Afghanistan is not a party to international conventions on road traffic, such as the Vienna Convention of 1968 and the Geneva Convention of 1949. This means that national driving licenses issued in Afghanistan may not be recognized in other countries. In normal cases this problem would be solved by an International Driver’s License, but there has been a change of power in Afghanistan and now the Taliban, recognized in many countries as a terrorist movement, have seized power.
Do other countries recognize Afghanistan’s driver’s license?
We have done a lot of work to find a list of relevant countries that would accept driver’s licenses from Afghanistan for driving within these countries, but it turned out that it is not even a question of accepting, but of recognizing driver’s licenses. For example, the Iranian police stated that they do not recognize Afghan driver’s licenses in Iran. Similar problems exist in another neighbor – Pakistan requires special permits and temporary documents for drivers coming from Afghanistan.
Local publications in Afghanistan note that refugees in all countries face the problem of recognizing Afghan driver’s licenses. This results in the inability to legally drive a car, work as a driver, and forces them to obtain a local driver’s license, often with a lengthy procedure and high cost.
Social networks nevertheless note that having a valid Afghan driver’s license in some countries simplifies and speeds up the issuance of local driver’s licenses.
Published March 16, 2025 • 1m to read
