UK visa scheme under heavy fire

Ian Birrell, co-founder of Africa Express with Damon Albarn and former Deputy Editor of the Independent newspaper, has launched a blistering attack on the UK's Border Agency, highlighting the Wu Tang Clan's recent treatment when they arrived in the UK to tour and play Glastonbury who said they were treated like 'The Taliban', and the plight of Idrissa Soumaoro, who should be rehearsing for the much anticipated Amadou and Mariam tour, but who is stuck in a hotel in Senegal waiting for UK visa paperwork to be completed. In another article by the Observer's Arts and Medias Correspondent Vanessa Thorpe, a number of artistes have said that they are ruling Britian out of future touring plans because of the difficulties in obtaining visas. Russian ballerina Ploina Semionova was almost unable to perform with the English National Ballet in June 2010 because of visa problems, Argentinian dancers Ismael Ludman and Maria Mondino were refused entry at Glasgow in April this year and painist Grigory Sokolov has refused to submit to fingerprinting and eye scans every time he applies for a visa to visit the UK.

‘Daily nightmare’ of UK Border Agency’s visa rules for foreign artists and performers

The case of an American cellist, Kristin Ostling, who was sent back to Chicago by British immigration officials when she came to the UK to take part in an unpaid recital, has fuelled demands for an overhaul of the visa system for visiting artists and musicians. Ostling, who was due to perform at Leeds University, was subjected to eight hours of questioning before being told she was taking work away from UK musicians and sent home. Her case was highlighted in a recent House of Lords debate as evidence of the difficulties routinely faced by visiting artists and performers since the introduction in 2008 of the tier five "creative and sporting" category of the points-based immigration system. The demands to overhaul the system of artist and cultural visas follow complaints from leading arts figures, including Lady Bakewell, that such cases are no longer isolated incidents but the "daily nightmares" of concert planners and theatre managers across Britain. The London mayor, Boris Johnson, said unnecessary bureaucratic burdens should not be put in the way of artists and performers. "With competition from cities like Berlin, Shanghai or Mumbai, we must not jeopardise London's position as a world creative hub," he said. See more at http://www.guardian.co.uk/culture/2011/mar/21/home-secretary-visa-rules-arts