practical guide

I am a foreign national: what do I need to drive for TVDE?

The new law brings two requirements that mainly affect people who came from abroad: a criminal record certificate from the country where you lived, and a check on your functional command of Portuguese. Here is what is required, of whom, when, and what to do.

The short answer

You can still be a TVDE driver in Portugal as a foreign national. Nationality is not, in itself, a requirement at all. What changed is how the IMT verifies two things: your good repute, which now covers convictions abroad, and your functional command of Portuguese, which is now checked inside the training course.

In practice this comes down to one very concrete new documentary requirement, which catches most drivers in the sector, and a language check which, as at the date of this update, is not yet applicable because the implementing regulation defining it has not been published.

The new document: criminal record from the country where you lived

The rule is in Article 11 and it is objective. If you lived outside Portugal for six months or more in the five years before the application, the good repute check now includes producing a criminal record certificate, or equivalent document, issued by the competent authority of the country or countries where you lived. This is not the Portuguese criminal record: it is the one from your country of origin or previous residence, and from every such country if there was more than one.

This applies both to first-time applications for the driver certificate and to renewals. Good repute itself was also broadened: any convictions now count, in Portugal or abroad, by a final judgment or its equivalent in the State of conviction, for acts corresponding under Portuguese law to the offences listed in the law.

No document, no certificate

The law is explicit: failure to produce the certificate or equivalent document, where required and not remedied within the deadline set, blocks the issue or renewal of the TVDE driver certificate. If your renewal is coming up and you have lived abroad in the last five years, start arranging the document now, because issuance in the country of origin, the apostille and the translation take weeks.

How to arrange the document, step by step

The IMT has a duty to obtain the document on its own initiative wherever that is possible, and only asks the applicant when it cannot. Even so, it is worth knowing the route, because in many cases you will be the one arranging it.

1
Check whether the rule covers you
Add up the time you lived outside Portugal in the last five years. If it reaches six months or more, in one country or several, the rule applies to you and you need the document from each of those countries.
2
Wait for the IMT's position
The IMT must obtain the document on its own initiative where it can be obtained from Portuguese services or is already validly held by a public body. Only where that is not possible does it notify you to produce it.
3
Request the document from your country
Contact the competent authority of the country where you lived, or that country's consulate in Portugal. The document equivalent to a criminal record goes by different names depending on the country, and issuing times vary a great deal.
4
Legalise and translate if asked
The law provides for the document to be produced legalised or apostilled and with a certified translation, where that is necessary. The apostille is done in the country issuing the document, not in Portugal.

The Portuguese language check: what the law actually says

One widespread misunderstanding is worth clearing up. The law does not create a standalone language exam, nor does it require a certified level such as A2 or B1. What the new Article 10-A provides is that the training course for TVDE drivers includes a check on functional command of Portuguese appropriate to the activity, and that passing the course now also depends on that check.

The content, criteria and procedures for that check are set by government implementing regulation, and that regulation has not been published. Until it is, there is no way to apply the requirement in practice. A separate point, often confused with this one: the law requires the platform to give passengers the option of choosing a driver who speaks Portuguese.

And those already certified?

Certificates issued under the previous law remain valid until their own expiry date. There is no early revalidation and no automatic loss of certification because of the new language requirement. It is on renewal that the new rules apply, and the renewal application must be submitted six months before the expiry date, depending on good repute and on completing the continuing training course, which is eight hours long.

Practical cases

I arrived from Brazil two years ago and am renewing my certificate. Do I need a Brazilian criminal record?

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Yes, if in the five years before the application you lived in Brazil for six months or more, which is the case here. Renewal is expressly covered by the rule. The IMT will try to obtain the document on its own initiative; if it cannot, it notifies you to produce it, apostilled and with a certified translation if needed.

I am a foreign national but have lived in Portugal for eight years without interruption. Do I need it too?

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No. The rule looks only at the five years before the application. If in that period you did not live outside Portugal for six months or more, you do not have to produce a foreign criminal record. You are subject to the normal good repute check, which the IMT carries out using the Portuguese criminal record.

I do not speak Portuguese well. Will I lose the certificate I already have?

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You do not lose the certificate you already hold: it stays valid until its expiry date. The language check is built into the training course and is a condition for passing it, so the question arises at training and renewal, not retroactively. On top of that, the content and criteria for that check depend on an implementing regulation that has not been published, so today there is not even a way to apply it.

Frequently asked questions

Can a foreign national be a TVDE driver in Portugal?

Yes. Nationality is not a requirement. What is required includes a driving licence held for more than three years with the appropriate endorsement, good repute, a driver certificate issued by the IMT and registration with a licensed electronic platform. What the new law adds is the good repute check covering convictions abroad and the check on functional command of Portuguese inside the course.

Who has to produce a foreign criminal record?

Anyone who has lived outside Portugal for six months or more in the five years before applying for the issue or renewal of the TVDE driver certificate. The document is issued by the competent authority of the country or countries of residence.

Does the IMT arrange the document for me?

Where it can, yes. The law says the IMT obtains it on its own initiative through the available administrative interoperability mechanisms, both for the national criminal record and where the equivalent document is already validly held by a competent public body. Where that is not possible, it notifies you to produce it.

What happens if I cannot get the document in time?

The law is clear: failure to produce it, where required and not remedied within the deadline set, blocks the issue or renewal of the TVDE driver certificate. That is why it is worth starting the process early, especially if your country of origin is slow to issue.

Will I have to sit a Portuguese exam?

It is not a standalone exam. The check on functional command of Portuguese is built into the driver training course and is a condition for passing it. The content, criteria and procedures depend on a government implementing regulation which, as at the date of this update, has not been published.

I hold a taxi driver certificate. Do I need to take the TVDE course?

No. A valid taxi driver certificate issued by the IMT now counts as sufficient title to work as a TVDE driver, exempting the holder from the initial training course and from obtaining the TVDE driver certificate, provided the other requirements are met and they are registered with a licensed platform, with a unique registration number assigned by the IMT.