'Visa-free touring for performers in 19 EU countries' announced by government

Performers will not need visas or work permits to carry out "short-term" work in 19 EU countries, the government has claimed.

The Department for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport said in a statement that it had negotiated with 19 member states, which "have confirmed UK musicians and performers do not need visas or work permits for short-term tours".

It follows months of campaigning from the music and performing arts sectors, which demanded the government solve the post-Brexit touring "crisis". Campaigners argued that it threatened to inflict long-lasting and irreversible damage on the cultural sector and emerging talent.

DCMS said it had spoken to every EU member state and that from these discussions, 19 countries had confirmed they would not require UK performers to provide visas or work permits. They are: Austria, Belgium, Czech Republic, Denmark, Estonia, Finland, France, Germany, Hungary, Ireland, Italy, Latvia, Lithuania, Luxembourg, Netherlands, Poland, Slovakia, Slovenia and Sweden, the government said.

Some countries listed, such as France, already offer UK citizens visa and permit-free cultural work, in France’s case for up to 90 days, however changes to specific countries’ requirements are not included in the statement published today (August 4).

The government has not provided any further details on the definition of "short term", while the statement only refers to performers and does not reference any other creative or production roles.

There is also no mention of progress on relaxing cabotage rules – which mean trucks from the UK can now only make three stops in the EU before being required to return to the UK – or costly goods carnets. Both of these measures have drawn heavy criticism for adding further red tape to UK-based tours and have been described as a "nightmare" for touring companies.

DCMS said it is "actively engaging" with the remaining EU countries, which include Spain, Bulgaria, Romania, Portugal and Greece.

Culture minister Caroline Dinenage tweeted she had met with her Spanish equivalent last week and hopes to visit Romania in September for further talks.

The DCMS statement added: "We recognise challenges remain around touring and we are continuing to work closely with the industry. We want to ensure that when 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."