Players from abroad

In this section you will find the necessary instructions for the correct processing of players from abroad.

On July 31, 2019, the RFEF issued circular no. 15 of the 2019/20 season, with regulatory news regarding the registration of minor players from abroad, established by FIFA.

Three new exceptions have been added to those already contained in article 19 of the Regulations on the Status and Transfer of Players:

• The player moves for humanitarian reasons with their parents.
• The player moves for humanitarian reasons without their parents.
• Exchange student.

In the case of displacement for humanitarian reasons, FIFA reports in its regulations and clarifying documentation what circumstances must exist to take advantage of these exceptions.

Thus, both the transfer and the first registration of minor players is not allowed unless the circumstances fit into one of the following exceptions:

• Parents of the player move for reasons not related to football.
• The transfer takes place within the EU/EEA and the player is between 16 and 18 years old (only 1st and 2nd National Division clubs).
• The player and the club are 50km from the common border and the maximum distance between both is less than 100km.
• First registration of a player who has lived continuously for five years in the country where they want to register.
• The player moves for humanitarian reasons with their parents.
• The player moves for humanitarian reasons without their parents.
• The player is an exchange student participating in an academic program.

The club interested in registering a minor player must send the necessary documentation supporting the circumstances of the exception under article 19 of the FIFA Regulations to the Territorial Federation. This Territorial Federation will be responsible for processing the file with the RFEF.

In the FIFA Guide (available in the "Documentation of interest" tab) you will find all the documentation required depending on the case, as well as what the RFEF additionally requests, which is susceptible to requesting additional documentation even if it is not included in the annexes of the aforementioned circular.

Likewise, all documentation attached to an authorization request for a minor player must be clearly identified, must be perfectly legible, and must be in one of the four official FIFA languages (English, French, German, and Spanish). In the case of original documents issued in a non-official FIFA language, both the original document and the corresponding translation must be provided.

We indicate that you can check the status of requests in real time through the option "Check authorization request" on the following web. Your delegation will provide the request number.

If in doubt you can contact your FCF delegation.