TOUGH UK WORK VISAS NOW EVEN TOUGHER!

Getting work visas to UK is now tougher for Americans--but if you DON'T get one, they'll turn your butt back around and make you pay for the ticket home. And if you have dj gear, drag gear, etc and think you're gonna sneak by them, good luck to you. MAKE the venue over there arrange your visa or don't go. They even sent RuPaul and Amanda home! You can risk it and go as a tourist, but now the customs agents have google. So if you are well known for your UK engagement to be advertised, all they have to do is google "Lady Bunny" and London and your gig will come up. Chance it at your risk. And whatever you do, don't try to feel fancy and work an arrival look to trendy London because you're feeling fab and international. Chances are, the agents will hate it and it will arouse suspicion.

"But in Europe, Britain stands out for the strictness of its policies and the apparent inconsistencies in the way it enforces them.

In 2008 the government, under political pressure to curtail non-European immigration, introduced a tough points-based visa system. Artists and performers applying for temporary worker status now have to prove, among other things, that they have the equivalent of £800 (about $1,250) in a bank and that it has been there for 90 consecutive days; pay nonrefundable application fees of hundreds of pounds; and find established arts organizations that can pay additional hefty fees, sponsor them and take responsibility for them while they are in Britain."


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