How a Bosnian angered Swedes over a driver's license

Since yesterday, refugees in Sweden can drive a car without having to show their driver's license to the police, writes the Swedish newspaper Fria Tider. Namely, as they report, yesterday the local court dismissed the case against a young Bosnian who did not have a driver's license after being stopped by the police, reports the Patria news agency.

The entire case has sparked outrage among Swedish citizens, who greatly respect traffic laws and regulations. However, an unnamed young Bosnian became an exception.

Namely, a 22-year-old citizen of Bosnia and Herzegovina from the town of Kallinge was caught driving a car without a driver's license, after which he was summoned to court. When he appeared before the judge, he told him that he had a driver's license from Bosnia and Herzegovina, but that he had lost it nine months ago when he moved to Sweden.

Although he failed to prove that he had a driver's license in Bosnia and Herzegovina, the Swedish court decided to dismiss all charges because they too could not prove that he did not have a BiH driver's license, reports the Swedish newspaper Fria Tider.

"In practice, this means that newly arrived migrants can drive without a driver's license," writes the aforementioned newspaper.

Inspector Helena Renberg from Karlskrona says she already has 30 similar cases in her small town, reports Radio Sweden.

The situation with the Bosnian has angered many Swedes because, they claim, if one of their citizens had done this, they would have to pay thousands of kronor.

"If a person cannot show or prove that they have a driver's license, they should not drive. After all, Swedish law strictly requires a person to show a document when driving a car," said police officer Stefan Palm from the Blekinge district.

On local forums, Swedes have strongly expressed their anger over this precedent. Osiris, a user of the Flashback forum, stated that under this decision, any immigrant can now drive a car without a driver's license and tell the police officer that they lost it.

"People coming from countries outside the European Union who are not officially registered in Sweden do not need to have a driver's license. Given that the entire registration process in Sweden takes up to two years, during that period refugees and immigrants can drive a car without a driver's license," reports the newspaper Fria Tider, as reported by N1.