Hi Bhowmik, here's the place to be for any information on driving liceneses. I changed my Dutch license to a Suisse license without any problem. Not sure about non European licenses.

Office cantonal des automobiles et de la navigation
Route de Veyrier 86
1227 Carouge GE

Tél. +41 22 388 30 30
http://www.ge.ch/san

Thank you very much Jack

Cheers !!

You need to apply for the licence in the place Jack wrote. Depending on your nationality, they either just give you swill licence(if you are european for example), or they make you take a driving exam. For Turkish people, I know exam is obligatory, don't know about India.And of course, you pay a lot of money, for the exam and the licence ...

keep in mind one thing. swiss dirving license test is very difficult compare to indian one. 

Hi Brad, I am wrecking my brain as to how this video is supposed to help the guy get his driving license. Had it been about a driving test in Switzerland, it would have been a different story. Or is it that you were just looking for some "good-spirited" and "harmless" fun?

Thanks Akshat for the post.

Brad thank you for the guidance. I let Suisse authorities to judge my driving skills.

Hi Bhowmik,

My husband recently exchanged his Indian license for a Swiss one and this is what he has to write:

Hi Bhowmik,

I had been driving in Switzerland for almost a year before going for the conversion. I am legally allowed to use my Indian license for up to a year from my date of arrival in the country and this gave me a good opportunity to get used to driving on the 'wrong' side of the road :-), getting the hang of the priorities on the road (for eg, vehicles coming from the right get priority, but vehicles on the left in a roundabout get priority), getting familiar with the road signage and generally apprreciating that patience and courtesy here do not lead to panic and impatience as would happen back in India.

Though I have a car, a friend informed me never to take the test in it as I would be failed immediately. The examiner always requires a car with a set of pedals on the passenger side and I was advised to go through a driving school. This I did after hunting around and finding an instructor who spoke English. However I also had to do some driving with him (very useful, though I had been driving almost a year) and he gave me some very helpful tips about safe driving which I am sure will also be of help back in India. Each lesson was for 50 minutes. The first lesson cost me 180 chf- 80 for the insurance and 100 for the lesson. I took about 5-6 lessons (each costing a 100 chf) until the instructor was satisfied that I was ready for the exam.

The next step was to go to the Office cantonal des automobiles et de la navigation near Nyon (since I stay in Vaud), submit my Indian license (I had to submit a form I had already filled in along with a passport size photo) and I was issued a temporary license valid in Switzerland and Leichtenstein. I did this in mid-Sept and the temp license was valid till the end of the first week of Jan '14. The instructions on it clearly metioned that within that time I needed to make an appointment for the practical driving test and that once that appointment was made, there could be no cancellation. I made the appointment and on the given date was in the driving school car with the examiner.

I was charged 50 chf for the temp license, 150 chf for the exam and 35 chf for the license in the credit card format.

Remember that since you are exchanging the Indian license for the Swiss one, you only have one chance to pass the practical driving test. Fail it, and you have to go through the whole process just like a Swiss beginner would- and that's expensive and a headache with certain portions of the course only in French.

Good luck with the conversion! And hope this helped. If you want to contact the driving school instructor let me know. He stays in Founex.

Isaac

btw. I would love to see the examiners here negotiating traffic in India-their legs would be permanently on the brake and clutch pedals and their hands plastered to the horn! And probably their heads would be swivelling around negotiating people, cars, trucks, rickshaws, autorickshaws, cows and goats all in the same lane!!!!

Dear Isaac

Your post is really helpful as you have given the details of procedure and the expenses incurred.

Kindly let me know the contact details of the driving school instructor as I am living in Nyon.

Kind Regards

Bhowmik

HI BHOWMIK if you realy know how to drive its just game of 60 min and you have driving licence of swiss. you need to go there and ask for the swiss driving licence. they will give you the date. ah dont forget to get eye sight test from any optician in geneva. it will cost you 20 chf. once you have date 80 % work is done. you need to appear on the date and max 60 min test depnds . and you will have your driving licence from here. just one thing you need to remember you will only one chance if you fail you need to do theory too.. 

gd luck 

haroon

If the examiner sees that you are confident and you know what you are doing, the test can finish in 15 minutes.