John Bateman #268

Cobarcats said:
Well his visa mix up caused all the delay, king robbie might shed some light on the subject later mate.
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Last I heard about it was Sheens saying it’s a visa issue but they were trying to get him here in January.

Still in England at the moment though, so they’ve just been sending him training plans and programs to do there in the meantime.
 
He’ll be here in 1-2 months. 408 visa takes 1-3 months. Considering how long the tigers took to offer him a contract it will be touch and go before season begins.

If the club is legit they should use MARA. Any mistakes or missed documents delays your application by weeks and weeks.

I posted this in more detail but deleted as I don’t wanna get in trouble
 
KingRobbie said:
Last I heard about it was Sheens saying it’s a visa issue but they were trying to get him here in January.

Still in England at the moment though, so they’ve just been sending him training plans and programs to do there in the meantime.
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Cheers guys.. hoping there's no late twist to his immigration status.. but a pretty experienced footballer.. should be able to adapt pretty quickly
 
KingRobbie said:
Last I heard about it was Sheens saying it’s a visa issue but they were trying to get him here in January.

Still in England at the moment though, so they’ve just been sending him training plans and programs to do there in the meantime.
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Shouldn’t be any visa issues if he’s using a migration agent especially considering he’s worked in Australia before. Why you should always use a registered migration agent to avoid delays - so much paper work especially with famiky
 
trentrunciman said:
Shouldn’t be any visa issues if he’s using a migration agent especially considering he’s worked in Australia before. Why you should always use a registered migration agent to avoid delays - so much paper work especially with famiky
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Can he just come on a ETA and sort out the residency visa while he’s here?
 
Cobarcats said:
Can't he just be smuggled in, geez how hard is it. Surely there must be a Wests Tigers supporter who works in customs and immigration. 🤣
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He can get a ETA in a few hours which would allow him to come for 90 days. I have friends who come a few times each year.
He probably wont come without his family?
 
twentyforty said:
Can he just come on a ETA and sort out the residency visa while he’s here?
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People can always apply for a holiday visa if they intend to have a holiday. If they are wanting to get here in anticipation of the working visa being granted, they may find they get here and are caught short. That is, the working visa might take longer to be granted, or worse it might be refused, and they have no right to work on a holiday visa. It probably is best to wait offshore for the working visa to be granted before they come
 
trentrunciman said:
He’ll be here in 1-2 months. 408 visa takes 1-3 months. Considering how long the tigers took to offer him a contract it will be touch and go before season begins.

If the club is legit they should use MARA. Any mistakes or missed documents delays your application by weeks and weeks.

I posted this in more detail but deleted as I don’t wanna get in trouble
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In trouble with who ??
 
Cobarcats said:
Can't he just be smuggled in, geez how hard is it. Surely there must be a Wests Tigers supporter who works in customs and immigration. 🤣
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surely Lee could get around this somehow like making the COE at Concord an embassy, so the feds can't get in... and have Bateman living in there. Julian Assange style.
 

‘Need to get him here first’: Visa issues leave star Tiger Bateman stranded in UK​


John Bateman remains stranded in the north of England because of visa issues, with the Wests Tigers hopeful – but not 100 per cent certain – of having their international recruit in the country by the time the new NRL season kicks off.
Tigers coach Tim Sheens said there were plenty of people working behind the scenes to fast-track Bateman’s paperwork, and that the back-rower had in the meantime been inundated with plenty of video footage of the club’s training sessions and set plays to study while back home.

Bateman needed a contract with the Tigers registered before he could officially apply for a working visa, only for the Christmas period to cause further delays to the process.

The 29-year-old Bateman and his Australian partner also have to apply for a visa for their newborn son.

Bateman, a former Canberra Raider who was only cut loose by Super League club Wigan once the Tigers paid a substantial transfer fee, joins David Klemmer, Api Koroisau, Isaiah Papali’i and Charlie Staines under the new Sheens and Benji Marshall regime.

Because Bateman was involved in England’s World Cup campaign, Sheens said even if the forward had been in the country, he would not have started with the Tigers until a couple of weeks ago.

The Tigers’ first trial against the New Zealand Warriors kicks off in just three weeks’ time. The second, on February 18, is against Canberra where Bateman spent two seasons, including an appearance in the 2019 Grand Final loss to the Sydney Roosters.

“There have been a couple of issues with the visa, and the government [departments] in both countries shut down over Christmas, so that slowed us down [further],” Sheens told the Herald.

“We’re not putting a date on when he’ll be here. We’ve got immigration people and experts trying to sort it out.

“We wouldn’t use him in the first trial, but we’d aim to have him play in the second trial. We need to get him here first.”

Bateman has posted photos of himself working out back home in Bradford, and Sheens was confident the forward would make an immediate impact the moment he did arrive.

“He’s still doing plenty of weights and general fitness,” Sheens said.

“We’re sending him videos of our training sessions and plays, and I’m in constant touch with him – we’ll speak two or three times a week. He’s aware of everything we’re doing here.

Bateman, Papali’i and Klemmer, even Koroisau and the returning Shawn Blore play with an uncompromising and physical brand of football, something the Tigers pack has lacked in recent years.

“I can’t wait to begin a new chapter at a club that I know is going places,” Bateman said.

“There has been a lot of change at Wests Tigers over the past few months and everything I hear is positive. I want to be a part of the rebuild at the club and I’m really excited to be coming back to the NRL.”

NRL 2023: ‘Need to get him here first’: Visa issues leave star Wests Tigers recruit John Bateman stranded in UK

amp.smh.com.au amp.smh.com.au
 
Hope they can get him here soon, not so much for his fitness but to add another guy into preseason training that can set the tempo and raise those around him.
 
AdelaideTiger said:
Hope they can get him here soon, not so much for his fitness but to add another guy into preseason training that can set the tempo and raise those around him.
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I hope that when he does arrive,he brings his Raiders and WC form with him and starts to lead by example,just what our youth need on the field and great coaching from Sheens...
 
TrueTiger said:
I hope that when he does arrive,he brings his Raiders and WC form with him and starts to lead by example,just what our youth need on the field and great coaching from Sheens...
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I think his style of play suits NRL conditions far more than the Super League, bigger is better over there, where as here speed and skill are much more important. I don't doubt his ticker.
 
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