Non-EU football stars will have to take English test

Foreign footballers and managers will have to pass an English test before they are allowed to display their talents in this country under new immigration rules.

Football stars from outside the EU will be classed as skilled workers from this autumn when the system comes into force.

They will have to demonstrate they have a basic knowledge of English before they are granted work visas lasting up to three years. However, their wives and girlfriends will not have to pass a language test.

Liam Byrne, the Immigration minister, said the Government thought "long and hard" about exempting South American and African stars from the rules, but decided that would be "un-British". He added: "Most of them will be well-off enough to afford a decent language teacher."

Many non-EU players have been signed by Premiership and Championship teams. Carlos Tevez, the Argentine striker, now with Manchester United, was said to have struggled with the language when he joined West Ham United. The Brazilians Alfonso Alves, a forward with Middlesbrough, and Elano, who plays for Manchester City, are also understood to be less than fluent in English.

Manchester City are reported to be targeting the Brazilian Luiz Felipe Scolari to succeed Sven Goran Eriksson as their manager. The new rules would not have covered Fabio Capello, England's Italian manager, as he is from the EU.

Meanwhile, the Government has acted to stem fears that new rules could affect foreign musicians and actors touring Britain. They will instead be issued with short visas to cover the period of their visit. This exemption will cover competitors in the 2012 Olympic Games in London.

The restrictions on skilled workers, including teachers, nurses and engineers, form part of the Government's point-based immigration system. They follow new rules already announced for "highly skilled" migrants such as surgeons, computer specialists and entrepreneurs.

As well as the English tests, companies will have to demonstrate they could not find British workers to fill the post by advertising in JobCentres. They will also have to show their recruits are qualified and will earn more than £24,000 a year.

The Home Office said 12 per cent of non-European migrants who arrived last year under the existing work permit scheme would have been refused – about 8,000 individuals.

Mr Byrne said: "Our new points system means British job-seekers get the first crack of the whip and that only the skilled migrants we actually need will be able to come."

But David Frost, the director general of the British Chamber of Commerce, warned: "The fight for global talent means we must not shut our borders to those who can help our economy diversify and grow. Setting arbitrary quotas to try to fit British-born workers into jobs is not the way to manage migration."

Chris Huhne, the Liberal Democrat home affairs spokesman, said: "It is all very well having strict rules governing visas but how are they to be enforced if no one checks whether visitors are leaving the country when they are supposed to? The points-based system has grown out of unprecedented levels of illegal immigration and a criminal underestimation of the amount of migrants from eastern Europe."

Damian Green, the shadow Immigration minister, said: "This is at last an admission that it is possible to have an overall limit on numbers – something we have been proposing but the Government said would not work. Why won't the Government admit this is the only effective way of controlling immigration numbers?"

How the points system will work

Tier One: Highly skilled

Wealthy, skilled professionals considered automatically to have enough points to work in Britain, regardless of whether they have a job offer.

Tier two: Skilled

People have to have a job offer and will have to be allocated enough points on skills and qualifications. Must speak English and their job has to have been advertised first in this country.

Tier three: Low skilled

Includes jobs in hospitality, food processing and agriculture from all over the world. The Government thinks these vacancies can be filled from the European Union.

Tier four: Students

Replaces student visas; courses and institutions have to be recognised.

Tier five: Temporary workers

Covers sports stars and musicians coming in for one-off events.