New Statistics on Bulgarians and Romanians in the UK

On 24 May 2007, the UK Border and Immigration Agency (BIA) and Department for Work and Pensions (DWP) published statistics on Bulgarians and Romanians in the UK during the first three months since those countries joined the European Union (EU). The report covers the period January to March 2007.

The statistics record that  1,115 applications from Bulgarians and Romanians for accession worker cards were made during this period. Of these, 815 (73%) were approved and 190 refused. There were 9,305 applications for registration certificates and certificates were issued to 93% of applicants. 

Bulgarians and Romanians who are in the UK, or following those who have been in the UK, without restrictions on employment (for example as a spouse/civil partner, because they are settled here, or as the family member of a worker) need no extra permission to work in the UK. If they wish, they can apply for a registration certificate like any other EU national.

Bulgarians and Romanians in the UK with permission to work, but with restrictions (for example on a work permit), can continue to work within those restrictions. If they have worked for a year by 1 January 2007 without a break of more than 30 days, they can apply for a registration certificate like any other EU national.

Highly skilled Romanians and Bulgarians can apply for permission to work under the equivalent of the Highly Skilled Migrants Programme (HSMP). Those applying under the HSMP must meet the same requirements as HSMP applicants, except that they need not show that they can speak English. Successful applicants will be able to get a registration certificate even if they do not yet have a job or job offer. It is from these categories that the 9,305 applications for a registration certificate will have come.

The worker authorisation scheme under which accession worker cards are issued was introduced on 1 January 2007. The scheme is more restrictive than the Workers Registration Scheme for nationals of the A8 States (the Czech Republic, Estonia, Hungary, Latvia, Lithuania, Poland, Slovakia and Slovenia) who joined the EU on 1 May 2004. Bulgarians and Romanians  who are not working already, and have never had leave to be in the UK without restrictions, for example people coming to the UK for the first time, need to obtain a worker registration card before starting work for a UK employer. There are opportunities to apply under the equivalent of the Work Permit scheme. This requires a specific job offer. It is also possible to make applications in equivalents of the existing immigration categories such as au pairs, Ministers of Religion, and Sole Representatives.

People who do not fit into these categories have very limited opportunities to work for a UK employer. They are limited to work as a seasonal agricultural worker or in the food-processing industry and only a limited number of places are available. Again, it is necessary to apply in advance for a worker registration card. Those who complete one year’s employment on an existing work permit or under a worker registration document, without a break of more than 30 days, will be able after 1 January 2007 to apply for a registration certificate and will then be in the same position as other EU nationals in the UK.

Bulgarian and Romanian workers can be joined by their family members, although the Home Office imposes restrictions on family members entering the EU for the first time. Family members of people working under the scheme can also apply for permission to work, again, in the limited categories described above, and they need to get permission in advance.

It is an offence for an employer to employ a Bulgarian or Romanian national who needs a work authorisation document but does not possess one and an offence for a person who needs such a document to work without one. It is not an offence to use the services of a Bulgarian and Romanian national who is self-employed.  European Union law allows Bulgarians and Romanians to come to the UK and work as self-employed people. It is necessary only to comply with UK regulations that apply to anyone, a British Citizen, an EU national or a national of a third country, who is working in self-employment.  As with tax legislation, employers and employees will need to be sure that the true nature of the relationship is one of a contract with a self-employed person and not an employer/employee relationship (a contract of service) under another name. The reality of the relationship, not what you call it, is what matters.

People who are in the UK as EU nationals acquire rights of permanent residence after five years. People who already have leave in a category that could lead to settlement and ultimately British Citizenship will need to consider carefully whether this route will be quicker than waiting to acquire rights of permanent residence under European law. Other Bulgarians and Romanians already working in the UK should identify when they will have completed one year’s work with no break of more than 30 days and thus when they will be eligible to apply for a registration card if they wish to do so.