Effective from 1st January 2023
The ECB are not in a position to provide confirmation, written or otherwise, of an individual’s immigration status or registration category. It is the legal responsibility of the club to ensure that all checks possible have been completed for any individual of whom they wish to utilise the services, paid or unpaid, who is not a settled resident. It is also the legal responsibility of the individual wishing to come to the UK to fully understand the immigration rules surrounding their entry mechanism and what they can and cannot do whilst in the UK.
The following has been designed as a guide and in most cases, when considering your query, it should be broken down into two separate elements – immigration first, then cricket eligibility regulations.
Immigration rules are not gender specific and apply equally to both the mens and womens game.
Once you have ascertained that an individual can come to the UK and play/ coach cricket, then you can move on to assess what category of registration the individual would satisfy if required.
Consider it a step-by-step process.
Step 1: Immigration Assessment:
a) Can a person play on the visa they have?
In most cases this will depend on the Amateur or Professional assessment below. Refer to 1b, then look at the visa overview document, https://resources.ecb.co.uk/ecb/document/2022/01/13/ff7cc112-7282-4abe-b95e-7063bcb6c6d3/Visa-Overview-from-January-2022.pdf
b) Is the player classed as an Amateur or Professional?
This will largely depend on what level of cricket they have played within the last 4 years, or if they have used an agent or been paid. It will also depend on the level at which they are intending to play here.
Not all players from overseas will be able to play cricket here. Currently, the immigration rules only provide entry mechanisms to play sport for those that are either completely amateur and want to play as an amateur or are currently professional players.
The Home Office definition of a sportsperson can be found via the following link. If they meet one of the criteria then they will be classed as a Professional Sportsperson https://resources.ecb.co.uk/ecb/document/2021/10/13/c928aa4a-5ba8-4f0c-8cfc-31fdccfd58a4/Additional-Information-Nov-2021.pdf
Being classed as a professional sportsperson does not mean that there is an entry mechanism available to them. Typically, a player would fall into one of three groups – amateur, on a pathway/ just beginning or ending a professional career or a current professional player. The following document explains the groups and the normal entry mechanism.
c) Can an Asylum seeker play cricket at our club?
Immigration rules surrounding refugees and asylum seekers are complex and sensitive. In all cases we would recommend that those waiting an immigration status in the UK, gain written confirmation from their Home Office case worker, stating that they are able to play cricket at the club. In most instances this will be allowed, but for those who are classed as a Professional Sportsperson as per the Home Office definition, they will not be permitted to play even unpaid, until Leave to Remain has been awarded. Voluntary work is allowed, but Cricket Clubs do not fall within the classification of Voluntary Work as laid out by the Home Office.
Step 2: Registration Eligibility assessment:
a) Can the player be registered as a Cat 1?
Each League will adopt their own registration rules, please check with your League, the registration category of a player.
For ECB Club Cup Competition matches the following shall apply:
There shall be no limit on the number of Category 1 qualified cricketers which a club is permitted to play for which purposes:
A cricketer is Category 1 qualified if:
(i) they are a British citizen and were born in England or Wales; or
(ii) they have been resident in England and Wales since 1 April 2022 for a minimum of 210 days between 1 April 2022 and 31 March 2023.
Any player who has played in any overseas cricket league as a ‘home’, ‘local’ or ‘non-overseas’ player in that overseas league in the 12-month period up to and including 31 March 2023 will not be permitted to play as a Category 1 player in any ECB Club Cup Competition match in the current season.
A club is permitted to play a maximum of one Category 3 player in all ECB Club Cup Competition matches.
A number of Leagues including the ECB Premier Leagues have adopted the following principles for the registration category of a player.
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