Now New Immigrants Can Swap for Israeli Driver’s License Without Test

As of Sunday, at least one of the nefarious bureaucratic hurdles that new immigrants must overcome will be a thing of the past: the mandatory driver’s lesson and road test for converting a foreign license to an Israeli one.

A new regulation allows new immigrants to swap their license for an Israeli license, on condition they’ve been driving for at least five years. Previously, one had to undergo the whole, time-consuming, expensive rigamarole, regardless of how much driving experience one had and no matter if one’s record was unblemished by any violations.

Drivers age 40 and older will also no longer be required to retake a vision test every 10 years.

“This is about reducing bureaucracy,” said Transportation Minister Yisrael Katz, who said the new rule would save drivers “precious time and money.”

The KeepOlim organization reportedly played a crucial role in lobbying Knesset members for the changes.