Sports immigration routes

Sports – Immigration routes

Any UK employer (including professional football clubs) seeking to employ an overseas national who is not a settled worker and who does not otherwise have immigration permission to work in the UK, will need to apply to the Home Office for a sponsor licence. 

Following a successful application for a sponsor licence, a UK football club would then need to comply with the relevant UK Immigration Rules when looking to recruit a player or coach from the EU or elsewhere overseas. In addition, the player or coach would require a governing body endorsement (GBE) from the Football Association in order to gain entry clearance and thereafter employment with a UK football club.

The International Sportsperson visa is for elite sportspersons and qualified sports coaches who are recognised as being at the highest level of their sport internationally. The individual in question will need to be sponsored on a short or long-term contract and have been endorsed by the FA via a GBE.

International Sportsperson visas are available for a period of 12 months or more. We advise clubs on their GBE scoring technology to help streamline international player recruitment for football clubs, providing an important solution for clubs post-Brexit.

Business immigration

Immigration route – Football Players

Once the sponsor licence has been obtained, then a sporting organisation can then look to bring in athletes from overseas.

The main immigration routes available to football players are:

• Standard Visitor
• International Sportsperson
• Permitted Paid Engagement

Anyone coming to undertake/work in sporting activities in the UK, will normally need an International Sportsperson visa. The individual will need to be sponsored on a short or long-term contract and have been endorsed (a GBE) by an appropriate UK sport governing body – i.e. The FA. An example of the most common route- International Sportsperson – is set out below.

International Sportsperson

The International Sportsperson visa is designed for elite sportspersons and qualified sports coaches over the age of 16 who are internationally recognised as being at the highest level of their sport internationally. Applicants need to be sponsored on a short or long-term contract and have been endorsed by an appropriate UK sport governing body.

Your sponsor will be a UK-based sporting body, sports club, events organiser or other organiser operating in the sporting sector and will hold a sports sponsor licence. Agents and overseas-based sports clubs and organisations cannot sponsor workers on the International Sportsperson route

International Sportsperson visas are available for a period of either 12 months or less, or for a period exceeding 12 months. If your International Sportsperson visa application is successful, you will be permitted to work in the job you have been sponsored for. Supplementary employment and study will also be permitted.

Your partner and any children under the age of 18 may accompany you as your dependents. International Sportspersons who have, at any point in the last 5 years, been granted leave as an International Sportsperson for a period exceeding 12 months, can apply for settlement (indefinite leave to remain) in the UK after 5 years’ continuous residence in the UK.

International Sportsperson Visa Processing Times

Most International Sportsperson visa applications are decided within 3 weeks.  It may be possible to secure a faster decision if the visa application centre offers a priority service.

Most applications to extend stay as an International Sportsperson are decided within 8 weeks.

Sponsor Licence Applications

Generally, most football clubs operating in the Premier League and the Championship will have obtained a sponsor licence already. However, each licence type has its own specific requirements. Clubs should note that most EU, EEA and Swiss nationals arriving in the UK since 31 December 2020 now need to be sponsored in order to work in the UK.

A sponsor licence grants permission to a UK club to recruit players and coaches from outside the UK to work for them.

Clubs will need a sponsor licence in order to employ most overseas players and coaches, and this includes both non-EU nationals and most citizens of the EU, Iceland, Liechtenstein, Norway and Switzerland.

How Blaser Mills Law can help

We have experience in international and domestic regulation of football and on various matters involving stakeholders in the game.

We also advise football clubs, agents, and individual players and their families on all aspects of immigration to the UK. Our experience allows us to quickly assess eligibility and to spot issues before they develop into problems.

We are here to help with personal immigration matters including the International Sportsperson visa, Standard Partner/EEA Nationals & Family visas and more. We are also able to assist if you require any advice or help with obtaining a sponsor licence, maintaining a sponsor licence as well as complying with your sponsor duties.

Get in touch with us today on 020 3814 2020 or email enquiries@blasermills.co.uk.