Originally Posted by
batgirl1001
Certain countries were recognised to be of equal standards and systems to the NZ standards so hence they need not do more than to convert their license to the NZ driving license. At one point in the regulation, migrants from Asian countries needed only to take the theoretical test and then be able to convert their license. Then somewhere along the line before 2008 the rules were restricted so that migrants from Asians countries needed to take both the theoretical and practical driving tests. The only Asian country given this exception is Japan.
I presume it has to do with the high accident rates among certain Asian migrant drivers that such arbitary sweeping regulations were made.
I have a Singapore license btw, had I known it would be so cumbersome to convert my license, I would have converted it to a Queensland license years ago when I studied in Australia so I wouldn't have been bothered with such a archaic rule. If you don't know already, the Singapore driving license is recognised in both Australia and the UK so there is no need for me to bother with theoretical or practical tests.
Anyway when I enquired with the Police HQ why I did not get an exemption considering that the Singapore system of driving and standards are high and similar to NZ, their response to me was that there was no mutual entreaty agreement between NZ and Singapore that recognises each other's driving standards. So the reason is not because our roads, standards or driving systems are dissimilar but perhaps there is not enough diplomatic relations between Singapore and NZ to warrant such a mutual exchange.
I also found it strange that my Hong Kong license could not be converted to an NZ license whilst one from the US (with a very different system) could be converted with only the payment of money. I asked my driving examiner about it and he stated that the reason was simply the proliferation of fake driving licenses from Hong Kong and other Asian locations.
By the way, I drove myself over for my driving test and no one asked about it.