BY GLYN LLOYD
As 2024’s Summer of Sport draws to a close, Glyn Lloyd, Managing Partner at Newfields, provides an insight into the work and approach of a sport immigration lawyer, drawn from his many years’ experience of working with leading sport governing bodies, clubs, athletes and agents.
Domestically and internationally, the sporting calendar is a very busy one and 2024 has been no exception. Major events have included the Euro 2024 hosted by Germany (a great platform for the #FootballMovesPeople campaign) and the Paris Olympic and Paralympic Games. Each of these events requires the cross-border movement of participants, sponsors and spectators.
The value of sport to the UK economy is not to be underestimated. Statistics published by the Department for Culture, Media and Sport in June 2024 found that the industry contributed £18.1 billion of economic activity to the country’s coffers, as well as supporting over half a million jobs in the UK. Immigration practitioners are key to ensuring international athletes and other personnel have the appropriate permissions to play their respective parts in this important sector. This, however – and like all areas of immigration law – is not without its challenges.
The International Sportsperson
The Immigration Rules relied upon by the sports sector are not particularly complex, and practitioners familiar with the industry often use the International Sportsperson (‘ISP’) category which caters for athletes, coaches and backroom staff who qualify for a Sports Governing Body Endorsement (‘GBE’) having had recent relevant experience at an international and/or elite level in sport. However, not all sportspeople are eligible for a GBE, and practitioners will be required to advise on other routes that enable the engagement of sporting talent (many of whom can become eligible for a GBE whilst in the UK on a non-sportsperson-specific visa).
A club, governing body, or sporting organisation will of course also be shaped and supported in positions that are not sport centric. Our role, as advisors, will therefore involve identifying immigration solutions for senior roles – chairmen, owners, and board directors – to those occupying positions in finance, legal, recruitment, commercial, and general management. We will often also be instructed to advise on routes that accommodate specialist positions: medical officers, team doctors, physiotherapists, chefs, and nutritionists.
Length of contract
Players will almost always find themselves on fixed-term contracts. Those with four-year contracts can only apply for a three-year ISP visa and therefore need to ensure that they continue to qualify for a GBE as part of a fresh UVKI application to cover the balance of the contract. Many clubs will similarly sponsor their sportspeople initially for a period not exceeding 12 months notwithstanding a longer contract that is in place, to avoid delays to a visa process that will arise from having to undertake English language testing. As practitioners, we will therefore be responsible for managing the appropriate permissions to cover the contract (including any subsequent extensions) ensuring the player is always eligible for a GBE (since any UKVI application must be supported by a fresh endorsement), and aligning applications and preparations in very busy leagues that involve national and international travel.
I recall one matter involving a player entering the UK on a one-year ISP visa (to avoid the delays from an English test) based on a two-year contract; he fell out of sorts with the coach during his first season and he was simply not selected for many fixtures which ultimately resulted in him failing to accrue sufficient game time to qualify for a new GBE to support an ISP application to cover the balance of his contract. The contract was ultimately terminated since the player could no longer prove his entitlements to work.
Separately, practitioners will be aware that a settlement application requires a sponsor to confirm the individual will continue to work for the club for the foreseeable future. This provision can be problematic for a number of sportspeople, particularly when they have entered into a contract to join a new club earlier in the season, a not unusual scenario, and one that is normally in the public domain. Players and their prospective clubs therefore often need to be pre-empted on the prospects of securing settlement and in respect of this condition particularly; any risk to settlement means the player will need to consider additional leave (and whether he or she is likely to secure a GBE at that time to support any fresh ISP application).
Year on year, clubs want to bring players to the UK a month before their contracts commence, often for pre-season training. The additional month in the UK can trigger significant additional Home Office costs, particularly when a suite of dependants is also applying with the player. From a regulatory perspective, the additional month encroaches on a different season and may have salary cap considerations.
Amateur v professional
We regularly advise both the governing body and the club in tandem on these matters including, increasingly, the definition of an amateur player compared to that of a professional player. Newfields has recently been instructed to advise on the eligibility of a child (younger than 11 years of age) to play for a semi-professional club. The child has permission as a dependant of a skilled worker (who occupies a senior position at a separate club) and therefore is prohibited from employment as a professional sportsperson. Can we say a ten year old is a professional sportsperson? The views of the governing body and its interpretation of the Rules have been interesting!
