Recent update(s):

20 February 2024 | Italy has published new law affecting provision of guiding services. This will have significant impact on professional not established in Italy intended to provide services there. Submitting a ‘prior declaration’ as soon as practical is advised to minimise risk of fine. See ETOA Briefing for more information.

Guiding by EU/EEA/Swiss citizens within the EU

Individuals from EU countries have a general right to provide professional services in other EU countries, subject to the provisions of the Professional Qualifications Directive 2005/36/EC.  

This directive is intended to support cross-border services and the single market; it affects professionals who wish to provide services in other EU/EEA countries, whether permanently or on a temporary and occasional basis and sets out formalities that must be observed if an individual from one country wishes to work, on a temporary and occasional basis, in a country that regulates the specific profession.  

Tour guides providing their services in EU/EEA may be in one of the following three categories: 

      A. Established in an EU/EEA country that does not regulate guiding 
      B. Established in an EU/EEA country that regulates guiding 
      C. Established in a non-EU/EEA country 

Established typically means the country in which individual is registered to pay tax, and/or is a legal resident (whether the individual is a citizen of the country or not). 

Individuals established in an EU/EEA country wishing to provide guiding services on a temporary and occasional basis in another EU/EEA country that regulates guiding may have to make a prior declaration to the competent authority in any country requiring it.  

It is not obligatory for regulating countries to require a prior declaration. In practice, it appears that Italy is the country that pays most attention to this. It is important to note that evidence of making a declaration is a necessary pre-condition for a successful appeal to a fine that has been unjustly imposed. 

The drop-down menu below contains an overview of the 13 countries in the EU regulating tour guiding, further information about the three categories tour guides may be in when providing services in EU and an overview on how the ETOA Tour Guide ID card may assist the individual tour guide in providing their services in Europe. 

Italy 2024

In 2024 we will be monitoring enforcement practice closely given the change in the law explained in this ETOA Briefing. If you are a member of ETOA and one of your contracted guides who is an EU/EEA or Swizz citizen established outside Italy has been fined, the fine can only be opposed if it has not been paid. Please contact tourguide@etoa.org within 48 hours after the fine has been imposed.

Italy – background to a persistent problem

In Italy, the profession of accompagnatore (tour guide, tour manager, tour director etc.) may not include the provision of guiding services. This remains a problem because the definition does not match practice, or market requirements. The duties and expectations of tour guides accompanying cultural tourism groups on multi-day programmes include ‘guiding’ in the form of commentary and guidance on journeys and in destination whose content may cover a range of topics. This role is complementary to the services of local guides typically hired for single services for a half-day or day to deliver formal tours. Increasingly, this role is also complementary to self-guided digital product.

Where tour guides are allowed to provide such services in their EU/EEA/Swiss country of establishment, EU law provides that they must be allowed to provide those services in another country. Host countries are permitted to impose reasonable requirements. For Italy this requirement is to complete a ‘prior declaration’ dichiarazione preventiva and submit it to the Ministry of Culture. The potential penalties of failure to make this declaration have significantly increased. The status of professionals who are not EU/EEA/Swiss citizens (and not established in Italy) is unchanged.

EU countries regulating guiding

A search of the European Commission’s database of regulated professions variants of tour(ist) guide lists 13 countries that regulate a variant of tour(ist) guide (excluding mountain and ski guides). As of March 2021, the following EU states regulate guiding:  

It has come to our attention in March 2021 that the Czech Republic, while not formally regulating guiding, appears to have imposed a requirement to give prior notice before providing temporary and occasional services. We will publish any clarification here.

The EU database listing all regulated professions is available here (enter ‘tourist guide’ as search term: note that some countries might regulate mountain/ski guide, but not tourist guide).

While professional regulation is a ‘national competence’ there can be regional variation. For example, in Spain, Comunidad Autónoma de Andalucía regulates, but other regions do not. 

Furthermore, the description of the profession as well as geographical location where the regulation is applied may vary. In France the regulated activity is described as follows: “to deliver commented visits for groups of people in national museums or monuments”, while a tour guide in Hungary is described as “a person who provides – within the framework of gainful business activities – detailed interpretation at tourist sites and other venues of significant interest to visitors of such sites, and who guides visitors and provides assistance and information with a view to helping in their orientation in a place with which they are unfamiliar”. 

Note that some countries regulate more than one profession that overlaps with the normal services provided by a tour guide, and domestic definitions as to the specific activity vary. An example of this is Italy where both guida turistica and accompagnatore are regulated professions. You can read more about guiding in Italy here. 

Non-EU countries

We do not provide detailed information on guiding regulation on non-EU countries as the Tour Guide ID card is primarily intended to support freedom of service provision within the EU. Post-Brexit, since the UK does not regulate guiding, we do not anticipate any practical difficulties but individuals should be aware that new requirements may be imposed.

