The Classical Musician Visa
Nick Nason is a solicitor at Edgewater Legal who regularly provide advice to clients applying under the Global Talent immigration route. Here Nick outlines how a Classical Musician might qualify.
All musicians are talented but if you have been recognised as an exceptionally talented Classical Musician, or one who demonstrates exceptional promise, you may be eligible to apply for a UK visa.
In order to qualify you will need to have been professionally engaged in performing outstanding classical music in at least 2 countries within the last 5 years, or show a developing track record in one country if you are at an early stage in your career.
Applications from individuals who contribute to the creation and delivery of music work in this field, such as producers or engineers for recorded work, curators of live grassroots music events and festivals who are involved directly with artistic programming and selection of artists, or technical crew for live events can also be considered. Songwriters, stage and concert composers (excluding composition for media and screen, which comes under the Exceptional Talent remit of The Producers Alliance for Film and Television (Pact).), conductors and musical directors may also be eligible.
Visa outline
Global Talent visas allow you to live and work in the UK for a maximum of 5 years, although you can choose how long, and they are a pathway to settlement and British citizenship thereafter.
To apply for the visa, you must be endorsed by Arts Council England. The application for endorsement involves completing an online form, and providing supporting evidence which demonstrates how you meet the criteria.
If you are subsequently endorsed by Arts Council England, you can go on to make the Global Talent visa application.
If you are endorsed under the Exceptional Talent route, you may be able apply for accelerated settlement after 3 years. Those at an early stage in their career – Exceptional Promise – are usually eligible after 5 years.
The main criteria
To show that you meet the criteria, you need to provide three letters of recommendation, two of which must be from well-established organisations that you have worked with, acknowledged as experts within classical music, at least one of which is based in the UK.
The third letter can be from a different leading organisation within classical music, or an individual that you have worked with who has recognised experience in the field.
If applying as an Exceptional Talent, you also need to evidence two of the following:
- Two or more examples significant media recognition (individually or contribution to a group) from at least two countries
- Winning, or significantly contributing to winning, at least one international award for excellence
- Proof of professional appearances, performances, publications or exhibitions considered internationally significant within classical music, or evidence of extensive international distribution and sales for their work as an individual or as a named member of a group or as a contributor
If applying as showing Exceptional Promise (i.e. you are at an early stage of your career), the bar is slightly lower, but you still need to show you meet two out of the following:
- Two examples of recent media recognition for your work as an individual, or as a named member of a group or as a contributor
- Winning, or significantly contributing to winning, or significantly contributing to being nominated or shortlisted for, or being nominated or shortlisted for, at least one international award for excellence
- Proof of professional appearances, performances, publications or exhibitions recognised in the classical music field, or evidence of international distribution and sales for their work as an individual, as a named member of a group or as a contributor.
You must also provide your CV and ensure that it sets out your career to date.
What is significant media recognition?
Evidence should usually be in the form of detailed independent critiques, reviews or critical evaluations of your individual work, from credible arts and culture critics in internationally recognised and well-established media outlets, in at least two countries.
It can include recognised media outlets such as newspapers, magazines, television, radio or websites. But beware – if you are on the Exceptional Talent route – evidence from blogs and social media is not acceptable.
For Exceptional Promise applicants, blogs are acceptable – but only if they are written by credible arts and culture critics, and if the blogs are prominent, sufficiently well-established and have a significant number of reviews available.
Media recognition must have been received within five years of the application date and must be for work that had already taken place at the time of the article’s publication.
Arts Council England provides further guidance on exactly what is considered as ‘significant media recognition’, and it is well-worth reviewing this before you apply.
What counts as an international award?
The award win (or nomination – if applying under Exceptional Promise) should have been awarded in the last 5 years, and should provide significant recognition of your status as a leader (or emerging leader) within classical music. There is no set list of qualifying awards.
If you have not won (or been nominated for) an award as an individual, you can provide evidence of making a significant contribution to an award win/nomination by another individual or group that you worked with instead.
Please note that if you are doing this, along with the award evidence, you must also include a supporting document from the individual that won (or was nominated), or from a senior person that has responsibility for the group that won, and which details the significant contribution you made to the work that won the award.
What can be provided as proof of publication and/or distribution?
If your work is performance based, programmes, adverts, posters, or listings for past events you took part in can all be used as evidence.
Videos or photographs can be relied upon, but you must also submit supporting information that verifies your participation, and when and where the engagement took place. Guidance states that videos or photographs without that supporting information will not be acceptable.
If your work is not performance based, evidence of proof of appearances can include distribution data related to your work. Distribution data must include the breakdown of the countries in which your work has been sold, played/streamed or downloaded, within the last five years, as well as the number of sales, plays/streams or downloads in each country.
It must also show the date and country the engagement took place, and your name being credited and details of what your role was. Arts Council England will decide whether the sales achieved is sufficient to prove a substantial track record and demand for your work, as a leader in your field.
Further information as to the kind of evidence that can be provided are set out in the Arts Council England guidance.
If you are looking for further information or assistance regarding this visa then please do not hesitate to contact us at Edgewater Legal.