Dancing in the UK-Work Visa advice requested
Hello ladies,
I am moving to the UK in March 2008 and want to work as a dancer in London.
Have any of you traveled to the UK from the US to dance? If yes, what steps did you take to obtain the required legal work documents?
I've been doing research on UK Immigration but have not been able to find any info on Work Visas/Permits for Exotic Dancers.
Any advice would be greatly appreciated.
Thank you.
Happy Holidays!
Miss Seoul Sista
Re: Dancing in the UK-Work Visa advice requested
While the UK has a working vacation visa program that applies to citizens of Commonwealth countries (Canada, Australia, NZ etc.), and while the UK has treaty commitments that allow citizens of EU countries to work without obtaining visas, these don't apply to US citizens wishing to work in the UK.
At the moment, there are only two 'mainstream' methods for a US girl to obtain documentation to legally work in the UK. The first is a student work visa ... which means that you must be officially enrolled as a student. This gets you a UK student visa that is good for the length of your educational program, and also allows you to legally work up to 20 hours per week in the UK.
The second is a work permit, which means that your prospective UK employer must file with the UK gov't on your behalf ... which also means that you need to have a pre-existing job offer with a UK employer. However, where dancing is concerned, the work permit also requires that the applicant has some 'outstanding' qualifications that would justify the UK gov't allowing a foreign girl to perform work that UK girls were not 'qualified' to do, or an occupation / position where there is a 'shortage' of UK girls. Whether the UK gov't pays attention to these requirements or not is pretty much a function of political mood / UK unemployment rates / relationship with the UK employer making the work permit request etc.
The last time that I was in the UK and got a work permit I already had a firm schedule of working dates booked, and I had a fixed travel schedule in regard to when I would be entering and LEAVING. Under this scenario (which an 'agency' set up for me) getting a UK work permit was no problem. However, as a US citizen, and without a firm schedule of bookings, you'll be taking your chances ... i.e. you can enter the UK without a visa but that doesn't allow you to work - you can then hit various clubs to try and get hired - if you do get hired you then must wait for the clubowner to file for a work permit and for the UK gov't to approve it - and if everything goes right you can finally start earning some money.
there's a nice chart which shows the international work visa situation at ...
... which basically shows that the only two foreign countries that are 'easy' for US dancers to work in legally these days are Australia and New Zealand.
Just out of curiosity, you said that you are 'moving' to the UK in March. What sort of UK visa did you get that will allow you to 'move' there ? In the absence of a UK visa of some sort, the US-UK visa waiver treaty for tourism only allows for a maximum stay of 6 months.
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Re: Dancing in the UK-Work Visa advice requested
Hi Melonie,
Thank you for the detailed info and links.
I'm very relieved to hear that I can work with a student visa in the UK.
I plan on moving to the UK in spring 2008 to study at a music school. It's an accredited college so I will be able to obtain a student visa.
Next question, what clubs in London do you recommend? I currently work at Spearmint Rhino in Vegas and am used to good and consistent $. Some of my British clients have told that the girls at Spearmint Rhinos in London do quite well. Although, I've heard that there is an overabundance of girls at the more well known clubs like Rhino and Stringfellows. Any advice would be greatly appreciated.
Happy Holidays.
Cheers!
Miss Seoul Sista
Re: Dancing in the UK-Work Visa advice requested
London has lots of clubs Spearmint has one at Tottenham Court Rd, there are also 5 Secrets clubs in London, 2 Stringfellow's, etc etc. There is a big new FYEO opening in City Rd right near the financial quarter early in the new year.If you are coming over for a while and are a good dancer I'd suggest Browns which is a strip pub based near the City, it's difficult to get a job here { you need to be good on stage} but it's a good earner and busy compared to many clubs.
Where did you work in London Melanie ?
Tyke
Re: Dancing in the UK-Work Visa advice requested
at the Met ... but only for a week, as part of a feature tour.
Actually if you currently work for Rhino in Vegas, you should ask your club manager to try and set something up for you with the Rhino manager in London. Usually this doesn't work due to visa issues, but since you already have a guarantee of a UK student visa thus you're legal to work part time in the UK I would think that the Rhino in London would be glad to have a 'foreign' dancer with previous Rhino experience !