Cut The Red Tape

Brexit has added a mountain of regulations on our creative industries’ ability to work and tour in Europe. We are calling on the Government to cut the red tape and boost our cultural powerhouse.

Our asks

  1. Make it easier for creatives to work and tour in Europe by negotiating a visa waiver with the EU

  2. Reduce the cost of crucial ATA carnets, required to bring touring equipment into Europe

  3. Designate St Pancras as a port to make it possible to move instruments via Eurostar

Negotiate a visa waiver for touring

Since the UK’s exit from the EU, Member States can choose to treat UK musicians as ‘visa nationals’ when entering the country for paid work and require a visa or work permit, or both. This add an extra layer of red tape for creatives when touring or exhibiting work abroad.

The Schengen visa waiver allows short visits to the EU, as follows:

  • UK nationals may spend up to 90 days in a period of 180 days in most EU countries plus the EEA states Iceland, Liechtenstein, Norway and Switzerland

  • It applies to holiday makers, but several EU Member States also allow UK nationals to work for up to 90 days in a period of 180 without requiring a visa

  • Every day spent in the area counts towards the 90 days; once this limit is reached you cannot return until 90 more days have passed without a visa

  • Unless you are remaining in just one EU country, there is no visa that will allow you to stay for more than 90 days in 180

  • Those outstaying the 90 days risk being fined, deported or even banned from entering the entire Schengen area

Nine Member States restrict UK nationals to less than 30 days of visa-free work (sometimes much less) and two (Cyprus and Malta) offer no visa-free work at all. Some states also require work permits, proof of earnings, a criminal-record check or other paperwork.

Reduce the price of crucial ATA Carnets

An ATA Carnet is an international customs document for goods (eg a non-portable instrument or other creative equipment) that are temporarily being moved between countries and are not for sale. They are absolutely crucial to be able to move high value equipment necessary for touring.

The cost of a carnet in the UK is over £400 PLUS 30-40% of the value of the goods. This can easily run into the tens-of-thousands. By contrast, some EU governments subsidise the cost to help creatives access other markets.

Designate St Pancras Eurostar as a CITES Port

Many musicians perform with instruments that were made when the use of materials such as ivory and tortoiseshell was legal. Since 1975, CITES (the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and Flora) regulations have applied to international trade in CITES-listed species, including non-commercial movements.

A Musical Instrument Certificate (MIC) is required for musicians travelling internationally with an instrument containing a CITES-restricted species, although regulations do not apply when crossing borders within the EU.

Following Brexit, a MIC is now required when entering the EU from the UK with an applicable musical instrument. The holder of a MIC must travel through a CITES-designated Point of Entry and Exit (PoE) to allow a CITES official to endorse the certificate both when leaving the UK and when arriving in the EU (and vice versa). Currently, the UK’s designated PoEs are only airports and ports,  making it impossible to move many instruments via Eurostar.