Tier 2 SPORT AND CREATIVE (yes, T2 not 5)

[The Station Agent]

Hi folks - I am an adviser and have been keeping close tabs on PBS' development for the last 3 years. I have been saying to UKBA all along that they need to have some system for dealing with recording artists and songwriters under tier 2. they agreed once they understood. But naturally Tier 2 is now live and they have not implemented anything for recording artists.

What I mean here is people from overseas signed to UK record / publishing deals. The work permit system used to cover them as long as the deal was lucrative enough to cover them financially for the 1 or 2 years the permit was granted (note I am not talking about the self-employed 'writer / composer' visa here).

Tier 2 has a mandatory requirement for an RLMT, which is ridiculous when we are talking about a singer-songwriter who is already signed to a label. Anyone have any thoughts on this?

Also - I have just helped assign a Tier 2 cert to a racing driver. We and the racing team were told they needed to register under tier 2 if they wanted a non-EEA racing driver to come here and race for them, not Tier 5. But now the overseas national is moaning because tier 2 has an English language requirement whilst T5 does not. This will delay his entry clearance and give him more to do at his end.

I noted an article online last week which said sportspeople have had the English language requirement waived, but that has been removed now (was on Law-Now). Other articles I have seen say that only footballers have been exempted the language test - and that the exemption is more of a work-around:
The footballers would have to go into Tier 5 for the first year.
But this makes no sense, becase T5 is a no-switch and no-extend category. So the players would be forced to leave after 12 months and then get a Tier 2 cert, take a language test and then re-apply for entry clearance (this would be during the football season so not exactly handy).

What a joke that only footballers get an exemption! And what a joke that the exemption is ill thought out. Why not just exempt all sports people from needing the English language test for their first entry clearance? Where's the harm?

[traveller1973]

I understand your frustrations, but I believe that things will slowly open up to cover the relevant employment sectors involved, as Tier 2 and 5 are simply too general.

It is harder for employers or sponsors, but is that a bad thing? It means that those that abused or wanted to abuse the system have to jump bigger hurdles.

[Frontier Mole]

Did you contact the governing body for advice?
The issue is getting hold of each of the governing body's actual agreement.

I know the FA agreement was that tier 2 could be used as long as the player met the language requirement prior to renewal of the visa.

There is no reason as to why other governing bodies can not make the same case HOWEVER the problem is how do you ensure that a certain standard of driver is good enough to rank against the same methodology employed by FIFA & the FA.

Motor Sports (4 wheels)

The Royal Automobile Club Motor Sports Association Ltd

Allan Dean-Lewis - Head of External Affairs

Telephone: 01753 765 073

Email: Adean-lewis@msauk.org

Richard Nunn, Volunteer Officials Coordinator

Telephone: 01753 765 071

Email : Rnunn@msauk.org

Address:
Motor Sport House
Riverside Park
Colnbrook
SL3 0HG

[The Station Agent]

Thanks, Frontier - we already have endorsement from the MSA (we couldn't have assigned the cert without it) but thanks for the info all the same.
PBS Tiers 2 and 5 went live before a criteria for motor racing had even been put in place or published - I will say again "It is bad policy to make things up on the fly". With all due respect to you of course, UKBA should have delayed the Go-live until these things had been ironed out (motor racing is the tip of the iceberg, most music biz companies weren't registered yet, most had far too small allocations thanks to misleading advice, some were registered at the wrong tier, the IT was not fit for purpose, the conuslates and I.O.s didn't have proper training, the certificates say they expire in 3 months when they don't, the T5 forms assume everyone needs entry clearance when they don't etc, etc).

The situation with footballers as I understand it is that the FA has been in negotiations with UKBA and has urged all its members to register at both T2 and T5 (despite the fact other sports were told that if a non-EU person came over to play / drive for their team for a season they would be T2 NOT T5). This puts their clubs in a situation where they can dodge the language requirement (where other sports can't - because they were told Tier 2 was their only option) but that the players who dodge this requirement have no simple route to extension of stay.

If a non-EU footballer does not have enough English to pass an A1 language test (or doesn't have time to take the test and wait for the certificate) they are being advised by UKBA to, in effect, dodge the system by going Tier 5 - because it has no language requirement. They are square pegs being forced into round holes. They cannot go tier 2 because there is no real exemption from the language requirement (it should, therefore, not be termed as an exemption because it's actually a dodge).

However, the problem is on reneweal. Tier 5 is all very well until it expires, because it can't be renewed in-country and you can't switch to Tier 2.

What I am exasperated about is why UKBA sees this course of action as acceptable. The 'help' they have offered football was not offered to anyone else. And the work-round (dodge) doesn't suit most people - so perhaps it was actually bad advice. It's lucky the UKBA is exempt from OISC censure.

PS - when were UKBA going to announce the new visa forms required for CoS holders? I've seen nothing on their website or news announcements. I had been advising a client to complete VAF2s until a week or so ago when I discovered the new VAF9 and Appendix 6 by chance.

[The Station Agent]

So, Mr Woolas has decided that, contrary to all information until Jan 2009, footballers will be allowed to switch from tier 5 into tier 2, thus dodging the initial Language test requirement.

Only footballers will be allowed to do this - everyone else can sod off.

I see Keith Vaz MP has already queried this (no doubt he represents constituent sport clubs who were not offered this dodge) and Mr Woolas said it was because of football's transfer window.

Hmmmmmmmmmmmmmm, sounds like discrimination to me. Football commands headlines, so rules are bent in its favour.