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Yes, if you're going to DETRAN and obtaining a Driver's Licence based on your Canadian DL, then DETRAN is going to retain your Canadian Driver's License. This is exactly the same thing that happens in any Canadian province when a foreign national does the same. What's so unusual about that? 

If you are that determined to retain you Canadian DL then you'll have to go through the entire process as if you were a first time licensee. That means enrolling in an approved Auto Escola for the complete course, having the required physical, psycological and vision exams by the authorized practitioners and passing your written and road tests. That's going to require a fairly decent command of Portuguese since the Driver Training Manual, all the courses and the written test are in Portuguese. The written test is multiple choice so there is a lot of reading to be done and you'll stand a much greater chance of not passing it unless you're relatively fluent and don't understand the questions clearly.

Just as a side note, while you're worrying about being able to keep your Canadian DL you should know it for some reason the Motor Vehicle Branch / License Bureau of your province ever notifies you to take a physical exam (they do randomly) they specify a time, and they don't take no for an answer. They also don't accept that you're out of the country either and you can't take an exam here. They simply CANCEL your Driver's License. I passed through this situation myself, held a Class 2 and got notified to take a physical. They wouldn't even let me keep a Class 5, they just voided the DL completely.

Also as far as I am aware, it is illegal in every Canadian province to hold more than one valid Driver's License, they make no distinction whether that be from another province or country. If they were to find out you hold a Brazilian license that could present serious problems for you too. By law if you reside in Brazil permanently (i.e. hold a permanent visa) or you're in Brazil for more than 180 days you are required to have a Brazilian Carteira Nacional de Habilitação.

Cheers,
James      Expat-blog Experts Team

Thanks for the thorough answer!  I wasn't aware of all that. sigh.  Guess I have to reconsider.

They didn't retained mine , I did this process here in Brazil and now I have the european and the brazilian driving licence.

Looks like you got lucky, because DETRAN is supposed to retain your existing DL. Count your blessings.

If I have my class 7 or 5 (Canadian). I can just apply for the same qualification of class and get  a Brazilian DL? What is the process of that in Sao Paulo? Thanks

I'm not sure of exactly how DETRAN handles the Driver's License exchange, but I believe that you can only trade whatever license you have for a regular passenger vehicle license (perhaps also motorcycles), but certainly not any professional driver's licenses such as semi-trucks, buses, taxis, etc.

Cheers,
James    Expat-blog Experts Team

The other way round ... I got CNH from Detran I they didnt take my EU driving license btu it got expired afetrwards in a month or so. Will I get a new driving license in EU using CNH?

They did not take my American driver's license when I got my Brazilian license either in 1981 nor when I returned, in 2004!

They didn't start retaining the License until a couple years ago. I saw the written law somewhere. Driving on a Brazilian license isn't a problem anywhere in USA, I would imagine it would be accepted in Canada also.

They didn't retain mine too. I made the transfert in Fortaleza/CE 6 months ago. So the luck factor is still at play.

I never did get the Brazilian license, as when I inquired of the process at the Detran in Ceará they told me my U.S. license was valid until it expired.

travelr64 wrote:

I never did get the Brazilian license, as when I inquired of the process at the Detran in Ceará they told me my U.S. license was valid until it expired.

Actually, they gave you completely incorrect information. You may drive in Brazil using your existing Driver's License for a maximum of 183 days. If you are in the country any longer than that your are required to obtain a Brazilian CNH (Carteira Nacional de Habilitação).

Cheers,
James
expat.com Experts Team

So, if I go to the detran, and they refuse to do the deal, how am I supposed to get them to change their minds?  It was my understanding that every state administers their own program.  Do you suppose I need to travel to Fortaleza?

While DETRAN is a state run agency, they all have to abide by the DENATRAN (Departamento Nacional de Transito) and CONTRAN (Conselho Nacional de Transito) legislation.

Since most of the employees of DETRAN are more concerned about the issuing and paying of fines, they're not always up to date on licensing regulations, unfortunately. It's like everything else in this country (like immigration) half of the people haven't the first clue about what they're doing. They have enough trouble handling licensing of Brazilian citizens, let alone dealing with the much more complex issues of licensing expats.

The original poster (a Canadian), this is for you. Check out the Criminal Code of Canada and the Motor Vehicle Act or Highway Traffic Act of the province that issued your DL. I'm sure you'll find in one or the other (perhaps even both) you will find that possession of two valid Driver's Licenses is considered a criminal offense. If you had two it would be impossible to keep someone off the road by suspending their license. Also if you go into the Department of Motor Vehicles in any Canadian province to exchange a foreign DL they all retain the foreign DL as part of the process.

Cheers,
James
expat.com Experts Team