Dance troupe Salia Ni Seydou went through a warzone to get UK visas

The continuing saga of the battle between UK points based visa system and the international arts community rages on.

A few weeks ago, we covered a story that highlighted the plight of overseas artists who had either suffered delays or had to cancel performances due to the UK’s new visa regulations for overseas visitors.

Now a home affairs select committee report has provided conclusive evidence that absurd UK visa laws creates unnneccessary problems that delays and even  endangers creatives looking to bring their talent to the country.

A prominent champion of the cause to reform UK visa law is Guardian journalist Henry Porter. In his recent blog he asks readers: ‘Would you cross a warzone for a British visa?’

He also tells the story of a Burkina Faso dance troupe who had to travel across a warzone in Cote D’Ivoire to obtain their UK visas.

This is just one of many stories that the aforementioned report details.

Porter rages against the bureacratic machine that is the UK Border Agency. He writes: “[T]his chaotic, slow moving, over-centralized system takes effect it becomes clear that we are watching a programme of cultural exclusion that is already doing real harm to British cultural life and the free exchange of ideas.”

So will we see any change in the UK visa law?

Should international artists be given some leeway as new cases of visa delays and cancelled gigs come to the fore? Or should artists take their place in society and have the same treatment as all other non-UK residents?

It’s as diverse an issue as the arts world itself. Feel free to express yourself below.