia seguinte à sua entrada no país, desde que ainda não tenha fixado residência (situação de turista).»The middle class: 185 days from the day after entry, and only while the driver has not settled. Becoming resident ends it.
Read it at the sourceAbout this source
The Portuguese transport regulator's own description of driver licensing, one page per situation, including the three classes of foreign licence and the documents each needs.
Standing: Applies the rule
Cannot be cited for: Guidance, not law: the regulation behind it is the Regulamento da Habilitação Legal para Conduzir, published in the gazette. The site splits a single regime across pages whose landing page carries only a menu, so a fetch of the obvious address returns nothing of substance.
We re-read it every 90 days. More about this source
«Não são válidos para conduzir em Portugal. O titular pode requerer a troca por carta de condução portuguesa, mas além de cumprir todos os requisitos aplicáveis, tem de obter aprovação numa prova teórica multimédia e numa prova prática de condução, para cada categoria de que seja titular.»The bottom class: the licence is not valid to drive on at all, and the exchange runs through a theory test and a practical test for every category held.
Read it at the sourceAbout this source
The Portuguese transport regulator's own description of driver licensing, one page per situation, including the three classes of foreign licence and the documents each needs.
Standing: Applies the rule
Cannot be cited for: Guidance, not law: the regulation behind it is the Regulamento da Habilitação Legal para Conduzir, published in the gazette. The site splits a single regime across pages whose landing page carries only a menu, so a fetch of the obvious address returns nothing of substance.
We re-read it every 90 days. More about this source
Practical notes
This is the Agency's own description of the regime, not the regulation. The instrument behind it is the Regulamento da Habilitação Legal para Conduzir as amended by Decreto-Lei n.º 46/2022, whose consolidated text sits inside the gazette application that returns no text to any tool here.
The lists the page links to - states with a bilateral agreement, and states party to the conventions - are separate pages and are not read, so this record can say which class a reader is in only where the Agency names the state.
- administersIMT, licences issued by OECD and CPLP countries
Instituto da Mobilidade e dos Transportes
About this source
The Portuguese transport regulator's own description of driver licensing, one page per situation, including the three classes of foreign licence and the documents each needs.
Standing: Applies the rule
Cannot be cited for: Guidance, not law: the regulation behind it is the Regulamento da Habilitação Legal para Conduzir, published in the gazette. The site splits a single regime across pages whose landing page carries only a menu, so a fetch of the obvious address returns nothing of substance.
We re-read it every 90 days. More about this source
- administersIMT, licences from countries not party to the conventions
Instituto da Mobilidade e dos Transportes
About this source
The Portuguese transport regulator's own description of driver licensing, one page per situation, including the three classes of foreign licence and the documents each needs.
Standing: Applies the rule
Cannot be cited for: Guidance, not law: the regulation behind it is the Regulamento da Habilitação Legal para Conduzir, published in the gazette. The site splits a single regime across pages whose landing page carries only a menu, so a fetch of the obvious address returns nothing of substance.
We re-read it every 90 days. More about this source