KSV Posted August 1, 2012 Share Posted August 1, 2012 Problem could be he didn't meet the criteria of games while at villa for 6 months.. so it may be harder to renew it now. He doesn't have to renew, the initial WP is issued for the length of his UK contract, it's clearly there on all the relevant websites including the UKBA's own. Isn't it provided based on a certain criteria? What happens if he hasn't met it? I don't know. Just trying to make sense of it. For now just have to take the clubs word for it.. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
LockStockVilla Posted August 1, 2012 Share Posted August 1, 2012 I personally think that Makoun is a figment of our imaginations and quite simply does not exist. It would explain alot. Problem solved. We can now move on with our lives. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bickster Posted August 1, 2012 Moderator Share Posted August 1, 2012 Problem could be he didn't meet the criteria of games while at villa for 6 months.. so it may be harder to renew it now. He doesn't have to renew, the initial WP is issued for the length of his UK contract, it's clearly there on all the relevant websites including the UKBA's own. Isn't it provided based on a certain criteria? What happens if he hasn't met it? I don't know. Just trying to make sense of it. For now just have to take the clubs word for it.. The criteria appear to be all football related Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bickster Posted August 1, 2012 Moderator Share Posted August 1, 2012 Scrap all that, it seems I may have been wrong. There certainly is a great deal of validity to the English test clicky Without going into the ins and outs of Tier 2 and Tier 5 read that article towards the bottom of the page Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
LockStockVilla Posted August 1, 2012 Share Posted August 1, 2012 Yeah, that is undoubtedly the case, given the fact that he seemed to speak literally 0% English when he signed on over a year ago. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
8pints Posted August 2, 2012 Share Posted August 2, 2012 crazy times. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
srsmithusa Posted August 3, 2012 Share Posted August 3, 2012 I personally think that Makoun is a figment of our imaginations and quite simply does not exist. It would explain alot. Problem solved. We can now move on with our lives. Agreed ! but is the sweater real ? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
briny_ear Posted August 3, 2012 Share Posted August 3, 2012 Scrap all that, it seems I may have been wrong. There certainly is a great deal of validity to the English test clicky Without going into the ins and outs of Tier 2 and Tier 5 read that article towards the bottom of the pageHaven't quite got my brain into action today but is the thinking that he would have got in on Tier 5 when he first joined (so didn't need to pass English test) and now needs to pass his test to qualify for Tier 2 & so be able to continue playing in the UK? Merde, Zut alors! (as he might say). Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
LockStockVilla Posted August 3, 2012 Share Posted August 3, 2012 Agreed ! but is the sweater real ? Definitely, you couldn't have dreamed that thing up. Haven't quite got my brain into action today but is the thinking that he would have got in on Tier 5 when he first joined (so didn't need to pass English test) and now needs to pass his test to qualify for Tier 2 & so be able to continue playing in the UK? Merde, Zut alors! (as he might say). Yes, that should be the case and from what I have heard, he is currently in the process of being coached in English/taking classes in order to pass the test, so I guess we shall wait and see. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bickster Posted August 3, 2012 Moderator Share Posted August 3, 2012 Scrap all that, it seems I may have been wrong. There certainly is a great deal of validity to the English test clicky Without going into the ins and outs of Tier 2 and Tier 5 read that article towards the bottom of the pageHaven't quite got my brain into action today but is the thinking that he would have got in on Tier 5 when he first joined (so didn't need to pass English test) and now needs to pass his test to qualify for Tier 2 & so be able to continue playing in the UK? Merde, Zut alors! (as he might say). Correct but it doesn't take this long to pass the English test, even if he only started at the end of the Greek season. Tevez still has a visa! Something else is still amiss if you ask me Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Blaizend Posted August 3, 2012 Share Posted August 3, 2012 I personally think that Makoun is a figment of our imaginations and quite simply does not exist. It would explain alot. Problem solved. We can now move on with our lives. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ender4 Posted August 3, 2012 Share Posted August 3, 2012 very interesting, and pretty much explains the delay. quote from the link in bickster's post: There are two immigration statuses available to a player applying for a work permit: tier two and tier five. Under tier two, a player can remain in the UK for an initial three years, with the possibility for an extension for a further two years. To qualify, the player must accrue 70 immigration points under the Home Office’s system. 