I just reached Canada a few days ago, and getting my driving license is one of my top priorities.
From what I have gathered so far, its a straight forward process to get your Ontario Driving License.
Since I have ample driving experience, I am eligible to get a G license, after passing a written and driving test. The written test Handbook for Ontario Driving License is available online.
But before I appear for my written test, I need to get a letter from my home country which validates my driving experience. I need to present this letter along with my Driving License. I have received slightly conflicting information related to get an experience letter for Pakistan Driving License.
How to get Driving License NOC
To get the driving license, NOC from Pakistan. All you have to do is go to the driving license branch with your license and NIC. Take a form for NOC, it’s available very easily outside the driving license branch in Clifton, Karachi. Just fill up the form, sign it and submit it inside. You can ask anyone where to submit the application for NOC. The guy who will take your application will tell you when to come and collect your signed NOC. There is no fee for this and you can get it for Free. Just make sure when you receive the NOC that it is signed and stamped properly.
Some people will tell you that you need to get NOC from Pakistan Embassy here in Canada. But that is not true, your NOC letter from Pakistan works just fine.
Step 1: Give G1 Knowledge Test
As soon as you arrive in Canada, you need to give your G1 knowledge test. All you have to do is visit a Drive Test center near you. Go to the window when it’s your turn and ask them you want to apply for a new license. They will ask for your passport, Driving License and NOC letter which proves you are an experienced driver. Your NOC will have the starting date of your license.
Preparing for G1 knowledge test
The best way to prepare for your G1 knowledge test is to give lots of practice test online. They are available on web and mobile. They even tell you the right answer when you get something wrong with an explanation of the law. I did 10+ practice tests till the time I could get everything right. The test has 2 sections, Road signs and Rules. The signs part is easier, but the Rules part is slightly tricky. If you repeat practice tests enough, you should not have any problem.
At the Test
At the test center you have to give your test in a touch screen computer and as soon as you submit the answer it tells you if you got it correct or not. Just keep an eye on that, you can not get more than 4 wrong in each part of the test. If you fail you can give the test again got $16 but if you prepare you wouldn’t have to do that. I prepared properly and passed my test without getting anything wrong.
After the Test
After you pass, you will have to wait and someone will call your name. Go to the window and they will issue you your G1 license. With your G1 license in hand, you can go home and boot a G road test for yourself and any of the Drive test centers.
Step 2: Book your G Road Test
To book your G road test, visit the drive test website and book your G road test. Currently, G road test waiting times are almost a month. You can not find any dates for appointment. Some people will tell you that join a Driving school they have booked slots and can get you an appointment earlier. But this is not true, I spoke to a few Driving schools and they do not have any booked slots. The only thing they do is, they check for cancelled appointments again and again and if you are lucky they are able to book an earlier appointment. You can check this at home also and find a slot which is available earlier.
I give my G road test in a few days and will update how it went and if I passed or failed 🙂
G Road Test, Ontario
So I gave my G road test a few days ago and passed it pretty comfortably. For road test, do not take a rental car. Call a local driving instructor and ask him to provide a car for your road test. They charge $100-$150 to provide you the car. Also, depending on your experience, book a certain number of hours to practice for your road test. I booked only one hour before the road test, where the instructor took me on the route of the test a few times and told me what things I need to be careful of. You can also search on Google for Road test route with your city name, for example you can see here road test routes for Kitchener Ontario.
The test itself was fairly simple and didn’t take more than 15 minutes. Went through some local roads and on twice in the highway, which included merging, lane change & exit.
My driving instructor was Nitesh and his number is 514-754-0078. He works in Kitchener, Waterloo, Cambridge, Guelph and nearby areas. If you are in Toronto or somewhere else, look on Kijiji and you can easily find a driving instructor.