How can I come to the United Kingdom as an entertainer without a work permit?

This page explains how you can come to the United Kingdom as an entertainer without a work permit.

An entertainer is someone who wishes to come to the United Kingdom to perform as an amateur or professional.

Although it is not mandatory, you should obtain entry clearance to enter the United Kingdom in most cases if you are a non-European Economic Area (EEA) national. For further information on entry clearance see the section on Entry clearance or the visa services website.

To come to the United Kingdom under the entertainer's category to perform without a work permit you should:

• have a genuine invitation to perform at one or more specific events (PDF 100K opens in new window);
• pose no threat to the domestic labour force;
• not use your engagement to establish yourself in the United Kingdom; and
• not intend to stay in the United Kingdom for more than six months.

To qualify you must fall into one of the following categories:

• professional entertainer coming to take part in a music competition;
• Sikh religious entertainer;
• amateur entertainer seeking entry as an individual performer;
• amateur entertainer seeking entry as part of a group, such as a choir or youth orchestra coming for a specific engagement;
• professional entertainer taking part in a charity concert or show where the organisers are not making a profit and no fee is to be paid to the entertainer;
• amateur or professional entertainer taking part in a cultural event sponsored by a government, a recognised international organisation or a specific major art festival (PDF 100K opens in new window).

There is an art festival list (PDF 100K opens in new window), updated yearly. Festivals can apply to be added to the list if they:

• have been established for at least five years;
• make a significant contribution to cultural life in the United Kingdom;
• at least 15 non-European Economic Area (EEA) performers must have performed at the festival for each of the last five years and at least 15 non EEA performers must have been invited for the current year; and
• have an expected audience of more than 15,000.
  

If you want to come to the United Kingdom without a work permit you will need:

• a genuine invitation from the United Kingdom events organiser to perform at a specific events (PDF 100K opens in new window);
• evidence that you can live in the United Kingdom without help from public funds or working;
• evidence that you can pay for your journey out of the United Kingdom; and
• to satisfy the requirement of the Immigration Rules relating to visitors in all respects apart from employment at the specific events (PDF 100K opens in new window).

In some cases, however, you can enter the United Kingdom as a business visitor rather than an entertainer, because business visitors do not need work permits. Entry as a business visitor would allow you to:

• negotiate contracts or discuss sponsorship;
• perform at auditions only and you are not being paid to do so; and
• make personal appearances and promotions such as television chat shows or interviews providing you are not going to perform.

In all other cases you will need a work permit if you are a non-EEA national to come the United Kingdom as an entertainer and you should see the section on sports and entertainers for further information on how to apply for a work permit.

Austria, Belgium, Bulgaria, Cyprus, Czech Republic, Denmark, Estonia, Finland, France, Germany, Greece, Hungary, Iceland, Irish Republic, Italy, Latvia, Liechtenstein, Lithuania, Luxembourg, Malta, Netherlands, Norway, Poland, Portugal, Romania, Slovakia, Slovenia, Spain, Sweden, United Kingdom. Iceland, Liechtenstein and Norway are not members of the European Union (EU) but citizens of these countries have the same rights to enter, live in and work in the United Kingdom as EU citizens.Public funds are income-related benefits paid by the state. They include income support, income-based job seekers allowance, housing and homelessness assistance, housing and council tax benefit, working families' tax credit, a social fund payment, child benefit and any disability allowance. Benefits paid as a result of contributions, such as the state pension, are not considered to be public funds. Social housing is not considered to be a public fund either. Claiming public funds when you are not eligible is known as benefit fraud and it is a criminal offence.