Lemn Sissay said applying for a UK or EU visa had become ‘a serious problem’ for African and Asian artists. Photograph: Ian Davidson/Alamy
African and Asian artists, made up of musicians, authors, producers, and festival managers, are complaining about “humiliating” and costly visa-rejection rates for those visiting Britain and European Union countries.
The Guardian reports that they are saying it is having a chilling effect on cultural diversity.
Last year, the UK raised 44 million pounds in rejected visa application fees, mainly from low- and middle-income countries. The EU also made 110 million pounds.
The costs will likely increase in 2024 since the UK’s standard short-stay visitor visa application fee rose from 100 pounds to 115 pounds in October 2023. In the EU, the cost of visas rose from 80 euros to 90 euros in June this year.
A Ghanaian-Scottish author and architect, Lesley Lokko, described the non-refundable fees as “outrageous”. He noted that they were mainly paid by those who could least afford them.
A British poet and broadcaster, Lemn Sissay, said disproportionate UK and EU visa rejections for African and Asian visitors were part of a campaign of “delegitimising or shaming” people of colour. He said, “The idea is that you are not welcome. It has become a serious problem.”
In March, the Home Office denied visas to 47 Portugal-based Afghan Youth Orchestra members. The visas were denied days before their tour of England, which was due to start with a concert in London’s Southbank Centre. Following an outcry, the visas were later granted to the Afghans aged between 14 and 22.
Matta Foresti, founder of the Logo Collective, said, “Visa inequality has very tangible consequences and the world’s poorest pay the price.”
Foresti, who is Italian and has successfully applied many times for African visas for professional reasons, said, “But if I was born in Nigeria, there would be a 40% chance I could be rejected” for a European visa. “The lack of reciprocity leads to frustration and humiliation.”
