STUDENT PERMITS

WHAT’S THE LATEST?

Last season we began to apply for Student Permits for some UK trainees.

This was because trainees from the UK could no longer stay all winter following Brexit – the limit, called the Schengen allowance, was 90 days.

However, if you book an extended course after your BASI 2 with either further performance training or off-piste training, you become eligible for a Student Permit.

Once you have a Student Permit accepted you can stay the duration of your course plus the 90 days mentioned above.

So you can do a whole season.

WHAT ABOUT WORK PERMITS?

Work Permits mean that you can stay longer than the 90 day ‘Schengen Allowance’.

Before Brexit, British trainees could get work permits due to an EU-Swiss agreement. Sadly now we are still waiting for a new UK-Swiss agreement to replace this.

At the time of writing there are rumours that the Swiss are keen to offer work permits to British citizens once again.

But, as with all political exercises, there are delays in complications.

It’s impossible to know fir sure, but we get the feeling it is a matter of when and not if.

Sadly, right now, Work Permits are not available to British trainees – but Student Permits are.

WHAT IF WORK PERMITS COME BACK…?

Crucially if Work Permits come back, the permit office here in Verbier has assured us that you can just stop the Student Permit and apply for a Work Permit.

PLAYING A WAITING GAME…

We waited before we decided to open applications for Student Permits again as we were hoping the UK-Swiss negotiations would bear fruit.

However, with winter fast approaching and negotiations seemingly ‘ongoing’ we decided to start the process again.

So, if you book on a course you will be able to also look into extending that course to allow you to qualify for a Student Permit.

HOW DOES IT WORK?

Put simply if you are enrolled on a full-time ski instructor training course that exceeds 90 days you need some kind of residency permit to stay for it’s duration.

Similarly you cannot apply for a Student Permit if your course is under 90 days.

So we have created a series of options so trainees can bolt-on training and accommodation packages after the main course.

Essentially we will be training you towards the Level 3 standard, either on-piste or off-piste.

WANT TO STAY ALL SEASON?

The great thing about the Student Permit is that you do not use up your 90 Schengen allowance whilst you are on the permit.

So the 90 days are in addition to the course.

That means you can do a full 20 week season if you are on a Student Permit. That’s a lot of skiing.

To find out more look at the Members Area (if you have already booked o your course and have your access code) or you can also find out loads in our other Student Permit blogs…