View Full Version : Diving age in Spain
I was looking through the old forums, and it seems that there is a little bit of confusion about the legal age to dive in Spain.
Well the fact is that the legal age used to be 16, but as from 2005 it has been changed to 14. This is a new and valid law. I have an official bulletin for those of you who wish to have a copy.
Rog.. (Spain)
Adrian Kelland
16-01-2006, 17:38
I was looking through the old forums, and it seems that there is a little bit of confusion about the legal age to dive in Spain.
Well the fact is that the legal age used to be 16, but as from 2005 it has been changed to 14. This is a new and valid law. I have an official bulletin for those of you who wish to have a copy.
Rog.. (Spain)
Rog,
Can you put a copy here or a link to it?
Adrian
I was looking through the old forums, and it seems that there is a little bit of confusion about the legal age to dive in Spain.
Well the fact is that the legal age used to be 16, but as from 2005 it has been changed to 14. This is a new and valid law. I have an official bulletin for those of you who wish to have a copy.
Rog.. (Spain)
Can you confirm your source. I know some areas that have lowered the age,
but this is a regional decree, not national AFAIK.
T.
Alison Boler
16-01-2006, 19:18
Always been a wierd one this because as far as I have experienced (not everywhere I admit!!!) the only operator who actually took ANY notice of whatever the (disputed) law might have said or not said was Los Gigantes in Tenerife. We have dived in many other Spanish locations and never had the kids queried and also seen other kids out diving.
As it was explained to me by a dive centre, unlike the UK where when a new law is introduced the lawmakers go back through law history and make sure it all ties together in a non contradictory way, the tradition in France and Spain is that laws are introduced "on top of one another", so you can easily have a contradiction in place. Plus as Terry has pointed out, in Spain you have national, regional and goodness knows what else law jurisdiction - all possibly contradictory.
There also seems to be a distinction between teaching an age group and allowing that age group to dive. So ok for qualified under 16s to dive, not ok to take them on a course.
I personally operate on the principal that if the majority of commercial enterprises licensed by PADI, SSI etc etc are offering dives to the under 16 there is unlikely to be a problem from the legal standpoint because they would not take the risk of invalidating their professional indemnity. And obviously, check your travel insurance covers you and yours.
Anyway sounds like its heading in the right direction.
allie
Always been a wierd one this because as far as I have experienced (not everywhere I admit!!!) the only operator who actually took ANY notice of whatever the (disputed) law might have said or not said was Los Gigantes in Tenerife. We have dived in many other Spanish locations and never had the kids queried and also seen other kids out diving..................
Allie
Is there a resource for checking minimum ages for diving abroad? If not is this something that would be helpful to members within the Travel site?
I know it would be useful for me but I also know it's not an easy topic to get clear answers on. It ought to be a simple task but I've had fun and games in places like Spain and Malta for example.
Here it is! A copy of the new law written in the official bullitin.
Click on this link to read it. http://www.novojetdiving.com/AppInc/FAQ.php
Is is a scan taken of the B.O.J.A. this morning. It may take a few minutes to view as it is quite large.
B.O.J.A. means the Bolitin Oficial de la Junta de Andalucia. Once a law has been printed in this jurnal it means it is a Spanish Law.
Rog..;)
Here it is! A copy of the new law written in the official bullitin.
Click on this link to read it. http://www.novojetdiving.com/AppInc/FAQ.php
Is is a scan taken of the B.O.J.A. this morning. It may take a few minutes to view as it is quite large.
B.O.J.A. means the Bolitin Oficial de la Junta de Andalucia. Once a law has been printed in this jurnal it means it is a Spanish Law.
Rog..;)
Sorry disagree this is a copy of a the law as adopted by the parliament of
the region of Andulacia.
www.parlamentodeandalucia.es
The benchmark is FEDAS (sort of loose Spanish version of BSAC) limits.
Which have lowered the age, but are currently 12 for Junior 1*
and 14 for ordinary 1*. (Each subsequent level needs an additional year).
www.fedas.es
AFAIK only two regions allow diving in line with FEDAS, Andalucia & Catalunia.
So I'm afraid the website is misleading and the rest of Spain including the
Canaries is still on 16.
TerryH
Excuse me Terry. My web site is not misleading anyone. It is simply a copy of the official bulitin I posted this morning in reply.:rolleyes:
You quote FEDAS as the bench mark. Well look at their web page and you will see that they are in line with what I posted. http://www.fedas.es/index.htm
If you can not read the document don't go pointing malitious fingers at me or anyone els. This is a new National Law.:eek:
Excuse me Terry. My web site is not misleading anyone. It is simply a copy of the official bulitin I posted this morning in reply.:rolleyes:
You quote FEDAS as the bench mark. Well look at their web page and you will see that they are in line with what I posted. http://www.fedas.es/index.htm
If you can not read the document don't go pointing malitious fingers at me or anyone els. This is a new National Law.:eek:
Wasnt meant as an attack or any sort or accusation. I didnt at any time
disagree with the document or that it would'nt apply to Andulacia.
I do still however take issue over whether a law passed in an automonos
regional paraliament has National duristriction. Still, I will be in Spain in a
weeks time and will make a point to check and see if I can find out a
definative central source.
