Non-EU artists will need visas to perform in the UK from 2021

Musicians must also prove they have £1000 in savings before applying

The Home Office has announced that musicians from outside the UK will need to apply for a visa and pay to perform in the country starting from 2021.

This change will subjugate EU performers to the same rules of those currently travelling from countries outside of the European Union once the Brexit transition period ends in December 2020.

Now both EU and non-EU artists who wish to travel to the UK must prove that they have nearly £1000 in their account 90 days before applying for a visa in a bid to provide proof that they can support themselves.

Artists will need to acquire a Tier 5 visa to work in the country, which is expected to cost £244. The current rules however allow performers and their crews to travel throughout the UK without any need for a paid work permit.

Chief executive of the Incorporated Society of Musicians, Deborah Annetts, told The New European: “We are deeply disappointed that free movement for musicians and other artists from the EU has been ruled out and we would ask the UK Government to reconsider our call for a two-year, multi-entry visa. As the former minister of state in the Department for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport Nigel Adams MP said last month, ‘touring is absolutely the lifeblood of the industry’.

“We urge the government to listen to the creative sector to ensure that the ‘broader unsponsored route’ works to support the UK’s creative industries and those in the EU who together generate so much wealth for the UK.”

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