The International Sportsperson route enables licensed sports organisations to sponsor top tier athletes and coaches from overseas to work in the UK.

Key features

• Work: additional part-time employment, voluntary work and study is permitted subject to some restrictions.
• Dependants: the spouse or partner and/or children of International Sportsperson migrants may join or remain with them in UK as dependants. Generally, these individuals may work and study in the UK subject to certain restrictions and all applicable domestic laws and regulations.
• Switching: migrants will now be able to switch from within the UK into this route from most other UK immigration routes.
• Settlement: there is no longer an upper limit on how long individuals can stay in the UK under this category. After five years of continuous residence in the UK, individuals may qualify to apply for settlement.

With an extensive knowledge about the complexities of International Sportsperson applications, our solicitors advise clients from the planning phase through to the athlete or coach’s arrival in the UK.

Fixed fees
We work on a fixed fee basis. Our fees for individual International Sportsperson applications typically range between £4,000 – £6,000 plus VAT and disbursements depending upon the issues, urgencies and complexities involved.

Disbursements
You can expect the main disbursements to include:

• Home Office filing fees (click here for the government’s visa/entry clearance fee calculator and here for a list of all Home Office fees);
• Immigration Health Surcharge fees, if applicable;
• Optional premium service fees for in-country and out-of-country applications; and
• other ancillary disbursements such as UK National Academic Recognition Information Centre (NARIC) fees, biometric enrolment, translations, courier and postage charges, etc.

Dependants
For dependant application fees, please refer to our Dependants section. Dependants typically incur the same disbursements as main applicants.