UK IMMIGRATION NEWS

Bulgaria and Romania Join the EU

Monday, 1 January 2007

From 1st January 2007, as European Economic Area (EEA) nationals, Bulgarians and Romanians will be able to move and reside freely in any EU Member State.

They will not require leave to enter or remain to reside legally in the UK. Bulgaria and Romanian nationals wanting to work in the UK will still need to obtain authorisation to work before starting any employment, unless they are exempt from doing so.

For certain categories of employment, the Bulgarian or Romanian national will be able to apply to the Home Office for an Accession worker card without the need for an employer to apply for a work permit.

These categories are:

• Airport based operational ground staff of an overseas airline
• "Au pair" placements
• Domestic workers in a private household
• Ministers of religion, missionaries or members of a religious order
• Overseas government employment
• Postgraduate doctors, dentists and trainee general practitioners
• Private servants in a diplomatic household
• Representatives of an overseas newspaper, news agency or broadcasting organisation
• Teachers or language assistants
• Overseas qualified nurses coming for a period of supervised practice

If the employment does not fall into one of these categories, the process for obtaining authorisation to work is in two stages:

• The UK employer first applies for approval of the employment under the work permit arrangements.
• The Bulgarian and Romanian national must then apply for an Accession worker card.

The UK employer should complete the work permit application forms (WP1, WP3, SR1, PD1, MTI1, WPSI and SB1) using the relevant guidance notes as below:

• Business and Commercial
• Training and Work Experience
• Sports and Entertainments
• Sectors Based Scheme, and
• Student Internships.

For further details on the change, please Contact Us.