: Mon Feb 23, 2009 11:21 am  

gutterfax wrote:

OK.....he's not currently allowed into the UK to work, so is he only going to sign for Home games?
If he does sign for the French, are they going to get him to hide on the Eurotunnel freight trains every second week?

It will be a farce if he is allowed to play for Catalans in the UK after being rejected........but it will probably happen.

I think the system will work in that he now has (presumably) a valid French work Visa - and with free movement of workers in the European union...

This is how football gets round residency - you have your Portuguese or Belgian feeder club, your 16 yr old South American or African footballers, pay them a lot of money, wait 3years, residency & automatic working rights in Europe, voila!

: Mon Feb 23, 2009 11:29 am  

Kosh wrote:

Yes he is. The same tests apply at immigration control as they do when applying for a visa.

lets see shall we,

ill give you odds of 10-1 that should he get his visa for france, he will play in every match he in the uk he is available for,


edit-or he will be able to enter the uk for every match he is available for would probably be a better way of wording it

: Mon Feb 23, 2009 11:33 am  

SmokeyTA wrote:

lets see shall we,

ill give you odds of 10-1 that should he get his visa for france, he will play in every match he in the uk he is available for,

If that's the case I'll give good odds that Huddersfield, Hull, Leeds, York and Sheffield kick off big style.

: Mon Feb 23, 2009 11:34 am  

Chris28 wrote:

If that's the case I'll give good odds that Huddersfield, Hull, Leeds, York and Sheffield kick off big style.

who are they going to kick off with?

i cant see the french border agency being that bothered what Hull have to say to be honest

: Mon Feb 23, 2009 11:39 am  

SmokeyTA wrote:

who are they going to kick off with?

i cant see the french border agency being that bothered what Hull have to say to be honest

Er.... UK Border Agency on the basis that he would be entering, errr let me see... the UK? UKBA took the decison to refuse his work visa, and they would have to give him permission to enter the UK too.

As I said above he needs to qualify to enter the UK whether he's working or not, and if he's been refused the previous visa for his character etc, then that still applies.

: Mon Feb 23, 2009 11:49 am  

Chris28 wrote:

Er.... UK Border Agency on the basis that he would be entering, errr let me see... the UK? UKBA took the decison to refuse his work visa, and they would have to give him permission to enter the UK too.

As I said above he needs to qualify to enter the UK whether he's working or not, and if he's been refused the previous visa for his character etc, then that still applies.

refusing an Australian a working visa is a bit different to refusing an australian with a valid working visa from an EU country from entering another EU country, and as such limiting his ability to legally ply his trade

what the french border agency choose to do, isnt really the problem of the uk border agency

: Mon Feb 23, 2009 11:56 am  

If he does sign for the French and is let play in the UK then it really will open up a

: Mon Feb 23, 2009 12:03 pm  

SmokeyTA wrote:

refusing an Australian a working visa is a bit different to refusing an australian with a valid working visa from an EU country from entering another EU country, and as such limiting his ability to legally ply his trade

No it isn't. As an Australian he still needs leave to enter the UK, regardless of the purpose of his trip here. Even if a "posted worker" he will still need some form of authorisation to enter.

what the french border agency choose to do, isnt really the problem of the uk border agency

Do the French Border Agency let people into the UK now? How come they don't speak French to me when I get back from my hols? Possibly as the UK Border Agency deal with entry to the UK, nowt to do with the French. If the French let him into France, that's no guarantee that the UK will let him in here. In fact the previous refusal would almost ensure that he doesn't get in.

As I've said elsewhere, I hope the Catalans take proper advice on this before spending time and money on it all

: Mon Feb 23, 2009 12:23 pm  

Chris28 wrote:

No it isn't. As an Australian he still needs leave to enter the UK, regardless of the purpose of his trip here. Even if a "posted worker" he will still need some form of authorisation to enter.

or as a 'visitor' considering he will be in the country for a matter of days at most a couple of weeks

do australian visitors/tourists need a visa to enter the uk for a period of less than 3 months?

Do the French Border Agency let people into the UK now? How come they don't speak French to me when I get back from my hols? Possibly as the UK Border Agency deal with entry to the UK, nowt to do with the French. If the French let him into France, that's no guarantee that the UK will let him in here. In fact the previous refusal would almost ensure that he doesn't get in.

As I've said elsewhere, I hope the Catalans take proper advice on this before spending time and money on it all

the french would let him into france, give him a full working visa and the right to stay there, he would then need to travel throughout the member states of the EU to pursue the trade he is legally entitled, i very much doubt the ukba are then going to ban him entering the uk to pursue his trade as i am sure we will see

: Mon Feb 23, 2009 12:27 pm  

SmokeyTA wrote:

or as a 'visitor' considering he will be in the country for a matter of days at most a couple of weeks

do australian visitors/tourists need a visa to enter the uk for a period of less than 3 months?

No but he needs to be given leave to enter on arrival which he is unlikely to get due to the reasons for the previous refusal. A visa is only a pre-arrival way of showing that you qualify for entry. You still get assessed on arrival, which is why we have immigration desks in airports.

the french would let him into france, give him a full working visa and the right to stay there, he would then need to travel throughout the member states of the EU to pursue the trade he is legally entitled, i very much doubt the ukba are then going to ban him entering the uk to pursue his trade as i am sure we will see

You think so? UKBA are a law unto themselves and would not want to be made to look daft by a loophole of this nature. If he tries to enter after a previous refusal they'll certainly try to stop him.