What the UK-EU Trade Deal Means for Your Skiing

In mid-May 2025, the UK and EU jointly announced an agreement on various aspects of trade, defence, migration, and a number of other areas, evolving the UK’s relationship with the bloc following its departure in 2021.

Of particular note was the floating of a youth mobility scheme, something that has been gaining traction in the media in recent months. Seasonal Businesses in Travel (SBiT), a lobbying and support organisation for the outbound winter tourism industry in the UK, has seen this aspect as key to restoring the “traditional” ski season, and has made this a lobbying priority over this past winter and moving forward.

Amongst the fine print, however, there is further good news for British skiers in the acceptance of UK passports at e-gates, as well as a mutual acceptance of qualifications that could be good news for ski instructors training in the UK.

There is some bad news, however; much of this is included in a joint statement of “common understanding”, with very little currently set in stone and many of the details to be worked out later. It remains, however, a positive step forward for UK skiers.

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Youth Mobility Scheme

The new deal allows both sides to, for the first time, properly explore a “youth mobility scheme” for nationals from both sides to live and work temporarily in each other’s states.

Similar schemes already exist for young people from the UK; Australia, New Zealand and Canada regularly welcome thousands of Brits each year discover their amazing countries. It is not uncommon, in fact, for most of the staff manning ski schools or running the lifts at several major Canadian resorts to be Brits, Aussies, or Kiwis. I’ve actually run into someone from my hometown working as a lifty when I was skiing at Whistler!

This actually comes as quite a surprise in the grand scheme of things. The current Labour government has until very recently been incredibly cold on the idea, ruling it out as an option in the last couple of months based on feedback received by SBiT, in contrast to French authorities who have been more receptive to the idea.

As with many features noted here, the details are still to be worked out and it will be some time before this overcomes the various hurdles needed to take effect.

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E-Gates

We’ve all been there. Stepping off the plane at Geneva alongside seemingly every other passenger from outside the Schengen Area that day, to be stuck at the back of the queue for passport control for, at minimum, 90 minutes, texts from transfer drivers getting angrier and angrier and our luggage getting lonelier and lonelier on the carousel.

This agreement should, hopefully, massively speed up passport control for those travelling under a British passport into the Schengen Area – a passport-free travel zone made up of almost all EU and EEA states, and Switzerland.

Here’s the catch – many EU states already allow e-gate use for UK passports, alongside a small handful of “third nation” passports including the USA, New Zealand, Australia and Israel. I have seen them being built at several German airports, and used them myself when travelling through Italy. Your passport still needs its stamp, but this is done immediately following the gates.

Switzerland – of course home to Geneva and Geneva Airport – has not yet rolled out e-gate use for UK nationals; currently EU states are free to choose who can or can't use their e-gates. This agreement will mandate the acceptance of UK passports at e-gates, meaning the Swiss won't be able to hide from this forever!

However, this will only take effect once the new Entry/Exit System (EES) is rolled out, a process that aims to automate passport control for all travellers. The time savings could therefore be minimal and, considering EES has been delayed time and again since about 2023 with any rollout being phased over the course of six months, it is anyone’s guess whether their planned launch date of October 2025 will spare you Geneva's notorious queues next winter ...

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Mutual Recognition of Qualifications

This is a really interesting one that has slipped under the radar of many both within and without the industry. When the UK left the European Union, certain qualifications retained mutual recognition by the EU and UK – but not ski instructor qualifications.

In theory, instructor qualifications are standardised across the EU, with one country’s Level 2 being treated the same as any others. The fact that the French have retained their notoriously tyrannical system effectively barring people from instructing until they hit Level 4 has not gone amiss, but court orders and judicial decisions have been met by a simple gallic shrug at every turn.

BASI – the British Association of Snowsports Instructors – has been hit hard, losing mutual acceptance of its qualifications in its biggest operating environment. Many top-level instructors now choose to switch to Irish qualifications (yes they exist) or ISIA, an international standard of ski instruction that is more widely accepted.

The sands have shifted in recent years, with BASI signing mutual acceptance agreements with their Austrian and Italian counterparts this past season. Again, the fine print is still to be worked out, and there is currently no indication that this will definitely be included, but it marks a serious step in the right direction for the future of British ski instruction.

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Final Thoughts

There are some really good things in this agreement that promise to help every level of British skier, from the seasonnaire to the regular to the instructor. Much of the fine print remains to be agreed upon, but many remain optimistic for serious improvements in the experience of travelling to, living in, and working within, the EU this coming winter.