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Questions and Answers
Matthew Beard, Evening Standard25 Jan 2008
Your questions on switching nationality to compete at the Olympics answered
How easy is it to become a British passport holder?
Sportsmen and women, like entertainers, are among those often granted work visas on the basis that their job is so specialist that it is not depriving employment to a Briton. After five years' residency in the UK they may be granted indefinite leave to remain and face a citizenship test before being given a British passport.
What does the International Olympic Committee think?
It does not break the IOC code. Rule 42 of the Olympic Charter states that an athlete can switch nationality after three years' absence from competing at international, continental or regional level for their previous nation. Even within this three-year period, exceptions are made, for example, for athletes who have changed nationality due to marriage.
Are other Olympic sports in Britain also importing athletes for 2012?
Niche sports struggling to put together a team for 2012 have sought different ways to boost their chances. UK Sport sponsors sport-switching "talent identification programmes" in which a promising netball player, for example, could be trained for the British Olympic handball team. In badminton and table tennis there is a great temptation to take rejects from the China team as other European nations have - six of the last eight at the recent European Championships were Chinese-born. But Britain's national federations say they have taken a stand against this.
What other means are there?
In the highest-profile conversion to the 2012 cause, Sudan-born Chicago Bulls basketball star Luol Deng became a British citizen, boosting the team's chance of qualification for London. In 2006 Jamaican high-jumper Germaine Mason, who has dual nationality, switched to the British team.
Have previous host nations recruited from abroad?
Yes. Patriotism and tradition dictate that the host nation field teams in all 28 sports - even if it means cutting corners. At the 2004 Athens Games, the inaugural Greek baseball team recruited from minor United States leagues. China, with a population of 1.3 billion and a state-run elite sports programme, doesn't need to look beyond its borders for this summer's Beijing Games.