Until then I will just have to disagree with your intepretation.
TerryH
Chris aka divingchef
17-01-2006, 19:47
Gentelmen
Clarification
The Boletin Oficial del Estado is the official source of legal information for Spanish law.
As you are aware there are Autonomous regions with their own laws, (similar to bye laws)
The full law on diving as per BOE is on
http://www.boe.es/g/es/bases_datos/doc.php?coleccion=indilex&id=1997/24978&txtlen=899
Chapter 1, Art 2, Para 3, says that the diver has to hold a current qualification.
There is no age mentioned in this document.
However..............it does go on to say that a valid medical must be held and this has to be issued by a practitioner with an understanding of hypobaric medicine and they might not issue this to a junior!
How things stand in Galicia......wait for it coz this is good !
SCUBA....8 as a Bubblemaker
12 and limited to the depth stated by qualification issuing authority PADI, SSI ect However they strongly recomend 14.
Snorkling........16
Hope this is of help
Chris:cool:
Dear Terry
Sorry if I might have been a little too hasty to defend myself.
Point taken. The B.O.J.A. is for Andalucia as you correctly pointed out. But I have been informed that this law was passed and aproved for the whole of Spain as from the end of last year. I will try and get you a copy of the relevent B.O.E.
Rog..
:)
I have just been on the phone and had a long conversation with Mariano Crespo, who happens to be the technical director for FEDAS in Andalucia.
Here is the mind-blowing information he gave me.
12 for Junior 1*which is not a certificate to dive on normal dives, it is just a training level, and 14 for ordinary 1*, with 14 being the normal recognised age to dive. These new laws are valid for the whole of Spain. However it has not been ratified by every region where it remains 16. Resulting in the following incredible loop hole. If a 14 year old wishes to learn to dive in the Canaries for example "he can't" but if he has been certified in Spain and holds valid insurance, for example he learnt to dive in Andalucia. He "Can Dive". The law states (as Terry kindly pointed out) there is no set age to dive, but the diver must be qualified and insured. So the real answer to the question is not how old must I be, but do I hold a valid Qualification (14 if you are lucky).
Rog..:)
John Speers
18-01-2006, 13:41
Interesting,,,,
My son did his Bubble Maker with PADI when he was 8 in Menorca ( 6 meters, 45 mins) and no one mentioned anything about national laws or minimum age limits. I suppose it depends on the Dive Operator when you are out there.
I suppose it depends on the Dive Operator when you are out there.
Well yes, that seems to be the position but one wonders about the insurance status if the diving taking place is outside the law of the area concerned.
Frankly if something happened to my daughter I don't think the insurance status would be the very first thing on my mind but it's a factor that appears overlooked in all this.
Chris aka divingchef
18-01-2006, 20:11
Disapointing,,,,,thought someone would have asked why 16 is the age for snorkling !!!!:( :(
Chris
SCUBA....8 as a Bubblemaker
12 and limited to the depth stated by qualification issuing authority PADI, SSI ect However they strongly recomend 14.
Snorkling........16
Disapointing,,,,,thought someone would have asked why 16 is the age for snorkling !!!!:( :(
Chris
SCUBA....8 as a Bubblemaker
12 and limited to the depth stated by qualification issuing authority PADI, SSI ect However they strongly recomend 14.
Snorkling........16
I guess someone thinks that snorkelling is more risky than diving?
I guess someone thinks that snorkelling is more risky than diving?
too bleeding right - apparently you can dive a YBOD aged 3 though only after you have hand lit 5 fireworks (/mortars) during a fiesta and let them shoot of from your hand
Ok we seem to have a pretty accurate concensus. Please pick this apart if I've got it wrong.
The National law has no lower age limit, but unless you are a diver with a
certificate, you will need a medical, which may be difficult to get for minors.
However each region has its own local regulations which apply if the above
criteria is not met.
FEDAS the spanish equivilent of BSAC is the benchmark and so expect many
to agree with the 12 years minimum (In practice more likely a PADI Junior OW
course).
So what we now need is accurate clarification of each region. Anybody want
to stick there neck out and confirm any?
Andalucia
Aragon
Asturias
Balearic Islands
Basque Country
Canary Islands
Santa Cruz
Las Palmas
Cantabria
Castile-La-Mancha
Castile and Leon
Catalonia
Extremadura
Galicia
La Rioja
Madrid
Murcia
Navarre
Valencia
TerryH
Chris aka divingchef
19-01-2006, 19:02
Ahhh
Its because as we know here in Spain one cant be seen snorkling without ones BIG speargun, well at least here in the Rias Baixas.
And to own one you must be over 16
well thats the theory ..hee hee
Chris
scuba neil
28-11-2011, 15:30
This law is from 1969 and is in the process of being changed.
most dive centres in spain will take under 16 year olds, especially if they are already qualified. How can you tell a advanced junior diver "you cant dive" if they are already qualified? some of them are better divers than the adults!
The whole of spain is going through a change in dive centre regulations and achieving the correct paperwork.
once this is finalised the age limit should be reviewed and dropped.
This dosent mean that juniors cannot dive or take courses as there are 100's of juniors getting certified each year in spain.
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