Visas: Football

(asked on 4th March 2020) - View Source

Question to the Home Office:

To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what discussions officials in her Department have had with (a) the Scottish Football Association, (b) Scottish Women's Football and (c) the Scottish Women's Premier League on (i) the definition of sportsperson in the Tier 4 visa regulations and (ii) the effect of those regulations on participation in football in Scotland.


Answered by
Kevin Foster Portrait
Kevin Foster
This question was answered on 12th March 2020

Tier 4 visas have restrictions imposed regarding what work can be undertaken during the period leave. One of the conditions of holding a Tier 4 visa is that students must not engage in Professional sport.

The definitions of amateur and professional sports persons contained in the immigration rules were established following full consultation with all our Sports Governing Bodies, including the Scottish Football Association, the representative body for football in Scotland. The Home Office routinely engages with our Sports Governing Bodies and other governmental departments regarding the immigration requirements for professional sport.

The immigration system makes specific provision for professional sportspersons to come to the UK. These provisions seek to strike a balance between enabling UK sports teams to access top class international talent and protecting development opportunities for home grown sportspersons. The minimum standards for each sport are set by our Sports Governing Bodies, in agreement with the Home Office. It is right professional sportspersons below this standard should not be able to pursue such a career in the UK using our employment or study visa routes – including Tier 4.

Genuinely amateur players are already completely free to play sport on a purely amateur basis, whilst they are in the UK.

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