Driver's License in European Union

Question

I am living in German - German Resident.

I am not from Europe, I am from Brazil.

Is there a way to get a driver's license in other European country? So that it is maybe faster and it would still be valid in Germany?

Answer 1

In the EU, you should by default get a license from the country you live in. EU countries are not supposed to let you pass the exam or to issue a license if you are not a resident. Conversely, if you lose your license, it gets stolen or expires, you should apply for a replacement to the authorities of the country where you live, and not from the country where it was originally obtained (if necessary by submitting evidence that you passed the exam elsewhere). That's a general principle defined in the relevant EU directive.

At the same time, EU countries have to recognize driving licenses from other EU countries. So a license from another EU country (e.g. a license obtained before moving to Germany) is in principle valid in Germany or can at least be exchanged easily when it expires. That's another general principle that's valid EU-wide.

Where things become complicated is what happens if you do manage to get a license from another EU country while living in Germany. It's not supposed to happen but in practice, not every country enforces the residence requirement very strictly and legally it's not entirely clear whether it's up to the receiving country to enforce as well. It's a sensitive topic in Germany because it has a particularly stringent penalty point/license cancellation system so that many German citizens try to (ab)use the system to recover a license and there are several court cases about this. I don't remember all the details but you should not presume that you will easily be able to get a license elsewhere and use it in Germany.

Rules for licenses originally obtained outside of the EU (like the Australian license discussed in the comments) are more complicated and vary from one country to the next.