Such cases often require the involvement of Private Client colleagues to advise on complex Settlement and British Citizenship matters to enable and/or accelerate the substitution of temporary leave for young Academy players to a permanent immigration status. This collaborative approach is often necessary in sports immigration work as, indeed, is the input from the firm’s dedicated Health Immigration and Business Immigration Teams who assist on specialist health professional and owner/employee matters.
European players
This season, I have seen a small spate of players previously granted pre-settled status in accordance with the EU Settlement Scheme who have since left the UK, either on loan or as a permanent transfer, and now wish to return to the country continuing to rely on that status. It has been interesting to see how such players, who technically should no longer be able to rely on their EUSS status, are treated by UKVI, the clubs and the governing bodies. The approach is currently a very relaxed one but, as lawyers, we must consider the options and be alert to the options in the event UKVI decides an individual should no longer benefit from his or her EUSS status.
Keeping pace with demand – our work in practice
Whilst immigration and mobility practitioners are expected to have an in-depth knowledge of the Rules, our particular value rests in the way we apply the provisions practically to meet the demands set by clubs, and to secure outcomes by selecting routes, biometrics centres and services that ultimately put an individual on the pitch (and registered to play), on the pitch side, or at the stadium, as soon as possible.
The pace of work is like no other sector. All immigration lawyers are of course accustomed to delivering a service to clients located in other jurisdictions and across different time zones. However, in sport, and in my experience, the expectation is to be available any day (including weekends) and to work around flights, medical assessments and training commitments. Sport does not operate a standard 9am-5pm day, as following episode highlights:
At my time of writing (the first draft of) this blog, it is a sunny Sunday afternoon – around 5pm – and I am in my garden. The day before – Saturday – was interrupted at 2pm with an instruction to secure a Permitted Paid Engagement visa for a visa national player based in Italy. The player would need to be at a biometric appointment in Paris on Monday to be in the UK on Tuesday latest for a medical. If the medical was passed, we should secure the ISP as soon as possible (meaning two days at most). On Saturday, between 2pm and 4pm, I gather all information from the agent and submit the application. Just before 10.30pm, both the agent and club confirm they will have the player flown the next morning to Paris for a biometric enrolment. I now book the appointment that evening and, first thing Sunday, prepare and upload all documents, including my legal representations.
That same sunny Sunday afternoon (and whilst writing this blog) I receive a WhatsApp message from another club regarding a player they are already flying to the UK that evening, who will need to play in a midweek friendly on Wednesday (they have already asked for a biometric appointment on Tuesday, without me having received any information at all except for a passport copy).
In the spotlight
Sporting contracts and transfers are often in the public domain. I am sometimes asked about the timing of a press release to publicise the signing of new player or coach since clubs want to be sure the visa is ‘in the bag’. There is very little time for legal disclaimers, and your confidence in the outcome of an application is often put to the test. In other instances, clubs will announce potential signings, including contract extensions, before speaking with their representatives. I find myself reviewing various online sources daily to understand whether an instruction might materialise, so I can ensure I am on the front foot.
The fact your sportsperson applicant is in the media can of course work either way from an immigration perspective. Border officers and caseworkers have sometimes dealt with sportsperson applicants in ways that might not have been anticipated. Take for example a high-profile applicant who has an adverse character; that information will, in most cases, be in the public domain. On a number of occasions our team has had to quickly source criminal records from overseas and from the UK and gather statements from criminal and regulatory practitioners, including other relevant parties, to demonstrate good character and/or to dilute adverse character. The firm has received approved applications surprisingly quickly in respect of certain sportspeople with imperfect characters!
Beyond the Rules
Beyond the Immigration Rules, clubs and governing bodies will, in many cases, expect a more holistic approach from their immigration lawyer, not deeming the job to be complete on receipt of the outcome of an application process, for example:
Registration with governing bodies
We are often involved in communications between the club and the governing body to ensure the sportsperson can in fact be registered lawfully by the latter. We regularly find ourselves advising different audiences (governing bodies, clubs, agents, players) on key principles, including, for example, section 3C and the entitlements and restrictions that subsequently flow.
