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IIHF National Championship Eligibility

Players keen to represent Australia at the IIHF World Championships must comply with the qualification requirements:

  • Player must be under the jurisdiction of an IIHF member national association.
  • Player must be a citizen of the country they represent.

In addition to the above, All players with an additional citizenship(s) other than Australian must comply with the eligibility requirements, for details View here

 

INTERNATIONAL TRANSFERS

IMPORTANT: International Transfers must be submitted only when you are ready to play in the New Country. You are no longer eligible to play in your old Federation once the ITC has been approved. For Limited transfers, make sure the expiry date matches your return dates, otherwise, the IIHF standard date (6.06) will be used and a cost of 300 CHF may occur if you require to transfer back earlier.

This information applies to all Federations under IIHF Regulations. As an Australian doing programs overseas, make sure to align with the destination club. They will be in charge of requesting the transfer to their local Federation.  

 

BACKGROUND

As a member of the IIHF, we are bound by their transfer regulations.

  • All overseas-born players competing in IHA-designated competitive leagues who were not already playing in a designated league prior to the 2018 year will require a current IIHF transfer.
  • Any player who has ever had an IIHF transfer will require a current transfer to Australia in order to participate in any designated league.
  • Senior players in non-designated leagues may choose to either a) apply for an IIHF transfer, possibly where the $0 options apply or b) provide a Stat Dec to declare that they have either i) never played elsewhere or ii) they have no outstanding debts or suspensions from other leagues.
  • All under-age players who are not already under the jurisdiction of IHA will require an IIHF transfer which incurs no cost from IIHF.

 

TRANSFER PROCESS

By default, you are considered a member of your birth country and even if you never played hockey, you must apply for a transfer that requires approval from the old country.

Players who wish to relocate between countries known by IIHF as Member National Associations (MNA) must follow the IIHF procedures which are documented in the 2021/22 IIHF Transfer regulations. 

NOTE – All applications must be submitted to your club Secretary. Applications sent directly to IHA cannot be processed.

 

TRANSFER DURATION

  • Either a limited period, after which the player reverts automatically to their old country. Be specific with your start and finish dates otherwise, it defaults to starting as soon as the old country approves via the online system (8 days maximum) until 30 June for the Northern hemisphere or 31 August for the Southern hemisphere. or Unlimited which means they remain a member of the new country until another transfer is processed. Every unlimited application also requires a completed IIHF Unlimited Transfer Request Form (UTRF) to be lodged with the application.

 

TRANSFER AVAILABILITY

  • IIHF have implemented deadlines that stop transfers in the latter part of a season that might otherwise impact upon the balance of any competition. There is no avenue for appeal.
  • From the IIHF regulations:
    •       The Transfer deadline for Northern Hemisphere MNAs is 23.59h (CET) on February 15 of the applicable season. The Transfer deadline for Southern Hemisphere MNAs is 23.59h (CET) on July 31 of the applicable season. Should the deadline date fall on a weekend; the deadline date will become 23.59h (CET) on the Monday immediately following the weekend. The IIHF must receive the       Transfer approval within the System by the Transfer deadline. The IIHF may extend the February 15th deadline in a Winter Olympic year to enable Player movement after that event is complete.

 

TRANSFER COSTS

IHA does not charge a service fee when the application is complete and ready for processing.

All incomplete applications will be returned and may incur a fee of $50 plus GST.

  • For players 18U, the transfer is at zero cost.
  • For players over 18, the IIHF charges a Transfer Fee of 300 CHF (Swiss Francs) paid to the state association when the transfer is approved. (Cost is covered in AUD including GST).
  • There is a “Never Played” clause (11.6) for never registered players or no registration for more than fifteen (15) years. No costs will be charged for the Transfer (See details in The Regulations above)

 

TRANSFER PROCESS

A transfer request begins by applying to join the new country. They will provide the necessary list of information required to process your transfer, and liaise with the old country to complete the transfer.

To expedite the process, it is advised to obtain a letter of release from your old club and state association to be submitted with your request.

The transfer may take up to 8 days once entered into the IIHF system. If you have not received a reply within 2 weeks, then we suggest that you contact the person with whom you lodged the paperwork to request a progress update.

In the case of transfers into Australia, you can expect to receive a copy of the approved transfer paperwork for your records.

 

For incoming players, you need to

  • Complete the IHA Application for an incoming IIHF Transfer v2.5 – Sep 19 (updated September 2019)
  • Provide a copy of your Passport (this will not be retained on file after the transfer is completed)
  • Attach a release from your current club to expedite processing, if available.
  • For a player coming from Hockey Canada, the Hockey Canada transfer form is required.  Note the Club section is completed by the NEW club.
  • For a player coming from USA Hockey, the USA Hockey transfer form is required.  Note the Club section is completed by the NEW club.
  • If an unlimited transfer is being sought, then the IIHF Unlimited Transfer Request Form must be completed.
  • If you are seeking to apply article 9.4, then attach the proof of residency
  • You email the paperwork to your Australian club secretary who will work with the State/AIHL to have your request processed. Each document must be a separate attachment and legible, as a guide this means a minimum size of 200kB per document.
  • IHA will invoice the State/AIHL for all applicable fees.

 

For Australian players coming home early from a limited transfer, the player needs to complete an unlimited transfer to Australia.

  • Complete the IHA Application for an incoming IIHF Transfer v2.5 – Sep 19 (updated September 2019) with copies of their Passport.
  • Attach a release from current club to expedite processing.
  • The IIHF Unlimited Transfer Request Form must be completed.
  • You email the paperwork to your Australian club secretary who will work with the State/AIHL to have your request processed. Each document must be a separate attachment and legible, as a guide this means a minimum size of 200kB per document.
  • IHA will invoice the State/AIHL for all applicable fees.

 

For Australian players coming home for a short period, then returning to your transferred county, the player needs to complete a limited transfer to Australia.

  • Complete the IHA Application for an incoming IIHF Transfer v2.5 – Sep 19 (updated September 2019) with copies of their Passport.
  • You email the paperwork to your Australian club secretary who will work with the State/AIHL to have your request processed. Each document must be a separate attachment and legible, as a guide this means a minimum size of 200kB per document.
  • IHA will invoice the State/AIHL for all applicable fees.

 

Outgoing players will need to work with their new club, who will contact the overseas association who are responsible for the transfer process.

  • Make sure that you specify an end date for the transfer.
  • The overseas country will enter the request into the transfer system.
  • The system will notify IHA who will confirm your eligibility to transfer by contacting your State/AIHL to
    • verify the dates of the transfer
    • name of your current team
    • and will then approve via the online system which will notify the overseas country.
  • At this stage the transfer is complete and you will no longer be allowed to compete in any Australian hockey.

 

WHEN CAN I PLAY?

The transfer process will confirm your eligibility to transfer with your old club which may take some time (up to 8 days remembering that during our season, the northern hemisphere may have their offices closed while they relax after their seasons have completed.)

You will be notified once the transfer has completed by receiving a copy of the approved transfer. At that point, you are able to participate in hockey, provided that you have completed the registration requirements of your new country.

Eligibility for National teams is governed by IIHF regulations explained here.

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