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<p>This government recognises the importance of the UK’s creative and cultural industries,
not only to the economy and international reputation of the United Kingdom, but also
to the wellbeing and enrichment of its people. We want musicians and performers to
be able to tour abroad easily.</p><p><strong> </strong></p><p>In order to support
this, our focus is now on bilateral engagement with Member States, who are principally
responsible for deciding the rules governing what work UK visitors can undertake in
the EU. This is why we have spoken to every Member State. From those extensive discussions,19
out of 27 Member States have confirmed that UK musicians and performers do not require
visas or work permits for some short term touring. Travellers should always check
what requirements they need to fulfil with the EU Member State they are travelling
to, and that is why we are working closely with Member States to ensure their guidance
is clear and accessible.</p><p><strong> </strong></p><p>We have also developed sector
specific ‘<a href="https://www.gov.uk/government/collections/touring-europe-checklists-for-the-arts-cultural-creative-and-heritage-sectors"
target="_blank">landing pages</a>’ for GOV.UK, aimed at the creative sectors, which
will allow cultural and creative professionals to easily locate and access guidance
that is relevant to them. From these pages, general <a href="https://www.gov.uk/government/collections/travelling-to-the-eu-switzerland-norway-iceland-or-liechtenstein-for-work"
target="_blank">business traveller summaries</a> can be accessed, which provide enhanced
guidance on EU Member State immigration systems for GOV.UK, and include sector-specific
rules that feature on Member State websites.</p><p><strong> </strong></p><p>We are
now actively engaging with those remaining EU Member States that do not allow visas
or work permit free touring, and calling on them to align their arrangements with
the UK’s generous rules, which allow creative professionals to tour here easily. Formal
approaches have been made, DCMS ministers will be actively involved, and we are working
closely with the sector to amplify each other’s lobbying efforts.</p><p><strong> </strong></p><p>We
recognise challenges remain around touring, and we are continuing to work closely
with the industry. We want to ensure that as COVID-19 restrictions are lifted, touring
can resume and our world-leading creative and cultural artists can continue to travel
widely, learning their craft, growing their audiences and showing the best of British
creativity to the world.</p><p> </p>
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