ILR As International Sportsperson

You can apply for ILR as International Sportsperson after you have lived in the UK for 5 years as an International Sportsperson migrant or in combination with other permitted work visa categories. Your qualifying period can include time from the date your initial application (for entry clearance or leave to remain) was approved. You can apply for ILR as International Sportsperson 28 days before completing the 5 years qualifying period. An application for ILR as an International Sportsperson migrant is made using application form SET (O).

Specialist Solicitors For ILR International Sportsperson

Our expert team of International visa solicitors are specialists in dealing with ILR applications for International Sportsperson migrants. As specialist International visa solicitors, our International lawyers have wealth of knowledge and experience to provide high quality legal services for International Sportsperson ILR applications. Our International visa solicitors have helped thousands of International Sportsperson Migrants with their Indefinite Leave to Remain (ILR) applications. The high quality of our legal services is self-evident from the reviews of our clients for excellent immigration services provided by our highly experienced and qualified immigration lawyers.

Ask a question to our International Sportsperson visa solicitors for free immigration advice or schedule an appointment for detailed legal advice concerning your International Sportsperson ILR.

Eligibility Requirements For ILR As an International Sportsperson Migrant

You can apply for ILR as an International Sportsperson if:

• you have an International (Sportsperson) visa
• you’ve been living and working in the UK for 5 years and spent no more than 180 days outside the UK in any 12 months (‘continuous residence’)
• your employer (sponsor) still needs you for your job – they’ll need to provide a document confirming this
• your job pays £35,800 or more (unless you’re exempt from the ‘minimum earnings threshold’)
• you get paid the relevant salary listed in the Codes of Practice (Appendix J)

You should also:

• pass the Life in the UK Test
• meet the English language requirements

ILR International Sportsperson – Combining Time Spent On Other Visa Categories

The applicant must have spent a continuous period of 5 years lawfully in the UK, of which the most recent period must have been spent with leave as an International (Sportsperson) in any combination of the following categories:

• as a Tier 1 Migrant, other than a Tier 1 (Post Study Work) Migrant or a Tier 1 (Graduate Entrepreneur) Migrant,
• as an International (General) Migrant, an International (Minister of Religion) Migrant or an International (Sportsperson) Migrant,
• as an International (Intra-Company Transfer) Migrant, provided the continuous period of 5 years spent lawfully in the UK includes a period of leave as:
  • an International (Intra-Company Transfer) Migrant granted under the Rules in place before 6 April 2010, or
  • a Work Permit Holder, provided that the work permit was granted because the applicant was the subject of an Intra-Company Transfer,
• as a Representative of an Overseas Business,
• as a Highly Skilled Migrant,
• as a Work Permit Holder, or
• as an Innovator, or
• as a Global Talent migrant.

Salary Requirements For ILR International Sportsperson

To apply for ILR as an International Sportsperson, you must be earning at least the appropriate rate for the job, as stated in the Codes of Practice in Appendix J OR a gross annual salary of at least the minimum earnings threshold, whichever is the higher. The minimum earnings threshold is £35,800 gross per annum, if you apply for ILR as an International Sportsperson on or after 6 April 2019.

Exemption From Minimum Salary Requirement

You do not have to earn £35,800 if the main job you’re sponsored for:

• is a PhD level job listed in the Codes of Practice
• has a shortage of workers
• was in the shortage of workers list in the last 6 years

Appendix K provides a list of all posts that have been listed as in shortage since 6 April 2015. You can confirm whether any of your previous Certificates of Sponsorship were issued for a shortage occupation by checking your previous applications or by speaking to your current and/or previous employer.

ILR International Sportsperson – Absences From The UK

You cannot have had more than 180 days’ absence from the United Kingdom during any consecutive 12 month period within the 5 year period. You will need to list details of your absences from the United Kingdom, including the reasons for those absences, on your application form for ILR as an International Sportsperson Migrant. You can include the time between your entry clearance being granted and you entering the United Kingdom as part of your continuous period. Absences between the date entry clearance is granted and the date you enter the United Kingdom are treated as an absence from the United Kingdom and will form part of the 180 days allowed within a continuous 12-month period. You do not need to provide evidence to demonstrate a period of absence between obtaining entry clearance and entering the United Kingdom.

For International Sportsperson ILR applications made after 11 January 2018, Home Office would consider absences from the UK on a rolling basis, rather than in separate consecutive 12-month periods. If your qualifying period includes leave granted before this date, any absences during that leave will be considered under the previous rules – in separate 12-month periods, ending on the same date as you make your ILR Tie 2 General application.

