AGENCY SERVICES

Helping you bring international dance teachers & musicians

Baile Escocia specialises in bringing tango teachers to the UK, but also assists with swing dancers as well as bands & musicians. We offer two main services:

• we can supply Certificates of Sponsorship (the current version of work permits) to those who require it.
• we are registered with HMRC’s Foreign Entertainers Unit and can arrange payments satisfy the tax rules if required. For further information on tax for visiting artists click here.

If you have any queries then just contact us using the form at the foot of the page.

Certificates of Sponsorship

The following is a summary of Baile Escocia’s interpretation of the current regulations. It is not a definitive guide to Certificates of Sponsorship and should not be relied upon, especially as the rules can and do change without notice. For full information please see the UK Visas and Immigration website.

Since 2008, UK VIsas and Immigration has effectively contracted out the processto organisations that it has authorised, called sponsors. It replaced work permits with Certificates of Sponsorship and the onus is on sponsors, such as Baile Escocia, to ensure migrants are eligible.

There is a specific category for the performing arts. There are several ways that artists can be authorised within that, but the main one Baile Escocia uses is that the artist has international status. Unfortunately, this means we are unlikely to be able to help with dancers on their first trip abroad. The authorisation is also aimed at performers rather than teachers and any artists coming into the country only to teach would require a different authorisation. However, the threshold for performance appears to be low.

The application process is straightforward, subject to certain restrictions. For established couples only one application is required, though each individual will have their own Certificate. There are some small ongoing monitoring requirements once the artists arrive and we’d ask for your cooperation with those.

Note that from 1 January 2021, artists with EU passports that have not applied under the Settlement Scheme will require Certificates of Sponsorship or some other visa/authorisation to work in the UK. If artists are here for more than one event please contact us for further information as there are other potential restrictions that may apply if they are in the UK for a while.

Prior clearance to enter the country may also be required. Currently Argentinians do not require this, so long as they are in the UK for less than 3 months. If they are in the UK for longer than that then they will require prior clearance from the UK Embassy in their country.

Please note that a successful application for a Certificate of Sponsorship does not guarantee artists entry to the country. Artists may still be subject to intensive questioning at immigration, especially Heathrow. One couple has even been made to dance! In over a decade of doing this, noone we have been connected to has been turned away though we know of several occasions where artists without Certificates have been denied entry.

Tax for Visiting Artists

The following is a summary of Baile Escocia’s interpretation of the current regulations. It is not a definitive guide to tax for visiting artists and should not be relied upon. For full information please see the HMRC website.

Broadly payments to visiting artists are potentially subject to a withholding tax of 20% on all amounts, including contributions to expenses. Fortunately anexemption applies when annual payments are less than a single person’s tax allowance (currently £12,500) per artist. This means that few visitors will require to have tax paid, though technically a return to HMRC still needs to be completed.

If annual payments exceed this, artists can apply using the form FEU8 to formally gain the tax allowance (available to Argentinians, but not all nationailities) and offset expenses against tax. Please note that this requires supporting paperwork, including a contract, and the artist’s signature. The form must also be submitted at least 30 days before the payment is to be made.

Baile Escocia is registered with the HMRC Foreign Entertainers Unit and is happy to help with ensuring either the appropriate tax is paid or exemptions are claimed. We can also handle the basic notification when no tax is payable.

LATEST EVENTS

We’re not actively organising anything just now, what with coronavirus and other commitments. Nevertheless, we hope to return in the future. For now, here’s a sample of things we have done in the past.