Entertainers
Most likely you will need a work permit as long as you are going to entry the country as an amateur or professional entertainer.
If the aim of your visit is the promotion of yourself:
- business meetings,
- negotiations,
- interviews,
- performing at auditions only and so on
you will be required a business visa instead of a work permit.
If you are going to take part in one selected event you can apply for an Entertainer visa, which is not valid for more than six months.
You may qualify for this visa if you are:
- professional entertainer coming to take part in a music competition;
- Sikh religious entertainer; or
- amateur entertainer coming to the UK as an individual performer; or
- amateur entertainer coming to the UK as part of a group, for example, a choir or youth orchestra coming for a specific concert; or
- amateur or professional entertainer taking part in a cultural event sponsored by a government, a recognised international organisation or a major art festival.
- professional entertainer taking part in a charity concert or show for which the organisers are not making a profit and no fee is to be paid to the entertainer.
You should make your application at your local British Embassy or Consulate, bringing with you a genuine invitation from the UK events organiser, evidence that you can live in the UK without recourse to public funds, and evidence of your return journey out of the UK.
To stay in the UK for more than 6 months you will have to apply for a work permit.