Governing Body Endorsement

Under the government's Points Based Managed Migration system, cricket clubs will need to obtain a sponsor licence from the UK Borders Agency in order to bring cricketers and coaches from outside the EU into the country.

As part of this process, clubs must obtain from the ECB a Governing Body Endorsement BOTH for their sponsor licence and for individual players and coaches.

Following UKBA's approval of ECB's Governing Body Endorsement requirement process, the guidance document, together with application forms to be used when applying for these endorsements, are found at the foot of this page.

Please note that the ECB will not accept electronic submissions and applications will not be processed until a non-refundable cheque has arrived.

For further information on the Points Based Managed Migration System, please see the UK Border Agency website.

Annexes A, C and D below are for use for Tier 2 (First Class) Endorsement applications.
Annexes B, E and F are for use for Tier 5 (Non First Class) Endorsement applications.
Annex G is for use in all relevant applications.

Annexes H and D are for use for Tier 2 (County Cricket Boards) Endorsement applications.

Please note that the ECB cannot provide advice or guidance on immigration routes, processes or an individual’s status. You will need to contact a registered immigration advisor who is OISC registered or by calling either of the numbers listed in Useful Contacts.

Applications for the 2012 season can be submitted from 1st September 2011. All endorsements for players and player-coaches will be issued with an effective from date of 1st October 2011 to a maximum of 30th September 2012 or to length of contract, whichever date is sooner.

Tier 5 of the UKBA Points Based System

Step by Step Guide:

For clubs wishing to “employ” the services of an overseas player-coach or coach only, under the new UKBA criteria they must become official UKBA Sponsor, hold a Sponsor Licence and issue Certificates of Sponsorship for every overseas person they wish to employ.

The process for being able to issue Certificates of Sponsorship is as follows:

	Club request endorsement as sponsor – ECB Annex B application form. If criteria are satisfied ECB will issue Club with unique sponsor endorsement number
	Club applies to UKBA to become registered as an official Sponsor Application to be completed on line and evidence submitted
	Club obtains Sponsor Licence from UKBA with SLN reference code
	For each player-coach or coach only, Club completes ECB Annex E/G or F and sends, with supporting evidence, vetting/police check to ECB
	If criteria are satisfied, ECB then sends Club a Governing Body Endorsement for that individual - with an endorsement number unique to that individual
	Club then uses this individual endorsement and enters details in online Sponsor Management System and issues Certificate of Sponsorship (CoS) for individual player-coach. End date must not exceed CoS end date.
	Player-coach then takes Certificate of Sponsorship reference number and applies for Entry Clearance/visa via online visa application system or UK High Commission in whichever country they are in.

Documents:

Governing Body Criteria Including County Boards 2011-2012 (100 KB)
ECB Non UK Resident Vetting Form 2011-2012 (430 KB)
Annex A (192 KB)
Annex B (238 KB)
Annex C (223 KB)
Annex D (227 KB)
Annex E (240 KB)
Annex F (230 KB)
Annex G (155 KB)
Annex H (178 KB)
Review Process For Governing Body Endorsement Criteria (281 KB)
Additional address sheet for overseas vetting form (168 KB)

Additional information:
List of coaching qualifications accepted under Tier 5 as equivalent to UKC2 (13 KB)
List of immigration categories abolished since Nov 2008 (18 KB)
Sports Visitor Visa & Youth Mobility Scheme (34 KB)
Overseas Police checks (16 KB)
Responsibility of Cricket Clubs (11 KB)
Use of Sub Pros (Supplementary employment) (12 KB)
Visa refusal on grounds of Criminal conviction (19 KB)
Tier 5 – 3 month concession (8 KB)
Sri Lanka – Police check application form (48 KB)

Applications made under COACH ONLY will only permit a person to Coach for the club and not to play.

All organisations that successfully register with UKBA as sponsors will be published on UKBA website which can be found here

Useful contacts:

ECB Governing Body Endorsements: Emma Davis - 0207 4321210 or emma.davis@ecb.co.uk
Sponsor & Employer Enquiries: 0300 123 4699 or sponsorshipPBSenquiries@ukba.gsi.gov.uk
Immigration Enquiry Bureau: 0870 606 7766 or UKBApublicenquiries@ukba.gsi.gov.uk

Related Links:

The ECB is not registered to give advice on immigration. Information on aspects of immigration policy and law can be found on the UK Border Agency website.

Clubs are advised to allow sufficient time for entry clearance to be granted. The time needed to obtain entry clearance may vary depending upon where the player is applying. Service standards for each post are set out on the UKBA website.

This site also contains a guide to Visa processing times for specific overseas posts.