Managed Migration in Club Cricket (Overseas Players)
Back in September 2016, Paul Bedford, National Participation Manager (Leagues and Competitions) for the ECB wrote to clubs advising that the Home Office had spoken to ECB regarding non-European Economic Area (EEA) players entering the UK using the Standard Visitor visa.
He advised that Clubs needed to be aware that the Standard Visitor visa only allows a player to join an amateur team or club to gain experience in a particular sport if they are an ‘Amateur’.
Click here to view a copy of the letter dated 05 September
Click here for the Questions and Answers page
Click here for a Premier League Registration document adaptable for 'control' purposes
It is essential for ECB, and Cricket to comply and continue to have an effective relationship with the Home Office, clubs receiving non-EEA migrants must abide by these rules.
The Home Office definitions below were included in the letter dated 05 September.
A “Professional Sportsperson”, is someone, whether paid or unpaid, who:-
- Is providing services as a sportsperson, playing or coaching in any capacity, at a professional or semi-professional level of sport; or
- Being a person who currently derives, who has in the past derived or seeks in the future to derive, a living from playing or coaching, is providing services as a sportsperson or coach at any level of sport, unless they are doing so as an “Amateur”.
An “Amateur” is a person who engages in a sport or creative activity solely for personal enjoyment and who is not seeking to derive a living from the activity. This also includes a person playing or coaching in a charity game.