Hi Guys,
So I would like to set up a Ski School in one of the bigger resorts such as Zermatt or Verbier targeted towards British Clients.
I am from the UK but spend most of the year teaching skiing in the US & NZ.

I would plan on have 3 or 4 instructors to start with including swiss. Obviously I would be able to opperate for 6 months of the year Nov/Dec thru Apr/May.

I plan on working for an already established ski school to start with to gain some expereince of how things with plans to go it alone after a season. I would really like to settle in the one place so spending the summer getting the ski school ready for the next season.

I have just started looking into this and this forums seems to be the best place for information about this sort of thing.

I would appreciate any information you guys couls give me in regards to how to go about this, permits, capital in place, the procedure etc, I'm sure you have seen it all before

Many thanks

::www.revolutionski.co.uk::

I remember talking to someone who did exactly this a couple of years ago. Of course stories can vary from canton to canton, but he had major problems with his work permit renewals. It didn't really matter to the official concerned that he was bringing groups of British tourists onto Swiss slopes to spend their money, and I remember it was a source of constant frustration for him.

I suggest you do all the research on what it takes to start a company, apply for permits yourself, and rather use the forum to ask specific questions about aspects you are unsure of. You'll find a lot of useful information and links to websites here already. Our members have sometimes "seen it all before" but many have got fatigue from "answering it all before". Show that you've done some legwork yourself and I'm sure people will be willing to help you out.

also consider - if you only offer lessons in one language, you are hampering yourself. The local instructors will teach in at least two if not THREE languages. Local, English and the other local language (so figure French and German to be very likely with English)

Yeah, I am planning to have at least 1 local plus my partner speaks german, it's just me who needs to work on it. Both myself and my partner also speak french I am more limited then her.

My gut feel is that you will find a lot of resistance from local interests, that said somewhere like Verbier, may have a more relaxed view.

Earlier in my expat career, I worked in Val d'Isere for a couple of seasons & a couple of guys were practically run out of town as it was felt that they were taking work away from the locals.

I would suggest you get in touch with the local authorities in Verbier etc & ask them directly what is the requirements.

Good luck

P