Certification Ssi Open Water Dives

[kage65]

I got certified in PADI about 15 years ago. I dove in the pool, and then went to Belize and finished my certification there.

Now my wife wants certification and I want to rectify. The place near us has SSI so I guess I will get a new cert.

The shop said to complete the SSI course, we need to do 4 open water dives. We are thinking of going to Belize. My question is, can we do the 4 open water dives there, as I did when I got my PADI? Or do we have to do these open water dives with them, on their trips? Thanks.

 

[kage65]

Did this not get posted?

 

[pinshootr]

yes with a referral form signed by her instructor

 

[tursiops]

The referral will not be accepted by a PADI shop. So you are best off going to a SSI shop in Belize. There are four, according to the SSI website:

 

[tstormdiver]

The referral will not be accepted by a PADI shop. So you are best off going to a SSI shop in Belize. There are four, according to the SSI website:
View attachment 369578

Not correct. I have many students (I'm SSI) use PADI instructors for their referral. A PADI instructor can take SSI Students, or those on the Universal Referral, However it is not encouraged or supported by PADI. It is left up to the instructor to accept or not accept.

 

[tursiops]

Not correct. I have many students (I'm SSI) use PADI instructors for their referral. A PADI instructor can take SSI Students, or those on the Universal Referral, However it is not encouraged or supported by PADI. It is left up to the instructor to accept or not accept.

Not sure who you are dealing with, but PADI accepts non-PADI students only to become PADI certified, and now requires an additional confined water dive prior to the cert dives. On the other hand, a PADI instructor might accept a non-PADI student under the Universal Referral Program, but is supposed to be registered with the URP in order to do this. I tried to get registered a few years ago, and finally gave up; the program no longer seems to exist and there has been no website since about 2008.

 

[tstormdiver]

Not sure who you are dealing with, but PADI accepts non-PADI students only to become PADI certified, and now requires an additional confined water dive prior to the cert dives. On the other hand, a PADI instructor might accept a non-PADI student under the Universal Referral Program, but is supposed to be registered with the URP in order to do this. I tried to get registered a few years ago, and finally gave up; the program no longer seems to exist and there has been no website since about 2008.

Different instructors mostly all over the Caribbean, but also in other countries. No, the students come back with signed URP referrals to pick up their C-cards.

 

[tursiops]

Different instructors mostly all over the Caribbean, but also in other countries. No, the students come back with signed URP referrals to pick up their C-cards.

Do those signed URP referrals have a URP registration number for the instructor? That's what I cannot seem to obtain.

 

[tstormdiver]

Not sure.... All I report is my name & Instructor #, but it may be because SSI is a member of the URP.

 

[tursiops]

No, I mean the instructor who did the referral; does he provide a URP registration number in the space on the form where it is asked for? Next to his signature?

Actually, I've never seen the SSI referral, so maybe it is not like the URP referral form...in which case one wonders about the consistency and coherence of the program!