HELSINKI, Jan. 11 (Xinhua) -- Finland will accept driving licences from all countries it recognizes starting from Feb. 1, 2018, Finnish Ministry of Transport and Communication announced on Thursday.

The licences can be used in Finnish territory except the autonomous Aland islands, where a different driving licence legislation is in place.

The validity of licences not issued by EU/EEA countries and other signatories of the Geneva or Vienna Road Traffic convention is restricted to one year use upon arrival in Finland as long as the licence is valid in the country of issue.

Information carried by the foreign licence must be in Latin alphabet or must be accompanied by "a reliable translation" into Finnish, Swedish, Norwegian, Danish, English, German or French.

To prevent "driving licence tourism", it is a qualification that the person's residence is not in Finland at the time of issuing the driver's licence.