About us
See other news storiesRestrictions on accession immigration will continue
31 October 2007
The government has announced that limitations on working rights for immigrants from Bulgaria and Romania will remain in place.
In 2006, the government decided to offer only partial access to the UK labour market to workers from Bulgaria and Romania. Yesterday it extended those restrictions, at least until the end of 2008.
Quota system remains
That means low-skilled workers from those countries will only be able to work legally in the UK under a quota system in food processing industries or agriculture.
Skilled immigrants from Bulgaria and Romania will be assessed in the same fashion as other foreign nationals seeking work in the UK, and will only be granted jobs that cannot be filled by existing British residents.
The decision was made after a review of the restrictions - in light of the overall UK immigration situation and jobs market - showed that the existing rules were still necessary.
Striking a balance
Immigration Minister Liam Byrne said, 'Two weeks ago I said we needed to strike a new balance in Britain's immigration policy - where we listen to independent advice on the benefits to the economy and the wider impacts we know migration has.
'Today the right balance points to continuing to restrict access to the labour market for those low-skilled migrants coming from Romania and Bulgaria, until at least the end of 2008. This is a prudent decision, and will allow us to manage numbers entering the UK in the national interest.
While he emphasised that accession workers have made a positive contribution to Britain's economy, he said 'there are signs of a wider impact on public services', and because of that the country should remain cautious on the issue.
Number of immigrant workers
The decision came the same week the government revised its figures on the number of immigrant workers who have moved to the UK in the last decade upwards, to more than 1 million.
However, Home Secretary Jacqui Smith pointed out that, during that time, most of the jobs created in the UK were filled by British nationals, rather than by people moving here from abroad.
'Of course it is bad that these figures were wrong and ministers have apologised for that. I am sorry about that,' the Home Secretary told the BBC. But, she added, 'the important point is that actually there are 2.7 million more jobs in this country than there were in 1997.
'That's more jobs, yes, that have been filled by those that have come from abroad, but many more jobs that have been filled by UK nationals, and vacancies are still out there for UK nationals.'
She also said that a points-based system for migrant workers would be introduced next year to ensure the government has better control over who is allowed to live and work in the UK.
Learn more
Anyone thinking of moving to the UK from Bulgaria or Romania should visit the Border and Immigration Agency (new window) website for more information.
Employers who wish to hire workers from accession countries should visit the Business Link (new window) website.
