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

To ask the Secretary of State for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport, whether any bilateral arrangements are in place for UK musicians seeking to tour in France.

This Government is committed to supporting the UK’s creative industries, including musicians, to adapt to new arrangements with the EU.

EU Member States are principally responsible for deciding the rules governing what work UK visitors can undertake in each Member State. We have engaged bilaterally with all EU Member States, and nearly all (24 out of 27) have confirmed they offer visa and work permit free routes for UK performers for short-term touring.

This includes the UK’s biggest touring markets such as France, Germany, and the Netherlands. Following engagement by the UK Government and the sector, this also includes Spain, which introduced 90-day visa- and work permit- free touring in November 2021; and Greece, which announced a visa and work permit free route for UK creatives in June 2022, currently due to be in place until 31 December 2022. The UK Government is continuing to engage with Greece on extending this arrangement beyond the end of this year, however this is ultimately a decision for the Greek Government to take.

The Government is engaged with the remaining Member States - Cyprus, Malta and Portugal - on allowing creative professionals to tour more easily. However, ultimately it is up to these countries to align their requirements more closely with the UK’s generous rules.

The UK’s domestic rules allow musicians, entertainers and artists (and their technical staff) from EU Member States, to perform in the UK without requiring a visa, and the UK does not have work-permits.