Immunity from seizure

The V&A is able to provide immunity from seizure under Part 6 of the Tribunals, Courts and Enforcement Act 2007. This Act provides protection from seizure for cultural objects from abroad on loan to temporary exhibitions in approved museums and galleries in the UK, where conditions are met when the object enters the UK.

The conditions are:

  • The object is usually kept outside the UK
  • The object is not owned by a person resident in the UK
  • Its import does not contravene any import regulations
  • It is brought to the UK for public display in a temporary exhibition at a museum or gallery
  • The borrowing museum or gallery is approved under the Act
  • The borrowing museum has published information about the object

All objects currently being proposed for or covered by immunity from seizure in the UK are linked to the Arts Council’s website.

Provenance information has been published for objects requesting immunity from seizure in the following V&A exhibitions:

Gabrielle Chanel. Fashion Manifesto
16 September 2023 – 25 February 2024

Tropical Modernism: Architecture and Independence
2 March – 19 September 2024

NAOMI
22 June 2024 – 6 April 2025