Sports Work Permits
Sports Work Permits
If you are based abroad but want to visit the UK for short periods to undertake sports-related activities, you may be able to come here as a sports visitor. Sportspeople and those working directly with them can visit the UK for a short time to take part in specific events. They can do this without permission to work or applying under the points-based system.
In most instances, a non-EEA sportsperson or coach will need to be sponsored by a club under the Home Office’s Point Based System under either Tier 2 or Tier 5. The club will need to have a Sponsor Licence to be able to sponsor a sportsperson or coach and for most sports, the individual will need to be internationally established and contribute to the ongoing development of sport at the highest level.
Before a club can sponsor a sportsperson or coach under either the Tier 2 or Tier 5 of the Points Based System the individual will need to be endorsed by the Sport’s Governing Body in the UK prior to submission to the Home Office. The individual Sport’s Governing Body determines how internationally established the individual needs to be granted an endorsement to play or coach in the UK for that particular sport. The more popular the sport the more internationally established the individual will need to be.
In some instances a professional or amateur sportsperson or official, and personal or technical staff of the sportsperson or official may be able to enter the UK as a sports visitor, depending on what they will be doing whilst in the UK.
- The player or coach is internationally established at the highest level;
- The player or coach will make a significant contribution to the highest level in the UK
- Post could not be filled by a suitable settled worker.