Question to the Department for Digital, Culture, Media & Sport:

To ask the Secretary of State for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport, what assessment he has made of the implications for his policies of the EU legislation database and existing visa waiver agreements between the EU and other countries such as Colombia, UAE, Tonga, St Lucia which include a definition of paid activity to not cover artists performing an activity on an ad-hoc basis; and whether he has made an assessment of the potential merits of that system to exempt UK musicians and other performers from entry requirements or restrictions on short-term work in the EU for 90-days.

In the UK-EU trade negotiations, the EU tabled a proposal for a permanent visa waiver for short stays covering UK and EU citizens. This drew on bilateral agreements the EU has with some other third countries, such as Columbia, Peru and the UAE. Accepting a permanent short stay visa waiver for all current and future EU Member States was not, and is not, compatible with our manifesto commitment to take back control of our borders. The UK’s Trade and Cooperation Agreement with the EU confirms that both the UK and EU currently provide for visa-free travel for short-term visits for each other’s nationals in accordance with their respective laws. The UK’s points-based immigration system has been developed in the national interest.

The EU’s proposal was accompanied by a Joint Declaration intended to direct those Member States who currently require short stay visas for “paid activities” to waive that requirement for “artists performing an activity on an ad-hoc basis”. This offer would not have met the needs of touring musicians: it did not deal with work permits at all, and would not have allowed support staff to tour with artists. The proposal the UK put forward in negotiations would have reduced the additional administrative burdens on artists when touring and was based on input from the cultural sector – but this was repeatedly rejected by the EU.