Page 592 - Aldeburgh Festival 2022 FINAL COVERAGE BOOK

17 January 2022

UK: Apply To Join The Permit Free

Festival List

by Paul Richmond

If you are a festival organiser with an event that is scheduled to start between 7 April
2022 and 6 April 2024, you have until 31 January 2022 to apply for your festival to be
included on the Permit Free Festival List.

Festivals which were included on the Permit Free Festival List in 2020 to 2021 will be
automatically included on the list for 2022 to 2024.

What is the Permit Free Festival List?
The Permit Free Festival List is a list of festivals and events that have been recognised by
the Home Office as contributing to the cultural heritage of the UK.

Qualifying festivals and events will have been established for at least 3 years, have had
an audience of at least 15,000 at each of the last 3 festivals and expect to have an
audience of at least 15,000 during the course of the next event. A full list of all the
requirements to join the Permit Free Festival List is set out below.

The current List of Permit Free Festivals can be found in Appendix Visitor: Permit Free
Festival list of the Immigration Rules.

Why Should a Festival Apply to Join the Permit Free Festival List?

If you organise a festival or event, it will be much easier and cheaper for your
performers to enter the UK if your event is on the Home Office's List of Permit Free
Festivals.

Festivals and events which are included on the Permit Free Festival List are able to invite
artists, entertainers and musicians to perform at their event without the need to issue a
certificate of sponsorship under the points-based system. This means that festival
organisers do not need to go through the often time consuming and costly process of
applying for a sponsor licence in order to host overseas artists, entertainers and
musicians in the UK.