Covering all bases
We are expected to have knowledge about how contracts are drawn up and applied, the need to accommodate fitness and medical assessments, and both pre-season and international commitments. These are matters unique to the sector that are not necessarily routine in other areas of business. Our role as immigration practitioners is to ensure the routes we advise cover all activities and eventualities within sensitive timeframes.
Outbound visas
Once the UK visa is secured, visas then need to be sourced for countries outside the UK. This is both labour and time intensive, and involves applying for Schengen visas enabling specific sportspeople at UK clubs to visit Europe to participate in European competitions. Due to the way in which the competition is organised (and how the club has performed in that competition), we will often only have one to two weeks’ knowledge of the fixture location.
Changes to visa requirements can significantly affect this work: Ireland’s extension of its visitor visa requirements to South African nationals this summer will have a significant impact for the rugby union clubs we act for.
The process of securing outbound visas is also potentially problematic for individuals who often need to travel inside and outside the UK for professional and international sporting commitments as each application requires their passport to be surrendered. Our rugby union work is primarily focussed on obtaining Schengen, Irish, and South African visas once UK visas have been secured, but more broadly, our outbound visa work has extended to submitting volume applications (up to 120 at one time) to support high-profile visits to Australia, Russia, the US and UAE, requiring managing different visa applications across multiple jurisdictions in a very short time frame, often for the same sportspeople and for numerous clubs.
Practice management issues
Sports immigration also involves a number of unique practice management issues. Beyond ensuring both resource and the wellbeing of a team that works under such intensity to deliver at volume under time-sensitive conditions, there is also the potential for conflicts of interest (in the both the legal and commercial sense). In a number of sports, Newfields represents the governing bodies plus the clubs who are governed by the latter. Maintaining strict confidentiality is vital especially given that we are also dealing with a confined pool of players based in the UK who are spread across different teams competing in the same leagues. We will often deal with the same players from entry and in their individual journeys to settlement, albeit via time spent at different clubs.
We do not operate in a vacuum, and we are very aware that the nature of our work means that the information we deal with is particularly attractive to sources outside of the firm. Ensuring our teams are aware of the professional and regulatory standards is important from the outset and requires appropriate controls and safeguards to prevent a conflict and/or a breach of confidentiality.
Areas for improvement
There are certain systematic issues that require attention and will be common to immigration practitioners regardless of the sector in which they operate. The Home Office’s delay in allocating Certificates of Sponsorship (CoS) is often a source of frustration. Submitting CoS priority requests in its current form is a process that requires immediate review. Like other sponsors, and particularly so in sport, the procedure for escalating a CoS allocation should be simpler, quicker and more sophisticated.
More specifically in sport, as a firm, we act for a number of clubs that engage female sports players. However, for many female players, ISP 18.2 is problematic. The provision requires the sportsperson to be paid a minimum salary of £35,800 per year. In my experience, very few female rugby players earn this salary and will therefore not, unlike their male counterparts, be eligible for settlement under the standard five-year route, simply because they do not earn this salary. This is unfair and discriminatory.
A final word
Working in sport immigration demands knowledge of the game(s) in which you operate, in addition to the regulatory framework – ideally inbound and outbound visa knowledge – within which migrant sportspeople operate. It is a sector that is often characterised by high intensity and a fast pace, but how rewarding it is to sit back in a stand and count the number of players and coaches on or around the pitches and courts who are present as a result of your hard work!
ILPA invites members and other leading experts to contribute articles to its monthly blog. The views expressed in all blog posts are the authors’ own and are not necessarily those of ILPA.
Glyn Lloyd is managing partner and founder of Newfields, a firm which acts largely for sports organisations on UK immigration matters. He has over 17 years’ experience in assisting clubs, governing bodies, athletes and their representatives on all immigration routes. Glyn regularly delivers training for ILPA and is a Co-convenor for ILPA’s South West Working Group.