Tier 1 Standard Visitors visa

Hi All,

I am from South Africa and have no UK Ancestry or EU Passport. A semi professional rugby club in the UK has given me an offer to play for them in the 2015/2016 season. That is from August 2015 - June 2016. I will be applying for a 1 year visitor visa (I understand the visitor visa has replaced sports visitor visa, is this correct?). The rugby club has drafted me a letter of sponsorship saying they will be accommodating me and giving me a small living allowance to meet my expenses. I have saved enough money to support myself mostly. I know that I can only stay for 6 months and then have to leave the UK and then re enter. This information is vague and so have a few questions I am hoping someone can help me with:

1. Do I have to return back to South Africa after the initial 6 month stay of the 1 year visa and then fly back to the UK or can I leave the UK to go on holiday to Tunisia for a few weeks and then re enter the UK after that to take up my 2nd 6 month spell?

2. How long do I have to be out of the UK after the initial 6 month stay in order to meet the condiitons of the visa so I can return and finish the season? Can it be a few days or weeks or months? It is unclear in the rules.

Any information would be most welcome.

On any form of visitor visa, any employment or allowances for services or work is not allowed. You cannot stay in the UK for more than 6 months in 12 months, you will likely face questioning if you try to re-enter too soon.

https://www.gov.uk/standard-visitor-visa/overview

you want to take part in a specific sports-related event

You will clearly not be here just for an event (i.e. Olympics for example)

Also from the link above, quote below:

You can’t:
do paid or unpaid work
live in the UK for long periods of time through frequent visits
marry or register a civil partnership, or give notice of marriage or civil partnership
get public funds

Have you ever traveled to the UK? If not, unlikely you will get more than a 6 month visit visa and you would have to prove with substantial documentation of your circumstances in South Africa, that you will leave the UK.

Have you looked into this visa :

https://www.gov.uk/tier-2-sportsperson- ... a/overview

Hi CR001,

Thanks for the information. Unfortunately I am not eligible for the tier 2 sportsperson visa. The rugby club who offered me the contract is not fully professional. Only semi professional. And the Governing body of the sport, in this case the Scottish Rugby Union, does not provide semi pro clubs with letters or documents of endorsement stating they are happy for a club to apply for a sponsorship licence.

I have read about cases where some chaps were able to obtain a 6 month visitor visa and came over to play but not work. The sporting event is the rugby season so I think I meet that criteria.

I have substantial documentation needed so I will need to see.