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Regulations - Overseas

Overseas Coach/Player 

The Government's Points Based Managed Migration system means that 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 Home Office approval of ECB's Governing Body Endorsement requirement process, the guidance document, together with application pack to be used when applying for these endorsements, are found at the foot of this page.

For further information on the Points Based Managed Migration System, please see the Home Office website.

  • Annexes 2, 5 and 6 are for use in County Cricket Boards endorsement applications.
  • Annexes 1, 4, 4a, 5 and 6 are for use in Professional County Cricket endorsement applications.
  • Annexes 3, 7 and 8 are for use in Recreational Cricket endorsement applications.
  • Annex 9 is for use in all relevant applications.
  • Annexes 10, 11, 12 and 13 are used in The Hundred endorsement applications.

THE ECB CANNOT PROVIDE ADVICE OR GUIDANCE ON IMMIGRATION ROUTES, PROCESSES OR AN INDIVIDUAL'S STATUS. For this information you will need to contact an OISC registered immigration adviser using the contact information listed in ‘Useful Contacts’.

Applications for the 2027 season can be submitted from 1 September 2026. All endorsements for players, coaches and coach-players will be issued with effect from 1st September 2026 to a maximum of 30th September 2027 or to the length of the contract, whichever date is sooner. ECB Level 2 Core Coach and Foundation Coach Courses will be available to book via the CVENT system, when course dates are confirmed.   

For clubs going through this process for the first time please click here for a Step-by-Step Guide (PDF).

All endorsement applications will be reviewed 7-10 working days from receipt of complete applications, (this includes payment)

UPDATES for the 2027 Season

RECREATIONAL GAME & PROFESSIONAL GAME:

  • We will only be able to accept applications with a police clearance certificate issued within three months of the migrant’s expected arrival into the UK.
  • We can now consider one-day fixtures as part of the match criteria. Please see the annex forms for details.

RECREATIONAL GAME:

  • When submitting a GBE application, a club must be fully compliant on The Safe Hands Management System (SHMS). If it is not, the application will not be reviewed and a new application will be required when compliance is achieved.

Safe Hands Management System Compliance

  1. All club assessments passed
  2. Club Summary -NO PENDING INVITATIONS
  3. All DBSs complete
  • For those applying for a Coach-Player GBE, we can now consider migrants who have been granted two consecutive GBEs in the last three years i.e.2024 & 2025 or 2025 & 2026.

PROFESSIONAL GAME ONLY:

  • A new GBE for Player-Coach has been introduced (Annex 4a).

PLEASE NOTE: 
Due to the rolling on of sponsor licences by the Home Office, sponsor licence endorsements no longer need to be renewed. However, to ensure that clubs continue to meet the expected level required to bring migrants over via the ISP, the club endorsement criteria will now also be applied to migrant applications.

PLEASE NOTE: We are unable to accept applications from any third parties including agents. Applications must be submitted directly by sponsor clubs.

Certificates of Sponsorship must be issued in line with the migrant endorsement; they should not be issued for longer. In the Recreational Game, Coach-Player and Coach only endorsements will only be issued until the end of the season in which the application is received. Any club found to be issuing Certificates of Sponsorship for longer than the endorsement will be in breach of Home Office process and will be reported directly to them.

In the Professional Game, Coach Only applications can be issued up to a maximum of 3 years. Subsequent applications for extensions can be issued for up to 2 years.

Documents

Additional Information

 

Useful Contacts

THE ECB IS NOT REGISTERED TO GIVE ADVICE ON IMMIGRATION. Information on aspects of immigration policy and law can be found on the Home Office 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  Home Office website.

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

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