The Hurlingham Polo Association has issued the following statement regarding visas and working permits:

The Home Secretary has announced the new UK points-based immigration system that will come into effect from January 2021. The HPA is in the process of assessing the potential impact on polo and we will obviously be engaging with the Home Office in order to establish how these proposed changes will affect the sport and how the sport can adapt to those changes. We will update members in due course.

Update as at 24 Feb 2020:

MANDATORY REQUIREMENTS

It is important to understand that as written the Home Office’s Policy Statement is saying the following. The 3 mandatory requirements are that:

1)The individual must have an actual job offer from approved sponsor;

2)The job must be at an appropriate skill level;

3)The individual must speak English.

If all 3 of the above are met an applicant then has 50 points and only then can they proceed to introduce the additional 20 points required to make 70, the minimum required. These 20 points are available from either salary (10 or 20), qualifications ( 10 or 20) or because the job is in a shortage occupation (20).

For more information on the points-based system, the BBC website has an explanation of the main points: 

https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-politics-51550421 

Or the white paper issued by the Home Office.