Entertainers beware coming to the UK via Ireland

The UK Home Office has recently decided to 'clarify' the position on entertainers who come to the UK via Dublin. They're now saying any entertainer or sportsperson coming via the Republic of Ireland, who does not hold a UK visa before they travel, is unable to work legally in the UK.

If they hold a Tier 5 CoS, a permit-free festival letter, or PPE documentation that is now deemed worthless if the entry is through Ireland. This is due to the Entry Through Ireland Control Order of 1972, which the Home Office has decided to tell its frontline staff to enforce. They issued guidance to their border staff on July 13th 2018 making this point, but have (as yet) not publicised the fact to those passengers it will impact; entertainers and sportspeople.

Essentially the rule says that all entertainers and sportsmen who would not normally need a visa to do paid performances here now DO need a visa if they come through Ireland to get here. This is contrary to what the entertainment sector has been told for at least the last 30 years. It's even contrary to the current published Sponsor Guidance (which says Tier 5 CoS holders can often use their CoS as an entry document), and seems to contradict Paragraph 245 ZN of the Immigration Rules.

I think most people in the entertainment business will view this as a change in policy; the UKVI denies this, saying it's been in the rules since 1972, and has not yet addressed why (if that is the case) it has been leading everyone to believe the opposite for so many years. If entry via Ireland made a visa mandatory you'd have thought this would have been made clear when the PBS was introduced in 2008. It was not; in fact entertainment sponsors were specifically told the opposite. How the UKVI squares this with their current stance is debatable, but it's clear the sector has been misled on this subject for as long as I can remember.

If a band from the States comes to the UK and changes planes in Dublin there is a very real risk this new interpretation of the rules will lead to them being denied entry to the Common Travel Area and sent back to the States. If a group is playing shows in Ireland before coming into the UK they may be allowed in, depending on whether the Irish border officer is happy with that they are doing in Ireland (the Republic exempts bands from needing work visas if they are performing there for less than 14 days; which most are).