International Clearance (ITC) is required in respect of any player who is not an English national, and is registering for a club in England for the first time, as well as any player who has played under another National Association (including the other Home Associations). It is applicable even if the player is a British citizen and/or if they have been registered in England previously before playing football under another National Association.
To apply for international clearance, please complete the ITC APPLICATION FORM.
In order to obtain an ITC, The FA requires all the relevant information to be submitted by the registering club, including a copy of their ID. This enables us to confirm the player’s identity, so that the former Association can identify the player in their records, as well as confirming the details of the previous club and National Association they played in.
The FA will submit a formal request through FIFA TMS. The former National Association firstly has to confirm the player exists in their records, before we can request the ITC. Once the player has been confirmed, and The FA has made an official request, the former Association has a limited period in which to make the relevant checks and issue the ITC. If the ITC is not issued within this period (7 days for an adult ITC; 30 days for futsal), and no objections are received,The FA will be able to issue a provisional clearance, in line with FIFA Regulations. If there are any issues, such as a current registration with the former club, the ITC may be rejected. Clubs will be contacted if any issues arise from the ITC request.
Clubs should not presume that a player is eligible to player, even if the timeframe for a provisional clearance has passed. Clubs will receive an email confirmation on receipt of an application, as well as further emails each time the status of the application changes, until such time as the ITC has been received and confirmed. The player should not play at any level, until you have confirmation from The FA that the ITC has been received.