Swim England
International Permits FAQs
3 March 2017Clubs and individuals who would like to compete, officiate, coach or train overseas need to apply for an International Permit before they travel. We ask clubs to do this to help ensure our members are participating safely in their sport and to comply with Swim England rules.
What do you mean by overseas?
Any country outside Great Britain including Northern Ireland and the Republic of Ireland
What permit should I apply for?
There are four types of permits available. Take a look below to find out which is the right permit for you.
A Team Permit is required if a team at your club is travelling abroad to train or compete. This permit must be completed if the overseas activity forms part of your club training or competition calendar and the club is organising this activity.
Please be aware that travel insurance is not included, therefore, your members and staff will need individual travel insurance for the trip.
You should also make sure that the requirements within Swim England’s Team Manager, Coach, and Chaperone Policy are met for the Permit to be granted.
This permit is aimed at Club Compete members who would like to compete at a particular event overseas and have their results added to www.swimmingresults.org.
You are eligible for this permit if you have organised the itinerary and are travelling independently from your club and coach. Your Swim England member benefits will not extend to cover your activities and so we recommend that you arrange suitable insurance cover.
Please note: parents/guardians would need to adhere to any welfare provisions stated in the event conditions.
This permit should be completed by Club Compete members who plan to represent their overseas club when competing abroad and would like their times to be added to www.swimmingresults.org
This Permit offers yearlong permission and therefore, you would not need to apply for a Permit for every competition.
Please note that your Swim England member benefits won’t cover these activities.
This permit is aimed at officials who have organised the itinerary and are travelling independently from their club to officiate at an overseas event. Your Swim England member benefits will not extend to cover your activities and so we recommend that you arrange suitable insurance cover.
If you are an official who has been appointed by Aquatics GB, European Aquatics or World Aquatics to officiate at an overseas event, you do not need to complete an International Permit. Please speak to the relevant body about what cover is available from them.
Overseas times in to Rankings
International Permits must be approved prior to travel in order for overseas times to be included in Rankings.
If you or members at your club have achieved times at an overseas competition, the results maybe included in British Rankings provided they have been achieved in overseas competitions equivalent in status to meets licenced in England. Please ensure that the overseas competition is being run under World Aquatics rules if you wish for times to be added to the British Rankings system.
In order to get your times added to the system, please complete our ‘Overseas Meet spreadsheet’ (please follow the requested format) and email it to [email protected] (in Excel format) within 28 days of your competition finishing. Make sure you include a link to the competition website which shows your results.
Please be aware that all overseas meets are initially added to British Rankings as Level 3 meets. If you wish the meet to be considered for upgrade to Level 1 or 2, please also submit a copy of the meet conditions with the results, or in advance of the meet. A licence officer can they review the conditions.
Please be aware that you cannot submit times into the British Rankings system if you competed in a pool that is measured in yards.
If you have any further questions about entering overseas times into the British Rankings, please contact the Rankings team via [email protected] or by calling 01509 640700.
How to contact the team
Our team are here to support you through the application process. Please aim to submit forms to [email protected] no later than 6 weeks prior to departure.
If you want to find out more about permits, please ask our virtual assistant at the bottom of this page. Alternatively, you can contact the Customer Services Team on 01509 640700 or email [email protected].