For example, you apply for ILR as International Sportsperson on 30 June 2020. Your continuous period includes the following grants of leave:

• One grant of leave from 1 July 2015 to 28 July 2018 – Any absences during this grant of leave will be considered in separate 12 month periods, ending on 30 June each year.
• One grant of leave from 29 July 2018 to 30 June 2020 – Any absences during this grant of leave will be considered on a rolling basis. Home Office UKVI will not include any absences from the previous grant of leave when they assess this.

Work Related Absences Or Absences In Line With Annual Paid Leave

If any of your absences are in connection with employment or in line with annual paid leave you will need to provide a letter from the relevant employer detailing the purpose and period of absences, including periods of annual paid leave.

You will need to provide this information for the full 5 year continuous period. Therefore, if you are moving employers and are considering applying for settlement in the future, you may wish to request a letter detailing your absences before you move to your new post. If you are unable to obtain a letter as specified in the Immigration Rules, because your previous employer has ceased to exist for example, you should confirm this in writing when you make your application. The caseworker who considers your application will assess this on a case by case basis.

Absences Due To Serious Or Compelling Reasons

If any of your absences are due to a serious or compelling reasons, you must provide a personal letter which includes full details of the reason(s) for the absences and all relevant supporting documents in relation to those reasons – e.g. medical certificates, birth/death certificates, other information about the reasons which led to the absence from the United Kingdom.

Whatever the reason for absences from the United Kingdom, they will still be counted towards the maximum 180 days unless they fall under a specific exemption. This includes any absences for work reasons, or serious and compelling reasons.

Exemption Where Absences Are Not Considered

There are is exemption where absences are not considered as part of the maximum 180 days where you have been absent from the United Kingdom assisting with a national or international humanitarian environmental crisis.

Super Priority Service (Decision Within 24 Hours) For ILR – International Sportsperson

As the expert immigration solicitors based in London,  we are registered with the Home Office, UK Visas & Immigration (UKVI) and its commercial partners UKVCAS Sopra Steria to provide Super Priority Service (SPS) for your application whereby decision on your application will be made by the Home Office UKVI within 24 hours of the submission of the application at a designated service centre.

Our ILR solicitors can prepare and submit your ILR application to the Home Office, UKVI through Super Priority Service (SPS) and get decision on your ILR application within 24 hours. This way, you will not have to wait for the decision on your ILR application for months (sometimes years).

How Can We Help With Your ILR As an International Sportsperson Migrant?

Our expert team of ILR solicitors specialise in ILR International Sportsperson visa applications. If instructed to represent you regarding your application for ILR International Sportsperson, we will carry out all the work on your ILR application until a decision is made by the Home Office UKVI on your ILR application. The immigration casework to be carried out by our expert team of ILR solicitors will include the following:

• Assessing your eligibility for ILR as an International Sportsperson Migrant by considering all your personal circumstances including assessment of salary threshold, absences from the UK, any adverse immigration or personal history etc;
• Advising you on the weaknesses and strengths of your ILR application as an International Geneal Migrant;
• Advising you on the relevant documents to be submitted in support of your ILR application;
• Assessing your documents to ensure that the documentary evidence is as per requirements of the Home Office UKVI immigration Rules;
• Completing and submitting the online application form SET (O) to apply for ILR as an International Geneal by gathering all the relevant information from you;
• Helping you with paying the ILR application fee for your application;
• Booking your appointment with the application centre for verification of documents and enrolment of biometrics;
• Providing you with templates of certain documents e.g. a letter from your current and previous employer (if applicable);
• Providing you a template of letter from your current and previous employer (if applicable) to be submitted in support of your ILR application;
• Preparing your statement in relation to your absences from the UK where your current and/or previous employer has not issued a letter in relation to your absences from the UK during your employment with the relevant employer.
• Preparing a detailed cover letter to introduce and support your ILR application;
• Uploading online all the relevant supporting documents before you attend your appointment for enrolment of your biometrics;
• Liaising with the Home Office UKVI for a timely decision on your ILR application.

Our Fixed Fees For ILR As An International Sportsperson

Our fixed fees for ILR as an International Sportsperson from inside the UK are as given in the fee table below:

The agreed fixed fee will depend on the complexity of the application for ILR as an International Sportsperson and the volume of casework involved in the application. In addition to our fixed fee for ILR as an International Sportsperson, the applicant also has to pay the Home office UKVI fees for the application.