As stated in introduction above, For EU/EEA citizens wishing to provide guiding services in the UK, the position is that, while guiding is not formally one of the recognised exceptions in prevailing immigration rules (see Table 5, category 6219), our current understanding is that it will be permitted, but only if guide is contracted by a non-UK entity. In practice, efforts to enforce this are thought unlikely.

Tour guiding in a country that regulates guiding 

As mentioned above, individuals established in an EU/EEA country wishing to provide guiding services on a temporary and occasional basis in an EU/EEA country that regulates guiding may have to make a prior declaration to the competent authority in any country requiring it.  

The individual should either provide proof of relevant qualification in their declaration or assert that they have at least one years’ experience of tour guiding in the last 10. 

Benefit of the ETOA Tour Guide ID card 

The ID card is an evidence of profession. It has proved to be a convenient form of photo-ID that shows the holder is a professional tour guide contracted by an operator to lead tours.  

As such, it can provide reassurance to officials tasked with controlling commercial activity, especially if the holder is established in a country that does not regulate guiding and therefore may not have an accreditation or licence. Wearing a visible badge in a country that regulates guiding has proven to reassure officials that the activity is legal. 

Furthermore, it helps distinguish the holder from an individual offering guiding services directly to visitors without appropriate authorisation, as distinct from providing services on behalf of an operator consequent to a contract made between visitor and operator. 

If you or your contracted guides have applied for an ETOA Tour Guide ID card, an email would have been sent with important multilingual counterpart documents to support the Tour Guide ID card. If you have not received this email, please contact tourguide@etoa.org. 

Tour guiding in the individual’s country of establishment 

Individuals in category B wishing to carry out tour guiding in their country of establishment must meet domestic requirements. For example, if established in Italy, they must have a patentino or risk a fine, regardless of whether the individual is an Italian citizen or not. 

Tour guiding in another country that regulates guiding 

As mentioned above, individuals established in an EU/EEA country wishing to provide guiding services on a temporary and occasional basis in a country that regulates guiding must make a prior declaration to the competent authority in any country requiring it.  

If the country requires a prior declaration, the individual must be able to prove that they have met the domestic regulations of their country of establishment, e.g. have the correct licence for guiding legally in their country of residence. 

Benefit of the ETOA Tour Guide ID card 

The ID card is an evidence of profession. It has proved to be a convenient form of photo-ID that shows the holder is a professional tour guide contracted by an operator to lead tours. Furthermore, it helps distinguish the holder from an individual offering guiding services directly to visitors without appropriate authorisation, as distinct from providing services under a contract already made between visitor and operator. An example of this is the current enforcement focus in Rome on ‘informal’ guides who are offering services on the spot and street trading (unlicensed individuals selling services, tickets etc. direct to consumers). 

While the card has no formal legal significance in relation to professional qualifications for individuals established in a country that regulates guiding, its utility in the respective country also includes practical benefits, e.g. some attractions and other service providers may choose to recognise it and allow free entrance (for example, to a tour guide researching a tour). 

If you or your contracted guides have applied for an ETOA Tour Guide ID card, an email would have been sent with important multilingual counterpart documents to support the Tour Guide ID card. If you have not received this email, please contact tourguide@etoa.org. 

General principles apply to individuals who enter EU, whether on a visa or under a visa waiver scheme,  according to the specific arrangements in place between the individual’s country of establishment and the Schengen or non-Schengen countries in which the professional will provide services.  

Care should be taken not to exceed staying longer than permitted number of days, typically 90 days per 180 days, subjects to above arrangements. 

(Note for UK citizens January 2021 onward: For summary of key restrictions on UK citizens resident in UK providing services in the EU (excepting Ireland), click here. UK citizens legally resident within the EU may provide services in their country of residence without any restriction on duration, subject to domestic requirements if it is a regulating country, but do not have automatic right to provide services in other EU countries.)

Benefit of the ETOA Tour Guide ID card

The ID card is an evidence of profession. It has proved to be a convenient form of photo-ID that shows the holder is a professional tour guide contracted by an operator to lead tours. It also includes practical benefits, e.g. some attractions and other service providers may choose to recognise it and allow free entrance (for example, to a tour guide researching a tour). 

Especially important for tour guides established outside the EU, holding the ID card confirms that the bearer is working as a professional tour guide conducting a closed-circuit tour. It serves as evidence that when accompanying a group, the tour guide is performing this activity as a business visitor, being contracted for a limited period to travel within the EU in order to perform this task.

(Note for UK citizens January 2021 onward: ‘short term business visitor’ is also a technical term within the EU-UK agreement: for more details click here.)

If you or your contracted guides have applied for an ETOA Tour Guide ID card, an email would have been sent with important multilingual counterpart documents to support the Tour Guide ID card. If you have not received this email, please contact tourguide@etoa.org. 

