The category is part of the Tier 5 and allows people coming to the United Kingdom to work or perform as sports people, entertainers or creative artists for up to 12 months.

If you are a sports person, you must be internationally established at the highest level in your sport and or your job must make a significant contribution to the development and running of sport at the highest level in the United Kingdom. If you are a coach, you must be suitably qualified to do the job.

When making an application, you must ensure you have a sponsor and they can issue a valid certificate of sponsorship. It is important that before your sponsor issues the certificate, they have an endorsement for you from the governing body for your sport, which confirms you meet the governing body’s requirements to give their endorsement. The governing body must be recognised by the Home Office and the list available on the UK Home Office website.

The points are awarded for your sponsorship and your maintenance funds available. You can apply under that category if you are applying for permission to enter the United Kingdom, you are already under this category and wish to extend.

The creative and sporting category is not for people who want to come or who are already in the United Kingdom as a entertainer or sports visitor, including for specified festivals.

You can switch in to the creative and sporting category if you came to the United Kingdom as a sports or entertainer visitor, and before you entered the United Kingdom, your sponsor gave you a certificate of sponsorship for this category. You can use the certificate to apply to switch. Otherwise switching is not allowed in or out of the creative and sporting working category.

You can apply under the creative and sporting category from a country that is not your normal place of residence if you are there doing a job similar to the one you want to come to the United Kingdom to do.

If you are a non-visa national you can come to the United Kingdom without permission to enter (entry clearance) for up to three months, but you cannot extend your permission to stay. For example, if you were given permission to come for two weeks and want to stay longer, you must leave and come back again.

Sports person - If you are given permission to stay as sports person, you can come to live and work in the United Kingdom for a maximum time of 12 months, or the time given in your certificate of sponsorship plus 28 days, which ever time is shorter.

If you are a sports person, you can only apply to extend your stay for a maximum of 12 months.

Creative worker

If you are given permission to stay as a creative worker, you can come to live and work in the United Kingdom for an initial time of up to 12 months, or the time given in your certificate of sponsorship plus 28 days, which ever time is shorter.

You can apply to extend your permission to stay in the United Kingdom as a creative worker for up to 12 months at a time to a total of 24 months. If your extension will take your time in the United Kingdom beyond 12 months, the job must continue with your last sponsor.

For example, if you come for nine months initially, you can get an extension to stay for up to a maximum of 12 months and this does not have to be with the same sponsor.

If you come for nine months initially, you can get an extension to stay for a further 12 months, but this must be with the same sponsor. After that time, you can get a further extension to stay to take the length of your stay up to 24 months in total.

If you need to be able to come and go from the United Kingdom with your job - If you need to leave and come back to the United Kingdom quite a few times as part of the job you are doing, you can get a multiple entry certificate of sponsorship. Your sponsor will give you a multiple entry certificate of sponsorship that allows you to come and go from the United Kingdom a number of different times during the length of your certificate.

If you have permission to come (entry clearance) for any length of time, you will be able to leave and come back to the United Kingdom during the time you have permission.

If you leave the United Kingdom and you were given six months or less permission to stay (leave to remain), you will not be able to come back as your permission to stay ends when you leave the United Kingdom. You must apply again to be able to come back

You cannot get a multiple entry certificate of sponsorship if you are coming to the United Kingdom for less than three months and are a non-visa national.