Tip:
Highlight text to annotate it
X
Tier 1 visas provide a route for entry to the UK
open to people of exceptional talent.
Allowing artists, performers, musicians and those in the creative sector
to live and work in the UK.
How do artists in this country
get the benefit of some of the most brilliant, best international artists?
I think it's important for the UK
to keep bringing artists from different backgrounds and countries.
The UK is the place where you have all cultures.
So as an artist from a different culture it's easy to be accepted.
The UK has a love of the arts.
London has a great scene. It's not closed, it's quite open.
There's a lot going on.
If you don't look outwards internationally
and you don't explore new ideas,
new ways of thinking, different ways of doing things
you probably don't make such good art.
The Arts Council has been appointed
as a designated competent body by the Home Office
and will make recommendations having assessed applications for Tier 1 visas
on the basis of exceptional talent.
Tell us about your artistic practice,
the talent that you might bring to England, what you're interested in,
why you want to be here.
And the kinds of organisations or other artists
that you think you'd be working with if you were to come and live here.
Applicants will be asked to complete a visa application
and to submit up to ten supporting documents
that provide evidence of exceptional talent in their field.
They will also be asked to provide two letters of endorsement
from established arts or cultural organisations
with a national or international reputation,
one of which must be based in the UK.
Singer Sarah Ndagire was the first artist from Uganda to apply for a Tier 1 visa.
It took a bit of time because I was the first person to apply from my country.
They also didn't have things in place yet.
So it took a bit of time being the first one.
Hugo Desmarais, a circus artist from Canada,
has previously worked with the Cirque du Soleil.
I had to prove that I worked internationally,
and that I was competent in my field.
I had to give two letters of endorsement.
One from a company in the UK
and one ideally from another company that's outside the UK.
What types of arts or cultural organisation can endorse an applicant?
We're talking about a whole range of arts organisations.
They might be commercial, they might be huge publishing companies
or music promoters.
I had to get two recommendations.
And one had to be strictly from a company in the UK which deals with many artists.
I was endorsed by Cirque du Soleil from Quebec.
What else can be used to support an application?
Newspaper clippings. People visiting my website.
I had to print out who was buying my music online,
who was downloading my music.
I printed out all those things.
These were people from all over of the world.
So all that showed that people were interested in my work.
Elif Shafak is an acclaimed Turkish author.
Elif Shafak was already living in England
and had been contributing a huge amount to the literary scene here.
And the type of visa she had, ran out.
So another writer said, "Why don't you try this visa?"
And she was a kind of ideal candidate.
And she has a new book out.
The London Book Fair is having a big Turkish focus.
It's been brilliant for everybody.
The scope of eligibility for Tier 1 visas is broad
and includes artists and creative personnel working in film and television.
The Arts Council doesn't have a remit itself for film and television.
So we act as the competent body across film and television as well
but we'll ask PACT to do those assessments for us.
We were very happy to get involved with Arts Council once we found out about Tier 1.
Because we want to make sure that we took the opportunities
that this offered to us.
We're an industry which is very purist.
New talent is the life blood, the beating heart of what we do.
And talent is constantly recognised.
In our industry there's a very fast churn rate on talent.
Why is the Tier 1 scheme important?
In general, in the UK I feel that there is a love of the arts.
I let people have a tour of Uganda through my music.
I'm bringing something else here on the plate.
It's bringing in people with a different approach, different set of ideas,
new ways of doing things.
That's really important about keeping the arts growing here.