To make a successful application under the Tier 2 (Sportsperson), you will need to ensure that you are eligible and can provide the supporting documents.

You should apply if:

• you are over 16 years old;
• you are not a national of the European Economic Area (EEA) or Switzerland; and
• you want to enter or stay in the United Kingdom to work under Tier 2 of the points-based system.

You are allowed to apply if you are:

• already in the United Kingdom with permission to stay in an immigration category that allows you to switch into Tier 2;
• already in the United Kingdom under Tier 2 and want to extend your permission to stay in your existing category; or
• applying from outside the United Kingdom for permission to enter (known as 'entry clearance') in Tier 2.

Applications can be made from sponsored students, however the Home Office refers to the following:

You may have been sponsored by a government or international scholarship agency in the last 12 months in any of the following categories:

§                                 student or Tier 4;

§                                 student nurse;

§                                 student re-sitting exams;

§                                 student writing up a thesis; or

§                                 postgraduate doctor or dentist.

If you are being sponsored now or your sponsorship ended in the 12 months before you apply, you must send the Home Office a letter from your sponsor, giving their permission for you to stay in or come back to the United Kingdom. If your sponsor does not give their permission, Home Office will refuse your application.

The Home Office has a policy in place to those who are exempted from applying to study in the UK. You do not need to apply for a student visa if:

1.      you are an EEA or Swiss national; 

2.      you are a British overseas territories citizen, unless you are from one of the sovereign base areas in Cyprus; 

3.      you are a Commonwealth citizen with permission to enter or stay in the United Kingdom because at least one of your grandparents was born here;

4.      you have no conditions or time limit attached to your stay.

5.      If you are a national of Bulgaria or Romania, you do not have to apply to study under the points-based system.

If you are a national of the Czech Republic, Estonia, Hungary, Latvia, Lithuania, Poland, Slovakia or Slovenia, you do not have to apply to study under the points-based system. However you will need to register under the Worker Registration Scheme if you want to work while you study in the United Kingdom, unless you are exempt from the worker registration requirements.