With travel restrictions around the globe easing in the post-pandemic age, the entertainment sector in the UK has witnessed an increase in the number of overseas filming by the production houses.
Since 2019, VFS Global, a global visa and passport service provider, has issued around 300 VAYD applications for the entertainment sector in the UK. The service is also popular with leading celebrities who do not want to queue up at Visa Application Centres for their travel or work visas.
Post-Covid boom in entertainment business
During the pandemic, the sector saw rapid growth in streaming services as people were unable to go to the cinema. The boom of global video-on-demand platforms directly to a trebling of global subscription revenues since 2017 to £69 billion. It also led to a demand for more films, drama and shows. With the travel restrictions easing, the UK creative industries could re-start their overseas trips for film and television purposes.
From Amalfi coast in The Italian Job to Dubrovnik in The Game of Thrones to South Africa in The Crown, exotic locations remain a key cornerstone for producing compelling programmes.
Logistical challenges
The film and television industry crews are used to travelling all over the world to shoot films, TV shows, and commercials, but behind the glamour and glitz lies a web of logistical challenges which the production teams have to overcome.
Securing work visas for a large, diverse crew to be able to film abroad can become a cumbersome, expensive and time-consuming process.
To make the process easier and efficient, VFS Global launched Visa At Your Doorstep (VAYD) services which has become an instant hit. The VFS team travels to where the film crew is located with their mobile kits and takes biometrics with all the information or documents necessary to process the visas, providing all the required clarifications and helping them with the end-to-end application process. Visa applicants no longer have to visit a visa centre, saving crews vital time and money.
In the UK, VFS Global offers VAYD services to countries including Italy, India, Denmark, Czech Republic, Malta, Croatia, Ireland, Cyprus and South Africa.
Anirudh Singh, COO- Europe & CIS, VFS Global said, “Our VAYD service is very popular with film production houses in the UK and abroad and businesses who have to travel in big numbers for work abroad. To ease the application process for them, our team visits the location at a scheduled time and date to assist film and production crew through their application submission process and biometrics, providing all necessary clarifications and helping them with the end-to-end application process. They do not have to visit the visa centres, saving crews time and money.”
Despite the pandemic, the UK remains a key player in the entertainment sector and has become the world’s fourth largest entertainment and media market in the process. With efficient services to help filming abroad, the industry is expected to go from strength to strength.
