Can I take the NAUI course and do my OWD at a PADI center?

[bianalisa]

Hi all,

I decided to face my fears and give diving a chance!

I signed up last night at a NAUI center, it's the closest dive center to my house.
I planned to do my open water dives for certification while on my honeymoon in Moorea & Bora Bora. Both islands only have PADI dive centers.

If I complete the NAUI course and my instructor gives me a universal referral, can I do my open water dives at the PADI centers and will that enable me to complete my certification? Or do I have to do my open water dives at a NAUI center?

Can someone clarify for me? I would really appreciate it!!

 

[RainPilot]

First, congrats on taking the chance, I hope diving gives you many years of pleasure.

Dive certification is recognised everywhere, however referrals during a course are usually only allowed within the agency. Thus you need to finish with the agency you started with.

My personal recommendation would be to finish the course before you go on honeymoon (again more congrats) and then just go diving while there, takes the stress and pressure of the course off you and you can just have fun.

 

[bianalisa]

First, congrats on taking the chance, I hope diving gives you many years of pleasure.

Dive certification is recognised everywhere, however referrals during a course are only allowed within the agency. Thus you need to finish with the agency you started with.

My personal recommendation would be to finish the course before you go on honeymoon (again more congrats) and then just go diving while there, takes the stress and pressure of the course off you and you can just have fun.

Thanks! I am also considering finishing before the honeymoon, so we can dive together there without any issues.

But I just want to better understand - so what the instructor told me is false? He said he will give me the universal referral, which I can bring for the instructor complete at the PADI center overseas, and then my instructor at the NAUI place will submit it. Sorry if I don't fully make sense, this is all very new lingo to me lol.

 

[RainPilot]

Wow I just learned something new. Indeed there is a universal referral, I would recommend ensuring that your planned location and centre are aware and will accept the form. That being said it seems like you will be able to complete as you asked.

Maybe one of the current NAUI guys can help with info, @cerich , @tbone1004 ?

I still recommend finishing beforehand if at all possible.

 

[bianalisa]

Wow I just learned something new. Indeed there is a universal referral, I would recommend ensuring that your planned location and centre are aware and will accept the form. That being said it seems like you will be able to complete as you asked.

I still recommend finishing beforehand if at all possible.

Thanks so much! I am looking into potentially doing it in Florida so I don't have to worry about it on the honeymoon, and so my husband and I can just dive together there for fun. He's been diving for 17 years, and he's very excited that I decided to take the plunge (pun intended...ha)

 

[RainPilot]

Here's a link to a previous thread from someone in a similar situation to yours:
PADI and Universal Referrals

 

[BoltSnap]

Make sure that you contact the PADI dive center where you will be doing your training dives to ascertain that they would indeed accept the URF from a NAUI instructor and not play games with you including making you go through a full course when you are there and stuck without any other choice. I have had some PADI centers do this to my students in the past who took our URF to complete their certification process. They wanted to make the student pay them more to go through the entire course with them including issuing the certification card, all in complete contradiction with what the URF is all about.

It is always best to complete your entire training program including the certification dives with your original instructor.

 

[BoltSnap]

Note: "Universal Referral" program is very different from a referral program. In the UR program, the instructor doing the training dives is only doing the training dives, signing off on them and stating that you completed the requirements successfully and then you take his signed form back to the originating instructor who will in turn issue you your certification card (NAUI Card).

 

[bianalisa]

Make sure that you contact the PADI dive center where you will be doing your training dives to ascertain that they would indeed accept the URF from a NAUI instructor and not play games with you including making you go through a full course when you are there and stuck without any other choice. I have had some PADI centers do this to my students in the past who took our URF to complete their certification process. They wanted to make the student pay them more to go through the entire course with them including the final certification card issues, all in complete contradiction with what the URF is all about.

It is always best to complete your entire training program including the certification dives with your original instructor.

Great point - I will definitely reach out! Thank you for the great advice!

 

[Sevenrider860]

Is the Universal Referral Program still active? The thread referenced by RainPilot is from 2004. I looked up information and I found that and article that stated "PADI instructors should register with a Universal Referral Program member organization as a URP instructor." This article was from 2003. The link provided was www.UniversalReferral.com which is for now sale.

If anybody can provide updated and current information for this program I would appreciate it. See a mention on the NAUI website and it also states "PADI Instructors and facilities can also receive students and be registered as Referral Instructors and Locations under the Universal Referral Program." If the program is still active, how does one register?