You will love this: Common European Diving Card, mine arrived today

[Aquaboy80]

The rest of Europe the enforcing bodies can not be bothered.

Then why did you get this card if no one is going to bother following it up?

[wilky]

spoke with next doors daughter she is more than in the know regards european matters i told her of the scheme her reply was simple all you need is a A4 size paper and crayons draw a picture of your self in dive gear and sign and date it fold up and place in purse/wallet or pocket when asked for id produce said drawing/ picture to jobsworth.
next doors kid is 6 and in early years school sound advice i thought , maybe we could all do one and place on web or swap em for skills like top trumps , god im bored.
wilky

[CotoChris]

Then why did you get this card if no one is going to bother following it up?

Because there is a remote chance a bored enforcer will crop up and will confiscate all you kit. That happened to me a few years ago with an old system, I got away because I put my English hat on and pretended I was holiday.

Also most centers will not accept residents in Portugal without the card, it's obligatory.

[Dangerous Dave]

Do they have a plonker level for the PADI guys?

No, they just charge them more for same the card

[Aquaboy80]

That's the problem, the Brits always are so goodies goodies and always obey the laws, everyone else shrugs them off!

Actually I think the problem is that the enforcement bodies always obey the laws and follow them up.
The rest of Europe the enforcing bodies can not be bothered.

Because there is a remote chance a bored enforcer will crop up and will confiscate all you kit. That happened to me a few years ago with an old system, I got away because I put my English hat on and pretended I was holiday.

Also most centers will not accept residents in Portugal without the card, it's obligatory.

Without being rude then your first quote (the second half of it!) was utter rubbish. Hence my question for clarification.

Simon.

[CotoChris]

Without being rude then your first quote (the second half of it!) was utter rubbish. Hence my question for clarification.

Simon.

Fair enough, however it seems that enforcement is slacker in parts of Europe than the Uk (especially the Med countries)

[Aquaboy80]

Fair enough, however it seems that enforcement is slacker in parts of Europe than the Uk (especially the Med countries)

Which has to be a plus.......... I hate jobsworths!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

[Redshift]

You shouldn't have started this CotoChris...

Let see if I can make things clear.

In Portugal, until 2007, diving was governed by the Navy. The previous law was from 1968. That meant that the only recognised certification was navy document. And the instructors had to be "national instructors" with courses done in the Navy and the shools had to have their programme approved by the navy. Other interesting things in this old law were that it was ilegal to dive below 40m unless there was a recompression chamber on board, no rebreathers were allowed... In recent more recent times, but before the new legislation, it had been added that only Portuguese and residents in Portugal had to have the navy certification. So if you went there on vaccations you would be fine. Also, diving schools were giving the international card (CMAS, PADI,...) as well so we could dive abroad.

Now when the legislation changed, diving wasn't going to be a navy responsability any more but they insisted that we still had a national card.

At the same time, in Europe, they were regulating diving and trying to get a uniform certification that could be easily recognised anywhere. Because, although here you don't require any certification to dive, many countries do, and if you had a British qualification from the "Go down fast, come up faster" agency and went to dive in Spain how would they know what that was and what your limits were? Although with PADI is very simple, there are many more certification agencies.

So, the Portuguese Sports Institute, who now controls diving, thought that since they had to make a national certification card they would just go for something with the European regulations and that's it.

About CMAS 4*, that level exists in some countries, others don't bother with taht. It's more of a recognition than a certification level.

[CotoChris]

You shouldn't have started this CotoChris...

Let see if I can make things clear.

In Portugal, until 2007, diving was governed by the Navy. The previous law was from 1968. That meant that the only recognised certification was navy document. And the instructors had to be "national instructors" with courses done in the Navy and the shools had to have their programme approved by the navy. Other interesting things in this old law were that it was ilegal to dive below 40m unless there was a recompression chamber on board, no rebreathers were allowed... In recent more recent times, but before the new legislation, it had been added that only Portuguese and residents in Portugal had to have the navy certification. So if you went there on vaccations you would be fine. Also, diving schools were giving the international card (CMAS, PADI,...) as well so we could dive abroad.

Now when the legislation changed, diving wasn't going to be a navy responsability any more but they insisted that we still had a national card.

At the same time, in Europe, they were regulating diving and trying to get a uniform certification that could be easily recognised anywhere. Because, although here you don't require any certification to dive, many countries do, and if you had a British qualification from the "Go down fast, come up faster" agency and went to dive in Spain how would they know what that was and what your limits were? Although with PADI is very simple, there are many more certification agencies.

So, the Portuguese Sports Institute, who now controls diving, thought that since they had to make a national certification card they would just go for something with the European regulations and that's it.

About CMAS 4(, that level exists in some countries, others don't bother with taht. It's more of a recognition than a certification level.

Very well explained. The old system was pants and well outdated. I never bothered getting the 'carnet' and having the cylinders & regs checked at the 'Capitania de Marina'.

[Dyson Diver]

Then there is special black card for

DIR?

with no writting on it ,,, and a blacked out picture ,,, well cool that would be ,, but they would come in a set of three..