Netballers Navigating the UK Immigration System

Against the backdrop of England’s first-ever netball win against Australia, silver medal in the Netball World Cup in South Africa and the 2022 Commonwealth Games taking place in the UK, it has never been a more appropriate time to consider how international netball players navigate the UK immigration system to participate in these and other competitions, such as the Netball Super League.

Individual Events

For one-off events such as the Netball World Cup and Commonwealth Games, netball players requiring a visa may be able to apply under a sub-category of the Visit visa, which allows sportspeople (and accompanying staff) to travel to the UK for permitted sporting activities for up to six months. A player would be able to participate in these types of events in the UK if invited by a UK sports organisation, agent or broadcaster.

Non-visa nationals (such as members of the Australian netball team) are not required to apply for a Visit visa in advance and may enter as a visitor at the UK border.

All players entering the UK as a visitor must meet the visa requirements, which include demonstrating sufficient funds to support themselves for the duration of their stay and an intention to leave the UK after the event has occurred.

Ongoing Competitions

For ongoing competitions such as the Netball Super League, when players are required to relocate to the UK to play for a UK-based netball team on a longer-term basis, a Visit visa will not suffice. Instead, the player must obtain an International Sportsperson visa.

Aside from Australia and New Zealand, the UK is considered to play one of the highest standards of netball in the world. As such, many foreign netball players aspire to play in the UK’s Netball Super League.

These tend to be individuals from countries whose national teams participate in the Netball World Cup, such as Zanele Vimbela and Lenize Potgieter from South Africa, who currently play for Loughborough Lightning and Manchester Thunder respectively. As the standard of netball in Australia and New Zealand is considered the best in the world, it is more unusual for players to travel from Australia or New Zealand to play in the UK, but Lisa Mather, a New Zealand national who has recently re-signed for Saracens Mavericks, is an exception.

The International Sportsperson visa allows elite players and coaches to work in the UK, provided they hold endorsement from their sport’s governing body. Each governing body sets its own criteria to be met to obtain endorsement.

Endorsements

For professional netball players in England, governing body endorsement (GBE) is issued by England Netball. Wales, Scotland and Northern Ireland each have their own governing body for netball.

In order to receive endorsement from England Netball, the player must meet the following criteria:

1. They must have played in at least one competitive game for one of the top 12 international teams in the three years preceding the date of the application. ‘Competitive games’ include:
   1. Commonwealth Games;
   2. World Championships;
   3. Games in any qualifying tournament for the above; or
   4. World Ranking Points matches;
2. Alternatively, the player must have been a member of a Suncorp Super Netball/ANZ Premiership franchise squad in the 2021, 2022 or 2023 seasons, as the standard in these competitions is deemed higher than the standard played by some of the countries in the top 12; or
3. The player could be a returning player who played 75% of games in the England Netball Super League 2022/2023 season while in the UK as an International Sportsperson.

For the England Netball Super League 2024, the signing window opened on Monday 19 June and clubs were required to have a minimum of 10 players registered by Friday 14 July. The remaining registrations (a maximum of two players and three training partners) must have been registered by 5 p.m. on 25 August. Clubs can only sign a maximum of two international players, and these players are not able to play in the same area of the court at the same time.

While this appears to be restrictive, given that each squad only comprises 12 players, international players could constitute one-sixth of the whole team. Given their likely influence on the team, it is vital that Sportsperson visa applications are submitted with sufficient time to obtain approval before the season commences.

This is particularly vital given that players are required to apply from countries in which they hold residency status or a country of which they are a citizen, and they could be playing in off-season competitions in countries where they only hold temporary status. The current processing time is up to three weeks when applying outside of the UK, and there are limited options to expedite this. Players can apply up to three months before they are due to commence employment in the UK, so strategic planning at an early stage is vital to ensure the application is approved in time.

Need to know more?

For questions regarding navigating the UK immigration system, please contact Manager Alexander Hood at [email protected]. 

This blog was published on 1 September 2023, and due to the circumstances, there are frequent changes. To keep up to date with all the latest updates on global immigration, please subscribe to our alerts and follow us on LinkedIn, X, Facebook and Instagram.