Bulgarian and Romanian accession workers: more information
The UK government has now published the regulations and changes to the immigration rules that set out the restrictions to be imposed on Bulgarian and Romanian nationals wanting to work for an employer in the UK from 1 January 2007, the date on which those countries join the European Union. Forms and guidance have also been published.
After 1 January 2007, if you are a Romanian or Bulgarian national you will be able to move freely around the EU and to live in any Member State. You will have a right to live in the UK for three months and for longer if you stay as a student, in self-employment, or if you are not working but are self-sufficient and able to support yourself.
If you want to work for a UK employer, matters will be more complicated. The scheme for Bulgarians and Romanians is not the same as 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.
If you are here without restrictions on working (for example as a spouse/civil partner, because you are settled here, or as the family member of a worker) you need no extra permission. If you wish, you can apply for a registration card like any other EU national.
If you are here with permission to work, but restrictions (for example on a work permit) you can continue to work within those restrictions. If you have worked for a year by 1 January 2007 without a break of more than 30 days, you can apply for a registration card like any other EU national.
Students will be able to work the 20 hours per week permitted by their student leave and they can in addition, if they wish, apply for a registration card straight away.
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 all 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 card even if they do not yet have a job or job offer
If you are not working already, or are coming to the UK for the first time, then you need to obtain a worker registration card before you start work for a UK employer. There will be opportunities to apply under the equivalent of the Work Permit scheme. You, and your potential employers must meet all the requirements of the scheme. You have 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 will have very limited opportunities to work for a UK employer. These 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.
People who complete one year’s working, on an existing work permit etc or under a worker registration document, without a break of more than 30 days, after 1 January 2007, will be able to apply for a registration card and will then be in the same position as other EU nationals.
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 getting permission in advance.
It will be 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 will not be an offence to use the services of a Bulgarian and Romanian national who is self-employed but, 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 people 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.
