: Mon Feb 16, 2009 5:16 am  

B******er

: Mon Feb 16, 2009 5:17 am  

It's a good job the Australians are less worried about criminal convictions when deciding wether someone can live and work there, or Eastwood would be completely out of options. Maybe there is some sort of historical precedent over there?

I thought I'd get the convict jokes going.

: Mon Feb 16, 2009 8:27 am  

according to the leaue express sheffield have had trevor exton's visa rejected on the same grounds.

What next, visa rejection for a parking ticket!!

: Mon Feb 16, 2009 9:37 am  

The Magic Rat wrote:

If Eastwood applied for a British Passport and recieved one, would that entitle him to work here or would he still require a work permit?

Yes it would. No need for a work permit. It seems that a lot of these new players are getting "less than clear" advice before applying.

If Eastwood qualifies for a British passport why the hell is he applying for a visa?

: Mon Feb 16, 2009 9:46 am  

Chris28 wrote:

Yes it would. No need for a work permit. It seems that a lot of these new players are getting "less than clear" advice before applying.

If Eastwood qualifies for a British passport why the hell is he applying for a visa?

Because - as has already been stated numerous times - if you are applying for a UK passport on ancestral grounds you still need to be able to show you are able to work in the UK. No visa, no work permit, no UK passport.

[Wheels]

: Mon Feb 16, 2009 10:09 am  

York's prop forward denied visa... It's all the rage...

York's prop forward denied visa... It's all the rage...

: Mon Feb 16, 2009 11:18 am  

With the high profile players (Crocker, Bird + Eastwood) been declined working visa's, I was just wondering what the wider effects of these cases will be.

Obviously the first point of impact are the clubs who haven't got their new signings, they are left with a weaker squad at present. I can't help but think Bulls and Hull are harder hit than Leeds over this. Hull could have done with a huge presence to off-set Carvell and the Bulls IMO desperatley need some pace and individual skill in the middle of the park. While I think Leeds have enough quality internally to just get on with things. I'm talking about: Kirke, Ali, Ablett, JJB. There's four players to plug the gap. And I suppose we can't miss what we haven't had, if anything we will miss Ellis' dogged displays.

The next point of impact are the player's who have been declined. From a Leeds angle, Eastwood at the minute is in no-mans-land. He's signed up but not in the same country, or playing rugby. Leeds are appealing, but how long are Leeds willing to bat for this guy? And how long will Eastwood (at 21) be interested in not playing? I mean a swift return to the NRL should be easy enough for him to arrange. If there isn't a resolution on this quickly, I can see both parties, quite happily, going in different directions. I mean I bet Leeds at the minute are assessing 'other options'.

What are the wider implications? One that springs to mind, will be the hesitance of Super League clubs to sign imports. If they are harder to get over here and applications fail, maybe we'll see less over here in the next few seasons. Even if its just for precautionary reasons. This must be a positive thing if we spend more focus on our talent and develop our players, to aid our international prospects. But on the other hand the Celtics and Budeus got over here in the end. And will there be implications of staging international tournaments. I mean how many would get over? And I still wouldn't fancy taking on Australia's B Team, Donald hat-trick no question.

: Mon Feb 16, 2009 1:32 pm  

Andy Gilder wrote:

Because - as has already been stated numerous times - if you are applying for a UK passport on ancestral grounds you still need to be able to show you are able to work in the UK. No visa, no work permit, no UK passport.

Er....no

If you have British citizenship on ancestral grounds then work is nothing to do with it.

If you are applying for a visa on ancestral grounds then you do need to intend to seek or take work.

Two separate things.

: Mon Feb 16, 2009 1:38 pm  

Could he be loaned to NRL club in the mean time?

: Mon Feb 16, 2009 9:50 pm  

Apparently before signing any players from the antipodes in future GH is demanding that they obtain an enhanced CRB check.
Once this has been completed and shown to be clean then he'll start contract negotiations.