German Punks Trigger Cut Blast Brexit Rules After Being Refused Entry To The UK

German noise-punk band Trigger Cut have been refused entry to the UK, devastating them, forcing them to cancel a tour, and losing thousands of dollars.

The band have labelled the experience as “degrading”, a “nightmare” and said that they were treated “like criminals”. 

The UK Immigration Guidelines state that a band like Trigger Cut entering the country for work reasons must hold “a certificate of sponsorship (CoS) from their sponsor(s) – the sponsor will be the UK business employing or sponsoring the artist or entertainer during their stay in the UK.” 

The country’s border police will also expect musicians to provide a Certificate of Sponsorship reference number.

In a Facebook post, the band confirmed that they were stopped at the border and weren’t allowed to enter the UK, ending a planned seven-day tour. 

“Today we got refused at the UK border for weird reasons. We would have needed a special certificate of sponsorship but no one knew before, not even the venues, the promoters or the German customs authority. Brexit bureaucracy? A post Brexit nightmare,” Trigger Cut wrote. 

They continued, “We are so sorry. Our preparations concerning every detail of the tour were extremely good, we thought. All the customs shit was together, and we had our letters of invitation at hand. Last but not least, the whole procedure at the UK border was humiliating and sad.

“We are so so sorry but we cannot make the UK Tour happen. Brexit finally killed the cultural interaction between all of us. It was a sad experience. Take care. Hopefully see you soon.”

In a separate yet equally detailed post, vocalist Ralph Schaarschmidt discussed the band’s preparation for the tour, which included “Months of planning, 1750km of driving to Calais and back to Stuttgart, van hire costs, paid-for expensive customs declarations, ferry tickets… all for nothing.”

He continued, “I don’t think I've ever felt so degraded, sad and bad as I do today. We were completely unfairly rejected and were not allowed to enter the UK. We were handed over like criminals to the French border police and had to leave Calais. I'm really sorry that we couldn't play our long-planned concerts. It hurts so much!”

A fan has organised a GoFundMe to help cover the band’s costs of the cancelled tour, which you can contribute to here.