Originally Posted by
keldsyke
I maybe wrong but I thought it was a National League ruling that came into force on the 1st of January this year?
Not a NL ruling, here's the gist...
"Prior to 1 January 2021, football clubs were able to sign players freely if they were citizens of the EU or Switzerland. This meant that football clubs within the UK had easy access to a Europe-wide talent pool, which enabled clubs to buy and sell players across the continent freely and which, over the years, provided English football with some of the best players in the game.
However, now EU and non-EU nationals have been placed on a level playing field, with a requirement for them to secure a Governing Body Endorsement (GBE) from a sports governing body before the Home Office will consider granting them a sportsperson visa. Players will need to demonstrate that they are elite, internationally established at the highest level and will make a significant contribution to the development of their sport in the UK. They will score points based on their international appearances, the quality of the selling club, the league the club is in, the league position and continental competition, as well as club appearances based on domestic league and continental competition minutes. Players who score 15 points or more will earn a GBE which they can then use to support their application for a sportsperson visa."
I thought this section was potentially interesting for us though, provided it applies below EFL level, although hopefully that isn't relevant for too long of course...
"The rules do, however, allow for some flexibility around overseas players aged 18 to 21, who may be on the edge of the first team but have not yet accumulated enough GBE points to make a move to the UK. The GBE has a separate set of criteria governing potential signings for this age group, such as receiving credit for youth international appearances, if they fail to make the required 15 points from the general criteria. In addition, the number of overseas U21 players a club can sign has been extended from three in the January 2021 transfer window to six per season moving forwards. The cap on the number of U21 players only seems to apply to Premier League clubs, with EFL clubs presumably being able to recruit as many as they wish."
https://www.brabners.com/blogs/football-transfers-post-brexit-era