It’s my own stupid fault. I was back in Canada in September last year, and knew that my Alberta driver’s license would expire four months later. But I also knew that I could renew it online, from a distance, none of its particulars having changed since the five years prior when I had to do this last. So I let it slide until November, returning to Georgia in the meantime.
Then, I discovered that online wasn’t having it, despite repeated tries. Emailing the office in my home town with my woes, I heard from then them that I could of course solve everything by renewing in person. But I was now on the other side of the world!
An apostilled copy of the license would suffice for me to exchange it for a Georgian one, for a small fee. Great, let’s do that! I found a place in Canada which would do this, sent the fee and details, told them of the urgency, and waited for the precious document to arrive. Which it did, the day AFTER my license expired in mid-January, rendering the apostille useless. I’m still bothering them for a refund.
Now my only choices were, 1: return to Canada to renew the license in person; or 2: go through the relative tortures of taking the tests to acquire a Georgian license. I went for the latter option, as it should be cheaper, and began researching the Georgian licensing process. Thankfully, another foreigner had recently outlined the whole thing in a single helpful online post.
First, the theoretical (written) test. This can only be done elsewhere than Tbilisi. Choose your city! I opted for Rustavi as it’s closest. Next, wait for any second Saturday at 9 am to apply for a precious slot online. I failed several attempts at this, as the few available slots filled up in minutes, before my eyes, while my Georgian bank failed to cooperate in the online process. Time was slipping away.
Finally, I succeeded in getting a Rustavi slot, using my cell phone… for May 1, uncomfortably close to when my wife and I had hoped to return to Svaneti for the summer, with me driving of course. I’ll have one shot. Fail, and it’s off to Canada for me anyway.
Then I went to the site where 1019 multiple-choice questions for the theoretical test are all listed, on some 55 consecutive pages. In English if preferred, though not great in translation quality. I answered each question, doing which not only reveals whether you get it right but also invariably reveals the right answer if you get it wrong. Took a phone photo of EVERY question, and copied them to my laptop too. This took an entire day.
Now “all” I have to do is memorize the correct answers to all 1000-plus questions. Surely there won’t be nearly that many on the actual test! No, indeed. But you’re given a random sampling of 30 questions… and three wrong answers give you a fail. So, learn all 1019 right answers. That’s all you have to do.
Next, sign up (on the morning of the day is fine now) for the practical driving test, once in your theoretical test location and once in Tbilisi itself. Pass both of these, and you’re done. You’ll be well advised to pay for some practice lessons in advance from someone who can tell you perfectly what to expect… never mind that you’ve been a driver for over 40 years. Just bite the bullet and do it. Pass the two tests behind the wheel, and you’re good to go. Assuming you have nerves left over with which to drive at all.
Wish me luck!
Blog by Tony Hanmer
Tony Hanmer has lived in Georgia since 1999, in Svaneti since 2007, and been a weekly writer and photographer for GT since early 2011. He runs the “Svaneti Renaissance” Facebook group, now with over 2000 members, at www.facebook.com/groups/SvanetiRenaissance/
He and his wife also run their own guest house in Etseri: www.facebook.com/hanmer.house.svaneti
