UK Entertainment Visitor Visa - Permitted Activities, Eligibility, Documents Required & Application

A foreign national planning a creative visit to the UK as an entertainer for a short period of up to 6 months to take part in a permitted activity related to their profession and/or expertise needs a UK Standard Visitor visa. A professional entertainer, such as a dancer, musician, artist, or actor, includes amateur and experienced artists. 

The UK entertainment visitor route (a sub-part of the standard visit visa) is for a foreign national seeking to come to the UK to undertake the activities as set out in Appendix Visitor: Permitted Activities. Permitted activities are broadly defined and typically include giving performances as an individual or as part of a group, and participating in competitions or auditions, . 

Appendix Visitor – Permitted Activities lists the activities that foreign nationals (creative people) can undertake as visitors in the UK. A creative person (professional entertainer, musician, or artist) can travel to the UK to take part in certain permitted activities. 

Appendix Visitor – Permitted Activities also allows a foreign professional entertainer to travel to the UK to take part in certain “paid” engagements or events. However, there is no specified level of payment that they must be paid. 

Please note that although entertainment visitors can visit the UK for up to 6 months, if they are travelling to the UK for a PPE (Permitted Paid Engagements), it must be completed within the first 30 days after they arrive in the country.

This is a less common sub-category of the UK standard visitor visa route and is for individuals invited to visit the UK because of their specific skills or expertise. 

UK entertainment visitor visa applicants are not required to have a job sponsorship to take part in a permitted activity in the UK.

Entry requirements for entertainment visitors

From April 2025, specified non-visa nationals (such as nationals of Australia, New Zealand, Japan, Singapore, South Korea, Canada, and the U.S) need to obtain an ETA (Electronic Travel Authorisation) to travel to the UK as a visitor for up to 6 months. An ETA allows an individual to travel to the UK, but it does not allow the ETA holder to enter the UK. The holder of an ETA will still need to obtain permission to enter as a professional entertainer on their arrival in the UK.

Visa nationals, on the other hand, in order to come to the UK as a visitor, must apply for and obtain entry clearance to the UK (unless an exception applies as set out in Appendix Visitor: Visa National list or Appendix Visitor: Transit Without Visa Scheme) before arriving here.

A person who does not need a visa must still satisfy the eligibility criteria as a visitor to the UK. At the UK border, they may be asked questions about their eligibility and the activities they plan to do.

A person who has previously been refused entry to the UK or has a criminal record may want to apply for a UK standard visitor visa (even if they do not need to have one).

Permitted activities for an entertainment visitor

A professional entertainer travelling to the UK as a visitor may:

1. give individual performances or as part of a group; and

2. participate in auditions or competitions; and

3. make personal appearances and do promotional activities; and

4. Take part in one or more festivals or cultural events listed on the Appendix Visitor: Permit Free Festival List.

Permitted activities mentioned above must not amount to the entertainment visitor doing work which amounts to them filling a role or providing short-term cover for a role or undertaking employment within a UK-based organisation. If the visitor is already employed and paid overseas, they must remain so.

An entertainer cannot be paid for their activities in the UK, meaning that it is not suitable for a UK source to compensate them beyond any prize money and the cost of their reasonable expenses. 

However, an entertainment visitor can receive payment from a UK source for any paid performances at a permit-free festival listed in the Immigration Rules Appendix Visitor: Permit Free Festival List.

Permitted “paid” activities for an entertainment visitor

A professional entertainer, artist, or musician travelling to the UK as a visitor can also take part in certain “paid” permitted activity that relates directly to their profession, including:

• Performing

• Presenting, talking about, or launching their work to the public or other professionals

• Giving lectures

• Joining debate panels or judging panels 

• Taking part in professional conferences

Validity requirements for entry clearance to the UK as an entertainment visitor

A person seeking entry clearance to the UK as an entertainment visitor must apply online on the website gov.uk using the specified application form. 

An application seeking entry clearance to the UK as a visitor must satisfy all the following criteria:

1. The applicant must have paid any required fee; and

2. The applicant must have enrolled in biometrics (their fingerprints and facial photograph) when required; and

3. The applicant must have submitted a passport or other valid document to establish their identity and nationality.

An application seeking entry clearance to the UK as a visitor must be made from outside the country. Any application that does not satisfy all the validity criteria as a visitor for the purpose of permitted activities for a professional entertainer may be rejected as invalid and not considered.

Suitability Requirements

The entertainment visitor visa applicant must not fall for refusal under Part Suitability, which has replaced the previous Part 9: grounds for refusal and became effective on November 11, 2025.

Eligibility Requirements

A person can visit the UK as an entertainer for certain unpaid or paid engagements or events. The applicants will need to meet the general eligibility criteria for a standard visitor and specific criteria applying to creative visitors.

