A hardline approach to immigration is hitting the UK’s live entertainment industry – and it’s to the detriment of us all.
Hardly a week goes by without news of an artist being denied a UK visa, or shelving plans altogether to come to Britain to perform, because of the country’s increasingly strict approach to immigration.
While the media rhetoric – perhaps disingenuously – conflates illegal migration with economic migration, what has become collateral damage in the pursuit of tighter border control is the creative entertainment industry.
Immigration policy and visa bureaucracy are putting the blockers on artists, performers and entertainers coming to the UK to share their craft. A downturn in live performances hits the industry from every angle, while we as audiences are being deprived of the cultural, social and economic benefits of experiencing creative outputs in real life. But it wasn’t always like this.
A golden age of live entertainment
Rewind back to the 1990s and early 2000s. Against a backdrop of Cool Britannia, the UK was a global destination for artists, entertainers and performers from all over the world and from all genres and types of media. Overseas performers toured, and UK audiences were never short of choice, whatever their taste.
Underpinning this zeitgeist was the movement towards globalisation, ushered in under the Blair government through economic, social and immigration policies that welcomed talent to share their art.
The immigration process to come to the UK as a professional artist was straightforward. EU freedom of movement meant EU nationals were free to come and go, with no visa issues to deal with. For artists from outside the EU, there was some planning involved. Some could rely on the visitor rules – which allowed a stay of up to 6 months without a visa, provided they were from a ‘non-visa national’ country. Others from ‘visa national’ countries did need a visa to perform, but it was a relatively light-touch process that rarely hindered UK-based opportunities.
In all, the environment supported the movement of ideas, creativity and shared experiences that enriched the cultural, social and economic fabric of the UK.
Times have changed
Fast forward to 2025 and performers are facing an entirely different proposition. Immigration has become more political than ever; borders became sensitive, and suspicion crept into processes previously built on trust.
The tone change arguably resulted from post-9/11 anxieties quietly reshaping government policies and priorities, and the introduction of the UK’s points-based immigration system in 2008. While intended to simplify the visa rules, the new system effectively blocked the pathway for many smaller acts to perform in the UK, who could no longer meet the expensive, and confusing, administrative demands of the visa rules.
In immigration terms, Brexit made everything harder still. Artists from Europe, who had previously travelled visa-free, suddenly faced complex applications and prohibitive costs, and a real threat of visa denial.
The reality for overseas artists is that getting permission to come to the UK perform is no longer a mere formality or tick box exercise; it’s a rigorous process that demands planning, insight and a budget, and performers are now frequently coming unstuck. Diverse international artists like Kenya’s Coco Em, Morocco’s Soukaina Habiballah, the Afghan Youth Orchestra and several Afrobeats performers – as well as their dancers and crew members – have faced rejections, leading to event cancellations and boycotts. In piecemeal concessions to the hardline approach, we’ve seen negative decisions later being overturned following public outcry and pushback, but it shouldn’t have to be this way.
Barriers to performing
The impact is being felt from grassroots to global stars, and across the industry supply chain as a whole. Promoters, venues, production crews and freelancers are all seeing reduced work and revenue.
For emerging artists without management or funding, the expense of touring in the UK is now largely outweighing any benefit. Where gigs once provided critical income, the new levels of bureaucracy mean many now struggle just to break even. Online streaming can’t replace the income or exposure of live performances. It’s never been harder to build a career as a performer.
Even established artists with management backing are feeling the hit. Planning for UK-based tours demands strategic manoeuvring – when to book large venues and promote events when visas haven’t yet been secured? It’s not impossible, but it’s also not for the faint-hearted or uninitiated.
Beyond the economic impact, UK audiences are losing out on cultural exchange, risking a depleted and less globally-connected creative ecosystem. Culture thrives on openness, on exchanges between people and places.
Restricting access doesn’t just hurt visiting performers, it limits the growth and creativity of our own homegrown talent. The British music scene would not be where it is today without the influence and exposure of global artists visiting the UK. And in tougher economic times, culture becomes more valuable than ever. It’s not a luxury. People need experiences that uplift and inspire.
Freer movement for talent
As immigration lawyers, we see these changes first-hand helping to bring artists here. We work strategically, starting small—obtaining visas for intimate gigs first, paving the way for bigger events. But it shouldn’t require such intricate manoeuvres to welcome creativity.
Our support for the entertainment industry goes beyond paperwork. We believe passionately in easier movement of talent as a creative necessity. That’s why we’re sponsoring Liverpool-based arts and culture organisation Writing on the Wall, and specifically their annual festival, WoWFEST: 25 Years of Radical Writing. Through our involvement, we’re openly advocating for better UK-bound mobility for international artists.
Madeline Heneghan, Co-Director of Writing on the Wall, says: “WoWFEST brings together an exciting lineup of local, national and, importantly, international voices, celebrated authors and commentators. Now in our 25th year, the festival would simply not have the same impact without global talent enriching the programme year on year. We’re absolutely thrilled to have DavidsonMorris on board to support our mission and help promote opportunities for global performers to share their craft here in Liverpool – one of the world’s top destinations for culture.”
We’re proud to be advocates for talent mobility in a world where movement is becoming a privilege, not a right. Our sponsorships for initiatives like Liverpool WoWFEST 25 are about supporting the people who enrich our cultural fabric. It’s about reminding ourselves and our government that the UK has always been at its best when it welcomes creativity and all the benefits it brings.
It’s the same reason we’re backing Blake Wilson, the incredibly talented young British motorbike rider. Talent needs freedom, support and a stage. It deserves the chance to be seen and heard, regardless of where it comes from.
Anne Morris is a leading UK immigration lawyer and Managing Director of UK law firm DavidsonMorris.
For the full WoWFEST 2025 schedule and more information, visit: www.writingonthewall.org.uk
Author
Founder and Managing Director Anne Morris is a fully qualified solicitor and trusted adviser to large corporates through to SMEs, providing strategic immigration and global mobility advice to support employers with UK operations to meet their workforce needs through corporate immigration.
She is a recognised by Legal 500 and Chambers as a legal expert and delivers Board-level advice on business migration and compliance risk management as well as overseeing the firm’s development of new client propositions and delivery of cost and time efficient processing of applications.
Anne is an active public speaker, immigration commentator, and immigration policy contributor and regularly hosts training sessions for employers and HR professionals
