Petition calling for visa-free EU travel for touring artists hits 222,000 signatures - News - Mixmag
News

Petition calling for visa-free EU travel for touring artists hits 222,000 signatures

The government is required to respond and parliament must consider it for a debate

  • Patrick Hinton
  • 5 January 2021
Petition calling for visa-free EU travel for touring artists hits 222,000 signatures

A petition calling for Europe-wide visa-free travel permits for touring professionals and artists has received more than 222,000 signatures.

The UK officially left the European Union on January 31 last year. The EU trade agreement deal finalised on December 24 allows several specific occupations to enter the EU for short-term visits without a visa, but this does not include artists and musicians.

Read this next: What you need to know about EU artists entering the UK with a visa from 2021

If touring Europe, musicians may be required to secure a visa for each country they perform in and apply for temporary “passports for goods”, known as carnets, if transporting gear. This will be costly and require excessive paperwork, making touring harder to afford for both musicians and touring entourage such as sound engineers. It is expected that this will be challenged by lawyers.

The petition, which was started by Tim Brennan, states: “We would like the UK Govt to negotiate a free cultural work permit that gives us visa free travel throughout the 27 EU states for music touring professionals, bands, musicians, artists, TV and sports celebrities that tour the EU to perform shows and events & Carnet exception for touring equipment.

“The UK has a huge music / event touring industry which has suffered immensely due to Covid. After the end of the transition period, we face further hardship when trying to tour the EU on a professional basis, with potentially each country asking for its own visa, that would be valid only for one trip. As a freelancer I and many like me travel through the EU countless times a year on different tours and events, this will become impossible due to cost and time if we do not have visa free travel.”

Read this next: UK music festivals face imminent cancellation without government support

The UK government must now respond to the petition and parliament must consider it for a debate, as is a requirement of any petition that receives more than 100,000 signatures.

A number of artists, labels, venues and music organisations have shared the petition, including object blue, Josey Rebelle, NTS, Hyperdub and Rye Wax.

Sign the petition here.

Patrick Hinton is Mixmag's Digital Features Editor, follow him on Twitter

Read this next: Get the best of Mixmag direct to your Facebook DMs

Load the next article
Newsletter 2

Mixmag will use the information you provide to send you the Mixmag newsletter using Mailchimp as our marketing platform. You can change your mind at any time by clicking the unsubscribe link in the footer of any email you receive from us. By clicking sign me up you agree that we may process your information in accordance with our privacy policy. Learn more about Mailchimp's privacy practices here.

Loading...
Loading...
Newsletter 2

Mixmag will use the information you provide to send you the Mixmag newsletter using Mailchimp as our marketing platform. You can change your mind at any time by clicking the unsubscribe link in the footer of any email you receive from us. By clicking sign me up you agree that we may process your information in accordance with our privacy policy. Learn more about Mailchimp's privacy practices here.