Code 95 for drivers from India

Why European carriers are hiring

Road transport across Europe has been short of professional drivers for years. Many experienced drivers are retiring, fewer young people enter the profession, and carriers increasingly look beyond the EU to fill their cabs. Drivers from India bring what these companies need most: years on heavy vehicles, long working days and the ability to handle demanding routes.

What European employers cannot skip is the legal side. To drive a truck or bus professionally in the EU, you need the right licence category and Code 95, the EU qualification for professional drivers. That is the gap our process closes.

Your Indian licence: the first thing we check

Indian licences use their own vehicle classes — for example transport or heavy vehicle classes, depending on when and where the licence was issued. The EU uses categories such as C, CE and D. These systems do not map one-to-one, and the decision on how a foreign licence is treated in Poland is made by the Polish authorities — not by us and not by the school.

That is why the first step is always the same: send us clear photos of both sides of your licence. If you hold an International Driving Permit, send it too — it lists your entitlements in the international category format, which makes the review easier, although it does not replace it.

Documents to prepare now

• Passport — valid for well beyond your planned stay; renew it first if it expires soon
• Driving licence, both sides, plus an International Driving Permit if you have one
• Proof of experience — letters from employers, salary slips or a certificate from a transport company
• Passport photos that meet the visa requirements
• For official use in Poland, some documents may need a sworn translation into Polish — we tell you which ones

Having these ready shortens everything that follows. Most delays we see are not caused by the course but by an expired passport or a missing document discovered too late. Make sure your name is spelled the same way in every document — different transliterations are a common source of trouble.

The visa route

To train and then work in Poland you need a Polish national visa (type D). We arrange the invitation letter through the partner network of the school. With that letter you apply at the visa application centre used by the Polish consulate for your region in India.

Appointment availability and processing times vary by city and season, so the visa step usually decides how quickly you can start. The decision is made only by the consulate — nobody can promise a visa, and you should be careful with anyone who does.

Read more in our guide to the Polish national visa for drivers.

Training in Warsaw

Which course you take depends on the date your category was first issued. Drivers who held their category before the EU cut-off dates take a short course of 35 hours; everyone else takes the long course with a final exam, around 30 days at the partner school. Details are in our short vs long course guide.

Many courses at the partner school are taught in Russian. Before you book, we confirm in writing which language your course will be held in and what support is available for English speakers.

During your stay the school also organises the medical and psychological tests for professional drivers and helps you apply for your digital tachograph driver card. We help you find accommodation for the course period.

What changes when you drive in Europe

Experienced drivers adapt quickly, but a few differences surprise almost everyone:

• Traffic side. Continental Europe drives on the right. Coming from left-hand traffic in India, the first weeks need extra attention at junctions and roundabouts.
• Strict driving and rest times. EU rules limit daily driving to 9 hours (10 hours twice a week), require a 45-minute break after 4.5 hours of driving and cap driving at 56 hours per week and 90 hours in any two consecutive weeks.
• The tachograph records everything. Your driver card logs driving, breaks and rest. Roadside inspections are frequent, and fines are high.
• Weather. Winter driving on snow and ice is part of the job in large parts of Europe.
• Tolls and city rules. Many countries charge trucks electronically per kilometre, and cities restrict access by weight, emissions or time of day.

The Code 95 training covers these topics in depth — that is part of its purpose.

After the course: finding your job

Once you hold Code 95 and your driver card, we connect you with transport companies we have checked. We match you by licence category, experience and the kind of work you want. Several carriers we work with also hire drivers without previous experience in Europe.

Wages and conditions depend on the country, the employer and the type of route. We show you concrete offers rather than general promises.