New visas for ?entertainers?

New visa categories will allow both audiences attending and those participating in arts and sports events to enter the UK more easily, following an announcement by the Home Office UK Border Agency (UKBA) last month. The category of ‘Events Visitor’ will allow for those wishing to travel to the UK to attend major sporting, cultural or religious events, while the new business visitor category of ‘Entertainer Visitor’ would allow a range of participants to visit the UK for up to six months. The National Campaign for the Arts, which sits on the UKBA’s Arts and Entertainment Taskforce, hailed the announcement, which it says will benefit professional and amateur entertainers, such as orchestras visiting the UK for a specific engagement or performers taking part in charity concert events.