50 are given for getting an FA endorsement, with 10 more given for being able to prove sufficient funding to remain in the country. The final 10 are awarded on the basis of the player’s English. If the applicant comes from a predominantly English-speaking country, or has a degree from a course which was taught in English, the 10 points are subsequently awarded. Additionally, a player can sit an approved English language test upon their arrival in the UK to obtain tier two status. Failing that, a player can apply for tier five status. Again, a certificate of sponsorship and proof of sponsorship is required but a visa is only valid for one year. However, the player can then sit an English language test within that year and apply to switch to tier two status. so it seems he came here under tier 5 with a 1-year visa, and now has to apply for a tier 2 visa which means he has to pass an English test. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bickster Posted August 3, 2012 Moderator Share Posted August 3, 2012 very interesting, and pretty much explains the delay. quote from the link in the above post: The length of time a player can remain in the UK as a player depends on his grasp of the English language. There are two immigration statuses available to a player applying for a work permit: tier two and tier five. Under tier two, a player can remain in the UK for an initial three years, with the possibility for an extension for a further two years. To qualify, the player must accrue 70 immigration points under the Home Office’s system. 50 are given for getting an FA endorsement, with 10 more given for being able to prove sufficient funding to remain in the country. The final 10 are awarded on the basis of the player’s English. If the applicant comes from a predominantly English-speaking country, or has a degree from a course which was taught in English, the 10 points are subsequently awarded. Additionally, a player can sit an approved English language test upon their arrival in the UK to obtain tier two status. Failing that, a player can apply for tier five status. Again, a certificate of sponsorship and proof of sponsorship is required but a visa is only valid for one year. However, the player can then sit an English language test within that year and apply to switch to tier two status. so it seems he came here under tier 5 with a 1-year visa, and now has to apply for a tier 2 visa which means he has to pass an English test. Yes we know, but it doesnt take from June 1st to now to pass an English test. I refer you to my previous comment about Tevez! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
LockStockVilla Posted August 3, 2012 Share Posted August 3, 2012 I personally think that Makoun is a figment of our imaginations and quite simply does not exist. It would explain alot. Problem solved. We can now move on with our lives. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jacketspuds Posted August 3, 2012 Share Posted August 3, 2012 Pretty obvious that Makoun had no intention of coming back to Villa so he didn't bother learning English whilst at Olympiakos. Maybe the club could have pushed this a bit more but I would imagine both parties thought that Makoun would make his move to Greece permanent. Will be interesting to see if he does turn out for us again by passing the relevant tests or if we are just looking to offload him and doing PR deflection at present. I would imagine the latter is the more likely scenario. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
LockStockVilla Posted August 3, 2012 Share Posted August 3, 2012 I am pretty much under the assumption, as well, that a large part of him not having passed the fairly simple english tests is more so down to Makoun having no desire to play for us or in England. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
LondonLax Posted August 3, 2012 Share Posted August 3, 2012 I am pretty much under the assumption, as well, that a large part of him not having passed the fairly simple english tests is more so down to Makoun having no desire to play for us or in England. I think the fact that he doesn't speak english is the bigger drawback. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Richard Posted August 3, 2012 Share Posted August 3, 2012 Waste of money. We'll be lucky to get anything back on him Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BOF Posted August 3, 2012 Moderator Share Posted August 3, 2012 TBH a lot of this is speculation and hearsay, so we have to be careful to some extent not to be hard on him in case it's something else. IF what we are hearing/deducing is true and he hasn't bothered to learn the language, is having language-related work permit problems and isn't particularly arsed to play for us then I'm certainly not going to lose any sleep over him not being in the squad. As capable as he is as a footballer, we have El Ahmadi to do that job now. However, if it's something else that we haven't heard about then I hope it's all sorted and we can move on. The most significant reason I think all of this is true is because Lambert has hardly mentioned him when talking about the squad. He hasn't even figured in discussions about what the plans are for the season and who will be playing where. That's why I think the work permit might be used as the public excuse for him not arriving when in reality both parties are already engineering a move for him elsewhere as he's not part of the plans. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ender4 Posted August 3, 2012 Share Posted August 3, 2012 Yes we know, but it doesnt take from June 1st to now to pass an English test. I refer you to my previous comment about Tevez! maybe he's just really bad at learning languages? maybe he thought he would be sold and so didn't bother to start learning? maybe he thought the Greek team were going to make his loan deal permanent? maybe he thought that he could get the same visa as last time (not being able to read the visa requirements due to his poor english!) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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