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Navigating Visa Complexity: Bringing International Talent to UK Screen Projects

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How do you bring a talented producer from Australia or a specialist consultant from Sweden to work on your UK production?

And just how complex is the visa process for people from another country hoping to work in the UK screen industry?

In this episode, Keith Arrowsmith and Tacita Small speak with Sally McEwen, an immigration law specialist at OTB Legal, to demystify the UK visa system. With 19 years of experience and Level 2 accreditation, Sally breaks down the visa application routes available to employers and freelancers, from skilled worker visas for producers and directors to creative worker licenses for makeup artists and costume designers.

Sally explains why the screen sector has unique advantages but also faces increasing scrutiny as immigration becomes a hot political topic. She explores the difference between sponsoring employees versus working with global talent visa holders, and why getting job descriptions exactly right is critical to comply with Home Office rules.

From the importance of budgeting to the surprisingly long timelines involved, this conversation provides guidance for navigating one of the most complex and constantly changing areas of screen industry operations.

The WorkWise for Screen podcast is supported by the BFI, awarding National Lottery Funding.

This episode covers:

  • The two main visa routes for screen sector: skilled worker and creative worker visas
  • Realistic timelines: why you need to think in months, not days or weeks
  • Why legal fees are minimal compared to the cost of getting it wrong
  • The human impact: remembering real people and families behind every application

Episode Topics

Introduction with Keith and Tacita, outlining what it means to become a Sponsor, discussing different Visa Types relevant to the Screen Industry. (00:00 - 05:13)

Explaining what the Global Talent Visa is, outlining the application timelines and costs associated with Visa Application, the likelihood of success. (05:13 - 09:30)

Challenges in Visa Processes, the differences between different countries, why legal advice is important and conclusions with Keith and Tacita. (09:30 - end)

Episode Highlights

"This is one of the areas of my work as HR that gives me the most stress. The level of responsibility feels like to get this right has always weighed really heavy on me … Families are impacted, the productions are impacted, the work is impacted.” - Tacita Small (09:30-10:00)

"Legal fees pale into insignificance when you look at the cost of a visa for somebody now... I did a visa application for somebody a couple of weeks ago who had a wife and two children. They want to sponsor him for five years and it's over 30,000 pounds, and that's just in visa fees." - Sally McEwen (11:30)

" Get legal advice, you know, on making the application because the cost of getting it wrong can be significant. If your application is just rejected, that's really annoying. Um, and you've lost the time in that case. But if it's refused, then there is a cooling off period, which means you won't be able to apply again straight away so that you know there are, the consequences for getting it wrong are quite significant." - Sally McEwen (20:00)

"You have to be really careful when you're assigning the job code... If your sound engineer on your creative worker license is actually making the tea all the time, then you will just lose your license." - Sally McEwen (17:00)

"At the end of every application is a person and they have aspirations for their career and they have a family maybe... It's their life that is affected by what you do when you apply for that visa for them." - Sally McEwen (19:30)

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