Immigration Considerations for Foreign Workers in UK Film and HETV Productions

According to the official statistics published by the British Film Institute, the combined spending by film and high-end television production during 2022 reached £6.27 billion in the UK—the highest ever recorded. As a reflection of these figures, the UK remains a global player in this industry and will again be home to major TV and film productions in 2023, including Paddington in Peru, The Crown, Wicked and Beetlejuice 2. These titles involve several cast members, production crew and supporting staff, many of which will very likely come from abroad and therefore may require a Creative Worker visa to work in the UK.

Production companies willing to support this type of visa will first need a Creative Worker sponsor licence. To learn more about obtaining a sponsor licence, see our previous blog about UK Visa Opportunities In The Creative Sector.

Once approved, a sponsor may issue the individual with a Certificate of Sponsorship which they can only do once certain criteria are met, including payment at the industry standard (as set by Equity) and the maintenance requirements. Sponsors will need to refer to the Creative Worker Codes of Practice (The Code), which sets out a number of rules that must be followed to sponsor creative workers, as well as a number of exemptions that can simplify the overall process. These rules should be treated as a guidebook for any company willing to become a sponsor in this visa category.

Initial role assessment and possible outcomes

In general, a sponsor of a potential creative worker should review the Code and ascertain the relevant section relating to the proposed role. The Sponsor should assess whether the candidate would qualify for an exemption from advertising (for example, a television performer could evidence that they are required for continuity or have international status and be exempt from advertising). If no relevant exemption exists, the role should be advertised to show that no UK worker is being displaced. The specifics of how to advertise are also contained in the Code.

In addition, when considering the appropriate route for a Creative Worker visa in the film and TV industry, an applicant can be treated either as a ‘performer,’ which mainly includes those enlisted as part of the cast, e.g., Ariana Grande in Wicked or Elizabeth Debicki in The Crown; or as a ‘worker,’ meaning producers, directors, costume designers, editors, composers, scriptwriters and others. This distinction is important as the available exemptions from advertising requirements will differ.

Exemptions from advertising requirements

Among others, to be exempt from advertising, the sponsor can provide contracts, press cuttings, cast lists, box office figures, awards or other documents proving the applicant’s experience in the TV or film industry, which will show that the performer has international status.

Whilst these documents may seem unusual from an immigration perspective, in practice, most of them should be either available or easily obtainable for the potential sponsors, as they would request at least some of them during the recruitment process. If the role requires unique skills, specific appearance, talent or vocal skills, the sponsor will have to prove that the candidate meets those criteria to be exempt from the advertising requirements.

Since the exemptions will differ by the proposed role, if none of them are suitable, the role should be advertised to evidence that no local UK worker is being displaced.

The significance of the shortage occupation list

This is a list containing roles which the UK Government considers to be in short supply in the UK labour market. If the proposed role is indeed included in this list, the requirements to follow the specific Code of Practice and any rules relating to resident labour market/advertising do not apply, including the examples provided above.

A sponsor can be exempt from complying with the rules of the Code and immediately proceed with the Creative Worker visa application, which should make the entire process much shorter and less document-heavy.

Whilst many professions in the TV and film production sectors would most likely be included in the shortage occupation list—such as producers and directors, for example—this cannot be said about all potential creative workers, such as actors, dancers, certain other performers, or some on-set roles, including camera and lighting operators.

For example, Tim Burton, who is directing the upcoming Beetlejuice 2 movie, would most likely be exempt from complying with the requirements of the Code. His personal assistants or favourite on-set operators may not.

Navigating the immigration requirements

To summarise, immigration requirements as defined by the Code might be challenging to navigate, making it essential to complete assessments for all foreign cast and crew members at an early stage of production planning in the UK and take advantage of various exemptions.

It is important to determine which immigration procedure might be most beneficial to each individual member, and plan for those that may take longer as per requirements of the Code.

Need to know more?

For questions related to navigating the UK immigration system, please contact Associate Jasmine Jackson at [email protected] or Practice Leader Kasia Pinska at [email protected].

This blog was published on 21 September 2023, and due to the circumstances, there are frequent changes. To keep up to date with all the latest updates on global immigration, please subscribe to our alerts and follow us on LinkedIn, X, Facebook and Instagram.