Concerns have been raised about plans by the government to change the way work permits are issued to non-UK residents. At the moment permits for people looking to work here can be issued centrally from within the UK, however planned changes may mean permits have to be processed via the British consulate in an applicant's home country. Although the changes are intended to clamp down on foreigners working in the UK illegally, some in the music business say they will also have a negative impact on artists who need to be in the country for legitimate reasons - mainly touring or promoting album releases.
The problem is that the new system would put the responsibility for securing a permit on to the artist themselves, where as at the moment their UK record company or promoter can look after their application. The fear is that some artists will fail to get their permit on time, jeopardising gigs or public appearances, or that the added hassle will put off international artists from visiting the UK completely.
Steve Richard of T&S Immigration Services, who specialise in organising UK work permits for international performers, told reporters: "I'm sure this will improve the work permit system for most people who want to work in the UK, but not for bands coming over for things like Top of the Pops, CD:UK or tours. 90% of the music industry was not told about the plans before the end of the official consultation period on 7 November".
The Home Office deny that last point, saying both their plans and consultations were both well publicised. However, they did say they would still listen to affected parties before finalising their plans, even though the formal consultation period was over.
Of course the cynic inside me says that really it is companies like T&S Immigration Services who will suffer from the change, more so than the industry as a whole. British artists wanting to work in the US already have to apply for a permit from the American Embassy here, so I'm not sure why the same system shouldn't work the other way round.
But the BPI has said that it too has some concerns regarding the proposed changes, and will work to ensure the music industry's views are heard before any changes take place.