Work Permit Question

Quick enquiry: What factors decide on whether a work permit will be granted? In my save I'm in control of a small club (bottom half of league 2 standard) and I tried to sign several young South American (aged 16/17/18) players from Venezuela, Argentina and Chile on free transfers only to have all 6 of them cancelled because of a denial re: work permits. However I noticed that at the same time, Chelsea and Bayern Munich signed similar players (age and nationality) and were granted permits.

I don't know what goes into work permit decisions IRL let alone in FM so any info would be appreciated. For example does the reputation of the club get taken into consideration? Just so that I know not to spend my time fruitlessly trying to sign them in the future. I would scout them for information first (I know this can pick up Wp information) but the board have limited my scouting to the UK. That shouldn't have anything to do with it should it?

Cheers guys.

Very generally: The players have to have played in 80% of the previous years international fixtures. Or something not too dissimilar. I think you're way out of your depth trying to sign such players. Stick to EU nationals!

There are two ways of gaining Work Permits for the EU:

1. 80% of Internationals in the last year/18 months or something

2. Being judged as 'of exceptional ability'. I'm not sure who decides who counts as this.

Ahh right, thanks for the replies.

This is the first time I've started with such a small team with small finances and thought I'd try something a bit different. Not to worry, thanks for the info.