Implications of EU-UK agreement

  • For summary of key restrictions on UK citizens resident in UK providing services in the EU (excepting Ireland), click here.
  • For unofficial ETOA abridged version of the EU-UK agreement focusing on content affecting guiding, click here.

ETOA updates following implementation

22 June 2021 | UK Government published reservations tool listing specific EU member states non-conforming measures to the EU-UK Trade Agreement regarding the supply of tourism and travel related services in destination (the UK has no non-conforming measures for tourism and travel related services). The reservations can also be found in annex 19 (14) and annex 20 (18) of the EU-UK Trade Agreement. For reservations regarding the temporary stay of STBV, CSS and IP, these are listed in annex 21 and 22. Page numbers in the EU-UK Trade Agreement – annex 19 (pages 1340-1345), annex 20 (pages 1494-1495), annex 21 (pages 1583-1585), annex 22 (pages 1614-1615).

12 March 2021 | It has come to our attention that the Czech Republic, while not formally regulating tour guiding according to the EU database, appears to have imposed a requirement to give prior notice before providing temporary and occasional services. We will publish any clarification here.

19 January 2021 | UK citizens wishing to provide services in Switzerland: we now understand that these may only be provided visa free for 90 days per calendar year not per visit. For Swiss citizens to UK, the limit is 12 months in any 24 month period. See ‘UK and Switzerland’ below.

15 January 2021 Impact of Brexit deal on prospects for UK outbound seasonal and temporary services in the EU reported by BBC.

14 January 2021 | Updates on implications of Brexit detailed below in Implications of EU-UK agreement.

Summary

Effective 1st January 2021, following the UK’s departure from the EU subject to the Trade and Cooperation Agreement.

  1. For EU/EEA citizens wishing to provide guiding services in the UK, the position is that, while guiding is not formally one of the recognised exceptions in prevailing immigration rules (see Table 5, category 6219), our current understanding is that it will be permitted, but only if guide is contracted by a non-UK entity. In practice, efforts to enforce this are thought unlikely.
  2. UK citizens wishing to provide guiding services in EU/EEA countries no longer have automatic rights to do so. Depending on what category of visitor they are, their time in the Schengen zone in limited. 
  3. Links here for: official summary and full text

Professional providing services on tours such as guides, translators and subject experts will, according to the agreement, need to fit within one of five categories of visitor: Short Term Business Visitor; Contractual Service Supplier; Independent Professional; Specialist; Translator and Interpreter. The barriers to market are most significant for independent professionals, and there is wide scope for national variation throughout the EU which may change over time.

There will be financial and administrative consequences. If operators conclude that prudent planning may entail wider use of short-term contracts of employment within which individuals deliver services  to fit into the relevant visitor category, this will add cost and complexity. The experience requirements anticipated by the agreement are prejudicial to recruitment of new talent in the UK for service provision in the EU.

For tour guides who are neither EU nor UK citizens, the position is unchanged, but the following should be noted. The EU-UK agreement requires that neither party provide more favourable terms to professionals from third countries than they do to each other’s citizens. It practice, services have been delivered by individuals who entered host countries as if they were leisure visitors. While ETOA can only offer guidance based on what appears to be the formal position, the most conspicuous and easily enforced limitation is duration of stay. Within that, the prospects of official scrutiny once in destination will vary enormously.

In countries where guiding is not a regulated profession, we consider it unlikely that the environment will become hostile to UK and other non-EU professionals. It is an open question whether, in countries that both regulate guiding and have reserved the right to impose a range of requirements on related activity and categories of visitor, the situation may change. The new arrangements have a profound impact not just on tourism but also performing arts and other seasonal activity.

It would be counter-productive for either the EU or the UK to become a hostile space for the myriad international professionals whose temporary presence supports the smooth delivery of tourism services across Europe. Post-Brexit, the risk is that the business environment for cross-border service provision, whose nature and quality is driven by client needs and interests, will be subject to increasing protectionism: consumer interest will be subordinate to market control.

We will continue to analyse the deal’s provisions to prepare an initial impact analysis on services between the EU and the UK, seek further clarification, and publish updates. Our priority is to support cross-border provision of tourism services. Brexit has complicated that, but not made it any less desirable for both source and destination markets in the EU. We are working with partners to explore options that permit activity in the interests of host destinations, industry and professionals of all nationalities who provide temporary services across Europe.

UK and Switzerland

UK citizens wishing to provide services in Switzerland may do so for 90 days per calendar year, so a winter season of over 90 days remains practical. For Swiss citizens to UK, the limit is 12 months in any 24 month period. This is expected to be the case at least for 2021 and 2022. For further details the full text of the agreement is available here. For UK to CH, see Annex 1 Articles 2.1 and 5.1; for CH to UK, Annex 2 Articles 11 or 14.

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