Spain eliminates visa requirements for musicians from Great Britain

The United Kingdom’s exit from the European Union makes British travel more expensive, complicated and difficult. But in Spain, the visa requirement for musicians is becoming a thing of the past.

After Great Britain left the European Union, only British musicians could organize European tours with tremendous effort: different visas are now required for different EU countries.

But in Spain, where a complex visa application process is necessary, this is now over: The LIVE Musicians’ Association and the British Orchestra Association have worked hand in hand with Spain’s Asociación Promotores Musicales to enable musicians and crew members to do so without a visa to enter the country.

hard effort

Until now, artists from the UK who wanted to perform in Spain had to fill out a short-term visa application entirely in Spanish and provide information about travel routes, accommodation and flights.

In addition to bureaucratic affairs, tours and staff had to wait more than a month to be told if their application was successful. With the visa requirement abolished, these problems must now be definitively resolved.

A step in the right direction

Mark Pemberton, Director of the British Orchestra Association said:

“ABO is pleased that the Spanish government has introduced a visa waiver for live performances. We have heard about members of orchestras having to go through a boring and expensive process to obtain visas for their musicians over the past few months, and that is welcome news for those orchestras that are about to go on tour.”

While this is a positive step for musicians, Spain still presents a number of challenges for touring, including restricting the transport of musical instruments. UK Music’s Jimmy Njoko Goodwin has announced plans to continue negotiations with Spain.

Twenty-one EU member states now allow musicians to go on a tour without a visa, while six countries do not (yet) offer this option.