Chris Brown was forced to postpone an upcoming European promotional tour after officials in England would not grant him a work visa. According to BBC News, the singer won't be able to make the U.K. dates because he was denied permission to enter the country on the grounds of being guilty of a serious criminal offense.

In a statement, the British Home Office explained, "We reserve the right to refuse entry to the U.K. to anyone guilty of a serious criminal offense. Public safety is one of our primary concerns. ... Each application to enter the U.K. is considered on its individual merits."

Brown has struggled to get his career back on track following his guilty plea to felony assault stemming from his attack on former girlfriend Rihanna in February 2009. He was sentenced to 180 days of community labor, a year of domestic-abuse counseling and five years' probation, which will end on August 25, 2014. During that period, the court has mandated that he must stay away from Rihanna.

Brown was slated to perform three of his Fan Appreciation shows in the U.K. this week, starting with a gig in Glasgow on Wednesday night, followed by dates in London and Manchester and two others in Cork and Dublin, Ireland. The tour's promoter, SJM, said the dates had been postponed "due to unforeseen circumstances," though they advised ticket holders to keep their tickets as there could be "possible re-arranged dates."

The BBC reported that Brown had tweeted about the incident and confirmed the visa denial, but that the comments were later scrubbed from his feed. According to MTV U.K., the original tweet read, "SORRY to all the fans in Europe! My tour is cancelled ... I'm pretty sure y'all know. My entry was denied in your country. I love you. SORRY!!"

In a statement to MTV News, a spokesperson for Brown said, "Due to issues surrounding his work visas, [the] Ireland and United Kingdom leg of Chris Brown's Fan Appreciation Tour has been postponed ... Chris looks forward to performing for his fans abroad in the near future and thanks them for their continued support."

Brown's rep said it was unknown at press time when the dates might be made up.

On Monday, the singer tweeted, "U ever feel like the storm clouds are too thick for any sunshine to get through?"