06 Sep 2018 13:45:27
Hi all. Hope everyone is well.

Was thinking about a couple of players currently unable to obtain work permits Allan, Arroyo ext. How is it that the championship and other lower leagues can have foreign players? How do they qualify for work permits?

Forgive me if this a stupid question.

{Ed002's Note - Do you have particular players in mind?}

1.) 06 Sep 2018
06 Sep 2018 16:24:03
There are plenty of ways to qualify, just like anyone coming to the UK.

Most will of course be from other EU countries with the right to free movement. A large portion of the rest will be naturalised British citizens (or other EU country citizens) even if they do not represent the country that nationalised them e. g. if Sterling had chosen to play for Jamaica, he would still be a naturalized British citizen with the right to live and work here. In some EU countries, they will accept as naturalized citizens people with fairly distant genetic links so this is a surprisingly big group.

Then there are those who are from other countries that the UK has free or relatively free movement between e. g. Canada, where you can work for 2 years with no work permit and will usually be granted a work permit if you can prove consistent skilled employment throughout that time.

And a final small number will qualify for a working visa under the normal conditions required for footballers which Ed002 has previously explained in detail and would be easier to look up than read my ham-fisted explanation.

And there we have it - the many ways that footballers of the world might be allowed to play in the English League structure. don't think I've missed any but happy to be corrected.

2.) 06 Sep 2018
06 Sep 2018 17:20:33
Hjikle, great knowledge, let me pose the question in another way.

Does any reader of these pages ever expect Taiwo Awoniyi, Allan Rodrigues or Anderson Arroyo ever to make a first team appearance for our club? The first two are in their fourth season on our books and are as far away from a work permit as the day they arrived.

3.) 06 Sep 2018
06 Sep 2018 20:30:33
Hjikle that was a good answer and hopefully the op will be able to read Edds comments.

4.) 07 Sep 2018
07 Sep 2018 12:21:25
Hi ed, had a look and examples could be Lusaka of Birmingham or Evandro of hull.

{Ed002's Note - I can't help with Lusaka as I don't know who the player is but checking the Exceptions Panel records it shows Evandro is a Serbian national and was confirmed via the Exceptions Panel based on his playing for senior European sides at the highest level. This was deemed an acceptable proposal from the club. So I still really don't get your point about other divisions - the rules are straightforward and have been revised in recent years.}

5.) 07 Sep 2018
07 Sep 2018 20:17:08
Wasn't trying to make a point just gain a better understanding thanks hjikle. Appreciate the info.