Expert Info

Posted by Trace67
on 9 Nov 2016
Hi,
I really hope someone can help me with my question.I am actually in the UK and am asking on behalf of a friend who lives in Nigeria. What is the best way for them to get into the UK? He is passionate about football and would like 2 make a career out of it. He has played for local teams for a few years now and as the UK is a big football country he would like 2 come and try out with local teams. So was just wondering the best way he could go about it. Thank u in advance for any help
Anonymous (not verified) on 4 Jan 2017 - 14:56
Thank you I will
Meagan on 9 Nov 2016 - 12:09
Hey Trace,

That's a pretty difficult question, I'm afraid, mainly because the UK is quite strict about immigration.

The ideal way for him to get into the country would be via a work visa, but he'd need to have already found a job in the country to do so. UK employers are often not keen to hire foreigners because of the paperwork involved and because they'd have to prove to the relevant authorities that they couldn't hire a UK citizen (and why they couldn't).

He could also consider a student visa if he's interested in studying and can afford to support himself and pay the fees. But if he does end up playing professionally full-time then he would most likely have to leave the country and apply for the work visa before returning.

You can also check out this page on UK visas for some other ideas.

Cheers.

M
Anonymous (not verified) on 10 Nov 2016 - 01:32
Thank you Meegan. Its just hard to understand the best way to get around it. I read up about the work visa and yes it do seem there is a lot involved in that. I'm not sure if he could do studying being 20 years old? I will look up on the link u gave me. Thank you for your help.
Meagan on 10 Nov 2016 - 06:48
No worries, happy to help! I don't think there's an age limit on study visas, and he's definitely young enough in any case. The main hurdle would be getting into universities and of course securing funding. For funding, he could look at the Chevening and Commonwealth bursary programs, they actually provide full funding including flights, fees, living costs, etc.

But the problem is that since they're limited, it's pretty difficult to secure these bursaries. Might be worth a shot though. The other thing to keep in mind is that Chevening requires bursary recipients to return to their home country after their studies for a certain amount of time. The idea is that they can use first-world education to improve the situation in their home country. Commonwealth probably has a similar stipulation. So I'm not sure how suitable that would be, but maybe he could study something sports related. Anyway, just a few ideas. Let me know if you have any other questions.
Anonymous (not verified) on 10 Nov 2016 - 07:18
I really cant thank u enough you have been a great help. Its a shame at times when u have someone so young who wants to make something of themselves that its difficult to do. I was wondering about the sport related studies, I will look into it all for him. There is an awful lot to consider but am hoping we can get around it one way or another. Again thank you, I appreciate your help x
Meagan on 10 Nov 2016 - 08:26
You're welcome. smiley
odunde on 17 Nov 2016 - 12:56
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