02.11.2021
Reading time: 2 min.
I moved to Germany from Ukraine in March 2020, so I was able to use my driving
license only for half a year. So I applied to driving courses in Emmendingen
instead of ones in Freiburg as they have russian speaking teachers and it was a bit
less tricky to get an appointment there.
Anyway, it took me more than a year (probably w/o Corona it would be a bit faster) to get my new shiny German driver license.
Here is my costs breakdown:
- 20-Nov-12 25.00 EUR Registration fee
- 20-Dec-22 150.00 EUR Contract with Driving school + driving school app access
- 21-Apr-08 65.00 EUR First aid course
- 21-Apr-08 55.00 EUR Translate my Ukrainian driving license at ADAC
- 21-Jul-01 43.90 EUR State fee to issue new driving license
- 21-Sep-23 80.00 EUR Theory exam at TÜV
- 21-Oct-29 80.00 EUR Theory exam at TÜV (I failed my first attempt)
- 21-Nov-22 63.33 EUR Driving lesson
- 21-Dec-01 63.33 EUR Driving lesson
- 21-Dec-02 120 EUR TÜV exam fee
- 21-Dec-02 120 EUR Driving school exam fee
Total: 865.56 EUR
What would I do differently to speed up if I knew everything in advance?
- Get contract with driving school as soon as possible. This is a must to apply for a driving license at authorities.
- Eyes test and driver license translation in parallel.
- First aid course in parallel.
- Good mobile app for theory training is crucial. The app I used sucked.
- Sometimes it’s better to check German original. Example: Kraftfahrzeuge is not the same as translated “транспортные средства”, as this doesn’t include, for example, bicycle.
