Your first 60 days: driving on your home licence
Once you are living in Ontario, including on a study permit, you may drive on a valid licence from your home country for 60 days. If that licence is not in English or French, carry an International Driving Permit alongside it; the IDP must be obtained in your home country before you leave, because it cannot be issued once you are here. Short-term visitors staying under three months can drive on a foreign licence throughout, but a student here for a semester or longer should treat the 60-day rule as the one that applies.
After 60 days you need an Ontario licence to keep driving.
Getting an Ontario licence as a student
Which path you take depends on where your home licence is from.
- Reciprocal country (for example the US, Australia, Great Britain, Ireland, Germany, France, Japan, South Korea, Taiwan): you can exchange your licence for an Ontario one with no road test, at a DriveTest centre with your licence, ID and proof of experience.
- Non-reciprocal country (India, China, Pakistan, Nigeria, the Philippines, most of the world): you take the vision and knowledge tests, earn up to one year of experience credit with an authenticated home licence, then pass the G2 road test, wait 12 months, and pass the G test. The July 2026 rule change explains this in full.
- No licence at all: you start at the G1 like any Ontario learner, with a 12-month wait before the G2 test (8 months with a BDE course).
Bring original identification showing your legal name and date of birth, such as your passport and study permit. The G1 package is $159.75.
Costs a student should plan for
- Government fees: $159.75 for the G1 package, $91.25 for the G road test, $16 per knowledge-test rewrite and $53.75 per G2 retake.
- Lessons: $40 to $60 an hour in the GTA. Experienced drivers typically need 3 to 8 lessons to adjust to what examiners mark; beginners need more. See how many lessons you need.
- A road test package instead of renting a car, since rental companies rarely rent to G1 or young G2 drivers. See what a test car really costs.
- Insurance if you buy a car. New drivers pay high premiums; a BDE certificate and a clean record bring them down over time.
Fitting lessons around classes
Instructors on MrDriver set their own hours, and many teach evenings and weekends. Book by your pickup address, so lessons start from campus or your residence, and use the in-app chat to fix the spot. Practise on the residential streets near campus, and save paid hours for the roads around your DriveTest centre: our centre guides cover Downsview near York University, Metro East and Port Union for the Scarborough campuses, Mississauga for UTM and Sheridan, Oshawa for Ontario Tech and Durham College, and Hamilton for McMaster and Mohawk.
Common mistakes students make
- Assuming the home licence is fine for the whole degree. It is fine for 60 days.
- Arriving without an authentication letter for a non-reciprocal licence, then waiting months for one.
- Booking the road test before a lesson. Examiners mark habits, not skill; an assessment drive first saves a retake.
- Trying to rent a car for the test. Book a road test package instead.
MrDriver is a marketplace, not a driving school. Open the app, enter your pickup address, and compare the licensed instructors who cover your area: their hourly rate, vehicle, service area and lesson length are all shown before you commit to anything. Send a request and most instructors confirm within about 30 minutes. Once the lesson is confirmed, in-app chat opens so you can settle the exact pickup spot, and payment runs securely through Stripe when the lesson is done. There is no membership fee and no booking fee, and you can reschedule up to 24 hours before a lesson without penalty.
Frequently asked questions
Can international students drive in Ontario on a foreign licence?
Yes, for 60 days after taking up residence in Ontario, with an International Driving Permit if the licence is not in English or French. After 60 days you need an Ontario licence.
Do international students need an International Driving Permit?
Only if the home licence is not in English or French, and it must be obtained in the home country before arriving; it cannot be issued in Ontario.
Can a student on a study permit get a G1 in Ontario?
Yes. Bring original identification showing your legal name and date of birth, such as your passport and study permit, pass the vision and knowledge tests, and pay the $159.75 G1 package.
Does my home-country licence count for anything?
From a reciprocal country it can be exchanged outright. From a non-reciprocal country it earns up to one year of experience credit with an authentication letter, which removes the G1 waiting period but not the G2 or G road tests.
How much does it cost a student to get licensed?
Government fees are $159.75 plus $91.25 for the G test. Lessons at $40 to $60 an hour are the variable: 3 to 8 lessons for an experienced driver, more for a beginner.