S China’s Hainan issues first temporary driving license for foreigners

South China’s island province of Hainan issued its first temporary driving license for foreigners, allowing applicants to obtain such permits without medical examination.

Mettia Melillo, a tourist from Italy, received his temporary driving permit at Sanya Phoenix International Airport on Thursday, the first such permit issued to a foreigner in Hainan.

“I’m very happy with this new policy, and I will rent a recreational vehicle to travel around Hainan Island for a couple of months and will later start a bakery business in Sanya to treat people here with food of my hometown style,” said Melillo, who has 19 years of driving experience. It only took Melillo five minutes to get the one-year license, after he submitted his inbound and outbound identity documents, his original driving license as well as the translated document, and two one-inch photos.

Melillo said he has made several trips to China, including to Chengdu in Sichuan Province, Shenzhen and Guangzhou in Guangdong Province and Haikou and Sanya in Hainan Province. But he said he was deeply impressed by changes on the tropical island.

“The temporary driver’s permit will make my travel more enjoyable. I am sure my friends will also be happy if they learn the news,” Melillo said. In order to facilitate the travelling and living of foreigners and residents from China’s Hong Kong, Macao and Taiwan in Hainan, the Ministry of Public Security rolled out a policy in a pilot program in July to streamline the driving permit application procedure.

More traffic management service stations will be set up at harbors and ports across the city of Sanya, and online applications will be introduced to facilitate the process of temporary driving permits for foreign visitors, according to the municipal public security bureau.

Source: CGTN                                                                                                                      Update: August 5, 2019