Under the Immigration Rules – Appendix V – Visitor, a person applying to travel to the UK must: 

• Be coming to stay in the UK for not more than 6 months

• Be a genuine visitor, which means they must

• Leave the UK when their visit ends 

• Not reside in the UK for extended periods through successive or frequent visits, or make the UK their main home

• Not engage in any of the prohibited activities set out in V 4.4. to 4.6

• Maintain and accommodate themselves for the whole stay in the UK without using public funds (or be funded by someone else, such as an inviting organisation, to support them)

• Be able to pay the cost of the return or onward journey (or be funded by someone else, including their inviting organisation, to pay for the journey)

The additional requirements for entertainment visitors include the applicant

• Is 18 or over when they enter the UK.

• Is genuinely seeking entry to the UK for an activity as set out in Appendix Visitor: Permitted Activities or for a PPE (Permitted Paid Engagement)

• Has been invited to the UK as a professional entertainer for a pre-arranged event

• Have a written letter of invitation from a UK-based organisation or client for a pre-arranged event or other permitted engagement. 

• They must have an invitation from a UK-based:

          o An entertainment organisation, such as a gallery, university arts department, or events staging venue

          o Agency or agent 

          o Broadcaster

          o Can show they are an expert in their profession

          o The engagement in the UK must be relevant to their qualification, expertise, and main job in their home country or their country of residence.

Please note that entertainers can come to the UK for up to 6 months, but if they are coming for a PPE (permitted paid engagement), they must complete it in the first month of their arrival in the country.

The documents they will need

An entertainment visitor visa applicant must provide a passport or a valid travel document. Their passport should be valid for the complete duration of their stay in the UK and have a blank page for their entertainment visitor visa.

The other documents they will need to submit include, but are not limited to:

• Copies of their older passports showing evidence of travel to other countries

• Confirmation of their legal residence, if they are not a citizen of the country they are applying in, or their right to reside there is not included in their passport

• Proof of funds required, such as a bank statement or payslip, to demonstrate that they can pay for all reasonable costs related to their visit to the UK

• Proof of booked accommodation in the UK 

• An invitation letter from a UK-based organisation in the entertainment industry confirming the permitted activity and the artist’s engagement 

• A formal contract from the inviting organisation confirming whether the applicant will be paid by 

• Dates and times of their performances, screenings, concerts, and exhibitions, details of any awards they have received, and evidence of their recent performances

• Evidence of their full-time profession and/or qualification or expertise in their home country or internationally, depending on the activity.

• Evidence to show that they are an established entertainer in their home country and/or internationally, for example:

• Their published work

• Publicity material for their recent performances, screenings, concerts, or exhibitions

• Media coverage and reviews

• Awards they have received

Applying for a UK entertainment visitor visa

A person who needs an entertainment visitor visa must apply online on the website gov.uk using the specified application form. They must apply from outside the UK before they travel to the UK.

The earliest someone can apply for a UK entertainment visitor visa is 3 months before they travel to the UK. 

They need to pay the application fee of £127 to apply.

As part of their online visa application, they will need to book an appointment at a VAC (Visa Application Centre) in their country. On the date of appointment, they will have their biometrics (their fingerprints and facial photograph) taken at the VAC. The applicant should allow time to attend their VAC appointment, as the visa application centre could be in another country.

The VAC may keep their passport and documents while processing their application.

Once a person has applied online, proved their identity, and submitted the supporting documents, they will usually get a decision on their application for an entertainment visitor visa within 3 weeks.

Granting leave to enter 

Before granting leave to enter, the Home Office must be satisfied: 

• The applicant has valid entry clearance 

• There are no reasons to believe: 

• That the applicant submitted false information to get the entry clearance 
• that circumstances have changed since the applicant was issued entry clearance, or 
• the purpose of entering the UK is different from that for which the entry clearance was issued 
• none of the general grounds for refusal in Immigration Rules - Paragraphs 320 or 321 apply. 

If the Home Office is satisfied that the person fulfills all the requirements, they will grant the applicant leave to enter the UK as an entertainment visitor.  

A person seeking leave to enter the UK as an entertainment visitor may be admitted here for a period of 6 months or less, subject to a condition prohibiting study, employment, and recourse to public funds.

If a person has permission as an entertainment visitor to the UK for less than 6 months

They may be able to get their stay extended as long as the total time they remain in the UK does not exceed 6 months. For example, if a person with an entertainment visitor visa has been in the UK for 3 months, they can apply to extend their stay for another 3 months. 

Refusal of an entertainment visitor visa

If the decision maker is satisfied that an applicant meets all suitability and the relevant eligibility requirements for an entertainment visitor visa, they will grant the visa to the applicant; otherwise, their application will be refused.