Question to the Home Office:

To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, whether his Department has made an assessment of the potential merits of allowing British National (Overseas) passport holders to undertake voluntary work as (a) sportspersons and (b) sports coaches.

The restriction on working as a professional sportsperson applies to those holding permission on certain visa routes, including the British National (Overseas) visa. If an individual meets any of the indicators listed in the definition of a professional sportsperson at Paragraph 6 of the Immigration Rules, they are classified as such, and if the restriction on work as a professional sportsperson is present in their visa conditions, they would therefore be breaching the terms of their visa.

However, it is not this Government’s intention to restrict anyone coming to the UK and taking part in sport recreationally. ‘Amateur’ is defined in the Immigration Rules as:

““Amateur” means a person who engages in a sport or creative activity solely for personal enjoyment and who is not seeking to derive a living from the activity.”