موارد

SPORTSPERSONS AND UK IMMIGRATION REGIME OVERVIEW The UK, as a nation, has a rich socio-sporting culture and history. Sports, unarguably, fit finely into the UK’s service-economy plan. Sport England reported in 2021 that sports contributed over £39Billion to the economy and the Daily Mail also reported that Premier League contributed £7.6 billion to UK’s economy in 2019/2020. This economic uptick may be attributed to existing structure and systems in the UK which support thriving association sports such as the Premier league, National Football League, England, and Wales Cricket etc. This means that-with organised sports existing for over 150 years-athletes and sportspersons of foreign nationality will normally visit or move to UK for sports engagement, activities, or work. However, under the UK immigration regime, a person without right of abode (citizens and commonwealth citizens with lineal link to UK) may not be allowed into UK borders unless entry clearance has been obtained. While some nationals (non-visa nationals) are exempt and can enter the UK without visa, the requirements are different where the purpose is to work as a sportsperson in the UK. Non-visa nationals intending to work as sportspersons in UK would have to obtain a work permit before they could work. Prior to BREXIT-between 1973 and 2020-EU citizens exercised their free movement rights under Articles 20 and 21 of Treaty for the Functioning of European Union to live and work in the UK merely by registration with the Home Office. These rights have now been revoked by Immigration and Social Security Co-ordination (EU Withdrawal) Act 2020 Withdrawal Act. Consequently, all EU citizens and non-EU citizens intending to work as sportspersons in the UK would require permission to do so under the UK immigration Rules. This piece therefore briefly states the applicable routes for obtaining such permission for sportspersons and the implication of the contemporary immigration regime. OPTIONS TO EXPLORE PERMITTED PAID ENGAGEMENT (PPE) A Sportsperson who has been invited by a sports organisation to engage in sports activity in the UK may apply for this niche visit visa (PPE) provided that the duration of stay would not exceed one month. This would be an appropriate route for athletes participating in sports tournament, athletic meets, Commonwealth Games etc. However, it would be unsuitable where the sportsperson wants to live and work in the UK. FAMILY AND OTHER UNRESTRICTED ROUTES Where it is suitable, a sportsperson may explore other options based on their circumstances. For instance, a sportsperson from the EU countries whose mother or spouse lives in the UK can enter the UK with a family permit and subsequently apply for limited leave to remain under the Appendix EU. A spouse of a settled persons in the UK can also enter and work with spouse visa. A person with UK ancestry can use the ancestry visa to work in the UK, including as an athlete. Given the complexity of UK’s immigration framework and work restriction((E.g. investors visa cannot be used for sports-related employment), It is apt to seek advice from competent immigration adviser or solicitor before settling to use any of these options. INTERNATIONAL SPORTSPERSONS VISA Prior to the introduction of the new International Sportspersons visa in October 2021, athletes would either use the old Tier 5 visa for short stay or Tier 2 route for extended stay. The two routes would require obtaining an endorsement from a sport governing body in the UK before an athlete applies for entry clearance-there are different governing bodies for various association sports. With the introduction of the new International Sportsperson route, all athletes can apply either for 12 months or less entry clearance/leave to remain or for more than 12 months entry clearance or leave to remain under the International Sportspersons route. The new route-in essence-is a consolidation of the two previous tier five and tier 2 routes. The core difference between long and short stay application under the new route-as well as under the old Tier system- is that proof of knowledge of English language is not required where the entry clearance or leave is 12 months or less. Strategically, where the athlete has no prior knowledge of English language or would be unable to pass the language test, it would be appropriate to make a 12-month entry clearance application. To avoid falling short of the requirements, it is advisable to seek the advice of a competent immigration adviser or solicitor before applying for international sportsperson visa. ENDORSEMENT CRITERIA AND IMPLICATIONS The new consolidated route still requires the athlete to obtain an endorsement from a relevant governing body in the UK before applying for entry clearance. The endorsement serves a policy purpose and cannot be granted based on the talent and abilities of the athlete alone. Under the endorsement criteria, the athletes must have reached certain heights in their field of endeavour before the relevant sports body would endorse the athlete. Endorsement is anchored on two principles: one, it confirms that a bona fide sports club with legitimate requirements to bring the athlete to the UK is making the application, and two, that the athlete is an internationally established sportsperson at the highest level and/or will make a significant contribution to the development of their sport at the highest level in the UK. Under the Sport Code of Practice, different sports bodies are empowered to set the criteria for satisfying the principle of being ‘internationally established sportspersons’ or one who ’would make significant contribution to the development of their sports in the UK’. The policy purpose the endorsement serves would be better appreciated when the criteria is being applied in real-life situation. The criteria, for instance, for Football Association (FA)England to endorse a footballer who intends to play in the Premier League will include checking where he plays his league football and his club’s position in the league, the minutes he has played for his national team (international appearances), minutes he has played in continental cups such as UEFA competitions, CAF etc. All these factors attract different points across the spectrum. Leagues are categorised in bands: the Premier League, La Liga, Bundesliga, Serie A and League 1 are all in band one. The Portuguese League, Turkish League and English Championship are in band two. All African, North America and Asian leagues are in the last band, which is band six. Brazilian league, Argentinian League, Russian League, and most of the European leagues are staggered between band three and band five. The band the league falls in determines the points allocated to it. A player is required to attain at least fifteen points to merit an endorsement. Playing in band 1, alone, attracts 12 points while playing in band 6 attracts 1 point. This makes it difficult for young talents playing in African leagues, for instance, to easily meet the points unless they could get an uplift from playing in their national team or winning the African league or the CAF cup. For purpose of allotting points for national team appearance, playing in under 17 and under 21 youth football counts. IMPLICATIONS The adoption of point-based system for purpose of endorsement offers the UK the opportunity to land only the best, exposed and experienced talents around the globe to play in the Premier League, Championship, or English Football League. However, this banding system may not be aimed at only sports development, it seems financial and economic reasons might have been considered. It was reported in May 2021 that the Premier League renewed a new TV deal worth £4.8billions. It can be inferred that the attractant for the media companies to the English Premier League would include the diversity, quality of players and level of managers that act in this theatre of wealth. Consequently, viewers are willing to subscribe if they would be entertained by the known and talented stars in the game. The structure, culture, and the system also fuel quality job creations for the citizens and residents in the UK. Further, the Sportsperson route leads to settlement for these superstars and elite managers. Expectedly, they end up acquiring property, spending their accumulated wealth, or investing in the UK economy. For instance, some former players and managers have homes in the UK. In return, the high proceeds accumulated during their playing or managing days are directly or indirectly ploughed back to UK’s economy. The system may appear to be fair, and present equal opportunity for all talented players, but a thorough study of the band system shows that the classification does not enure to the benefits of talents from developing countries. So, it ensures that young players from these developing countries do not access the lucrative sport jobs in the UK unless they have attained much success in their career while young players in western leagues who might not have achieved similar feat, comparatively, could easily be endorsed merely by being an average player in a middle-table team. This implies that the system could be utilised in reaching other policy goals-in this case, immigration control.