Ja Rule has announced that he’s not a fan of the UK because they’ve denied him entry for his latest performances.
In a series of posts made to X, formerly known as Twitter, on Tuesday (February 27), the rapper claimed that his denial came at the last minute, adding to his growing frustration.
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“I’m so devastated I can’t believe the UK won’t let me in,” he said. “I’ve spent a half million dollars in production of my own money to put this tour together only to be denied entry DAYS before my shows this is not fair to me or my fans these venues are 85% sold and now I can’t come.”
He continued: “The UK is one of the few European countries that restricts entry to people with criminal records. In general, you will likely be denied entry if you have been convicted of a crime punishable by 23 months or more under British law or served more than 12 months in prison.”
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According to Ticketmaster, Ja is scheduled for a series of performances in the United Kingdom beginning on Friday (March 1).
Check out Ja’s tweets below.
UK law on the matter is a bit unclear. While the country’s rules do permit visa refusal — with no refunds — based on a person’s past criminal convictions, the overall “character” of the person applying for the visa is also taken into account when applying.
“Those seeking permission to enter the UK will normally be refused if they have previously been convicted of a criminal offence punishable by at least 12 months imprisonment,” writes Unlock, a company specializing in obtaining UK visas for the formerly incarcerated. “A person may be refused permission to stay on the basis of his character, conduct or associations or if he represents a threat to national security. Entry clearance officers will take account of any available local intelligence about a person’s criminal activities overseas, but the agency does not have access to foreign governments’ criminal records.”
Ja Rule is far from the only rapper to be denied entry into the UK for his past criminal convictions.
Back in 2007, Snoop Dogg encountered similar problems when he was refused a visa to enter the UK. Attempts to reverse the decision were unsuccessful and led to the cancellation of the rapper’s UK tour with Diddy.
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He missed that year’s MTV Australian Video Music awards, which he was due to co-host, as a result of not being able to enter the country.
