Field notes › International tour paperwork basics: carnets, work permits and instruments

International tour paperwork basics: carnets, work permits and instruments

Field notes · October 7, 2026 · 3 min read

Taking a tour across a border adds paperwork that has nothing to do with music, and getting it wrong can mean a cancelled show or impounded gear. This is an overview to help you ask the right questions. It is not legal or immigration advice. Rules change, and they depend on your nationality, where you're going and what you're doing there, so always check the official sources linked below and talk to an immigration specialist or the promoter early.

Start with passports

Every person needs a valid passport, and many countries require it to be valid for a period beyond your travel dates and to have blank pages. Check expiry dates for the whole party months ahead; renewals take time. Keep passport numbers and expiry dates in a private document, not on the day sheet. The free band and crew contact sheet has a column for passport dates.

Work permits and visas

Performing is work, even for a single show, and many countries require a permit or a specific visa for it. A few examples of how different the rules are:

United States: foreign performers generally need a work visa, such as the P-1B for members of an internationally recognized entertainment group or the O-1 for individuals with extraordinary ability, petitioned in advance through USCIS. Processing takes time, so start early. See USCIS: P-1B and USCIS: O-1.
Canada: some foreign performing artists and their essential staff can work without a work permit for a time-limited engagement if they're part of a foreign production and not in an employment relationship with the Canadian organization contracting them. See Canada.ca: work without a permit and the regulation itself, IRPR section 186.
United Kingdom: depending on the engagement, performers may come as visitors under specific permitted activities or need a Creative Worker visa. See GOV.UK: Standard Visitor and GOV.UK: Creative Worker visa.
Europe: the Schengen area has common rules for short stays, but whether you need a work permit to perform is decided country by country. See the European Commission's Schengen border page, then check each country you're playing.

Ask the promoter or festival what they usually require from foreign acts. They often know the process, and some handle part of it.

Taking gear across borders: ATA Carnets

An ATA Carnet is an international customs document that lets you temporarily take professional equipment, like instruments, amps and cases, into participating countries without paying import duties or taxes, as long as it comes back out. It lists every item with serial numbers and values, and it gets stamped when you leave, at each border and when you return. Carnets are valid for up to a year.

In the US, carnets are issued through the U.S. Council for International Business. Read CBP's ATA Carnet FAQ and the International Trade Administration's carnet page. Carnets don't cover consumables, and they aren't meant for goods you'll sell, so merch is a separate customs question. Ask how to import it (or have it printed locally).

Your gear inventory is the starting point for a carnet list: make, model, serial number and value for every item. In TRMNGR, the Gear page (Production Office → Gear) holds the same details and exports a manifest PDF.

Instruments made with protected materials: CITES

Some instruments contain materials from protected species, such as certain rosewoods, ivory, tortoiseshell or pernambuco bows. Crossing borders with them can require CITES paperwork. US-based musicians can apply for a Musical Instrument Certificate, a passport-like document valid for up to three years for non-commercial travel. See U.S. Fish & Wildlife Service: Form 3-200-88. Not every country recognizes these certificates, so check the rules for each destination.

A simple paperwork checklist

Passports valid well beyond the tour, with blank pages.
Work permit or visa decisions made for every country, with deadlines in the calendar.
Carnet (or another customs plan) for gear, matching your gear inventory.
CITES paperwork for any instrument that needs it.
A plan for merch: import, duties and taxes, or local printing.
Copies of everything, stored securely, with one person responsible.

Put each deadline on the tour calendar, and keep flights in TRMNGR's Flights page with passengers picked from the crew list. The flights guide covers booking and tracking group flights.

Sources

ATA Carnet Backline