Over 219,600 people, including many famous musicians, actors and comedians of the United Kingdom have signed a petition urging their government to negotiate for a free cultural work permit to allow them to perform in the European Union countries.
The online petition initiated by video director Tim Brennan demands visa-free travel throughout the European Union for musicians, bands, TV and sports celebrities as well as other professionals, in order to facilitate their movement, SchengenVisaInfo.com reports.
As the United Kingdom is officially outside the European Union, artists fear that they will “face further hardship when trying to tour the EU on a professional basis, with potentially each country asking for its visa, that would be valid only for one trip.”
“This will become impossible due to cost and time if we do not have visa-free travel,” the petition reads.
From now on, artists could be subject to additional visa costs and other requirements; thus, some fear that music tours could now be at risk.
Since January 1, 2021, the United Kingdom nationals must have a visa for stays of a more extended period than 90 days in a 180-day period. They could also face restrictions on their activities, while previously they were eligible to travel to the European Union countries freely.
Some EU countries like Italy, Denmark and Spain require additional permits; therefore, these different rules applied in other countries could also bring new complications.
The music industry brings about £5.8bn to Britain’s economy. In 2019, nearly 20 per cent of live music contributed to that figure, even though the music industry has also been affected profoundly by the Coronavirus pandemic.
According to the trade body, the Incorporated Society of Musicians (ISM), it was “deeply concerned about the absence of visa-free travel provisions for working musicians”.
The professional body for musicians stressed that the current situation would bring enormous implications for Britain’s musicians who work within the EU, as the ISM’s most recent Brexit report highlighted that 78 per cent of musicians visit EU/EEA at least once a year to perform.
“It is hugely disappointing to see that musicians and other creatives will not be covered by visa-free short-term business trip provisions. After everything that the sector has been through over the past ten months, how has this happened? It is high time that the value of music to our lives and our economy is recognised fully,” the ISM chief executive, Deborah Annetts, pointed out in this regard.
The United Kingdom’s government has continuously urged other countries to be prepared for its new points-based immigration system, which has been initiated in order to treat people worldwide equally.
As for the EU Settlement Scheme, which permits EU, EEA and Switzerland citizens together with their families to continue to live in the United Kingdom post-Brexit, the Home Office previously announced that more than four million applications had been submitted.
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