It found that 371,000 migrants made claims last year, the vast majority of which were legitimate.

The research suggests workers born abroad may be less likely to claim benefits than UK nationals.

A sampling exercise found 2% may not have rights to benefits – but the government could not say for certain.

Before the coalition government came to power the nationality of benefit claimants was not recorded.

The government has now tried to link records on benefits, border control and tax for those who came to work, study or visit.

The Department for Work and Pensions (DWP) research found:

As of February 2011, there were 5.5m people receiving working-age benefits. Some 371,000 of those were foreign nationals when they first came to the UK, representing 6.4% of the claimants.

Almost 17% of all British nationals receive these benefits compared with almost 7% of all those classed as non-UK nationals when they first arrived in the UK.

More than half of those receiving a benefit had in fact at some point become British citizens, meaning they had the same rights as people born British.

Working-age benefits include income support, job seeker’s allowance, carer’s allowance and disability living allowance.

Employment Minister Chris Grayling denied that the report was scaremongering and said the full picture was not clear. He said the study showed the vast majority of foreign-born nationals who claimed benefits were entitled to them.

“I think it’s really important for the credibility of our benefits system… that we should understand the mix of people who come from other countries who are claiming benefits,” he told BBC Radio 4’s Today programme.

“We are now going to go through all the people who we’ve not being able to identify and we’re going to repeat that exercise across the full 250,000 to have a system in which people can have confidence.”

The employment minister said he wanted to reduce net migration and ensure the UK system did not attract “benefit tourists”.

But Scott Blinder of Oxford University’s Migration Observatory, an expert study group, said: “It’s perfectly reasonable for the government to want to understand the interaction between immigration and the benefits system, but the way this has been reported has been problematic and significantly misleading for two reasons.

“Firstly, it has been publicised in manner that has created the impression that migrants are particularly likely to claim benefits, when even the report itself clearly identifies that migrants are substantially less likely to claim benefits that the UK-born population.

“Secondly, the report lumps together all ‘migrants’ including British citizens who were born abroad – and who clearly have the same rights to benefits as all other British citizens – and migrants who have no legal claim to be in the UK at all.”

Benefit rules are complex but in general foreign-born nationals in the UK must pass various tests to show they are eligible to claim working-age benefits.

A follow-up sample by the DWP looked at 9,000 people who had come to the UK from outside of Europe. In a quarter of cases, it did not have enough information to assess whether claims were legitimate. Of those that remained, 98% were found to be valid.

The remaining 2% of claimants – 125 people – appeared to have no right to claim benefits. The DWP said it would need to investigate further because some of these could have made valid claims before later losing their entitlement to the benefit.

The government does not produce comparable figures for British-born benefit fraudsters – but estimates that 2% of all payments are down to fraud or error.

The opposition Labour party launched a furious attack on ‘nasty’ Conservative ministers for publishing statistics.

Shadow Immigration Minister Chris Bryant told the BBC Mr Grayling’s figures were not helpful.

“More than half the people that he’s talking about are British citizens – we have no idea when they came to this country,” he said.

“These could be people who came in the late 1930s or 1940s as children, then got British citizenship, worked all their lives, paid National Insurance, paid tax and are now in receipt of benefits.”

He added: “What the figures do show is that migrants into this country are more likely to be in work than British people. 6.6 per cent of working-age non-UK nationals were claiming benefits, compared with 16.6 per cent of  working-age UK nationals.”

He suggested the real intention was to “divert attention” from the fact the government was struggling to meet its pledge to cut net migration to below 100,000 by the end of this Parliament.

MigrationWatch UK, which campaigns for tougher controls on immigration, said the evidence was unclear but something was “clearly not right”.

Chairman Sir Andrew Green told Today: “I’m very glad that ministers now responsible are saying in turns that the immigration system is in a serious mess.”

He said the sheer scale of immigration put “huge pressure” on public services and there had been no link until now between the immigration and benefit systems. Source: BBC

Last week ago anti-immigration groups were complaining that migrants were taking too many jobs away from British workers. Now they are implying that migrants are all on benefits.

A recent Office for National Statistics report looked at trends in Eastern European migration and it said that just over 300,000 workers arrived in the UK during the recession. It said there was a “growing body of evidence” that A8 workers were taking jobs that local employers find hard to fill with domestic workers.

The Home Office said it was working to reduce net migration.

“Controlled migration can bring benefits to the UK economy, but uncontrolled immigration can put pressure on public services, infrastructure and community relations,” a spokesman said.

“That is why we are ensuring graduates and the workforce get the opportunities and skills they need so that they can find work, and why we have maintained restrictions on workers from Romania and Bulgaria, and made it clear we will always introduce transitional controls on new European Union member states to stop unregulated access to British jobs.”

Even though they are EU members, when it comes to employment Bulgarian and Romanian citizens do not have the same rights as other Europeans, for instance from Poland, Slovakia or other A8 Accession countries. See: Free Movement of EU nationals explained.

Bulgarians and Romanians coming to the UK on Yellow Card registration permits can work and study full time on vocational courses such as NVQ or QCF courses in Health and Social Care.  

See also:

7 tips for completing a Yellow Card BR1 application to work and study in the UK

Immigration Rules for Bulgarian and Romanian nationals 

Bulgarian and Romanian applications – UKBA issue new application form and guidance

British youth unemployment link to immigration rise pressure group claims

HOW TO FIND APPLICATION FORMS FOR A ‘YELLOW’ OR ‘BLUE’ CARD REGISTRATION CERTIFICATE ON THE UK BORDER AGENCY WEBSITE

Free Movement of EU nationals explained

Health care workers needed in UK now

Employment restrictions for Bulgarians and Romanians extended until end of 2013

If you need any immigration advice or help with Sponsorship or Work Permits, Visa, ILR/Settlement, Citizenship, dependant visa or an appeal against a refusal please email: 

info@immigrationmatters.co.uk or visit www.immigrationmatters.co.uk

Majestic College offer special packages for EU students. They also have a number of employers looking for staff right now and are willing to employ Bulgarians and Romanians.

For more information call Joanna on 0208 207 1020 or email info@majesticcollege.org

Accession worker card applicants from Bulgaria and Romania should now use the new ‘01/2012’ versions of the BR3 form and ‘guidance notes for Bulgarians and Romanians who want to work in the UK‘ when applying for an accession worker card.

The UKBA said the ‘amended versions have been published to make changes to the BR3 application form to allow for a Bulgarian or Romanian work permit application and the BR3 application to be caseworked simultaneously to avoid delays’.

You can download the form and notes from the ‘Work permits and accession worker cards‘ page on the UK Border Agency website. Source: UK Border Agency.

Bulgarian and Romanian yellow card applicants for student or self employment should continue to use Form BR1.

Unlike other EU members, Bulgarian and Romanian citizens will not have unrestricted ‘free movement’ rights to work in the UK until at least the end of 2013. 

See also:

7 tips for completing a Yellow Card BR1 application to work and study in the UK

Immigration Rules for Bulgarian and Romanian nationals

HOW TO FIND APPLICATION FORMS FOR A ‘YELLOW’ OR ‘BLUE’ CARD REGISTRATION CERTIFICATE ON THE UK BORDER AGENCY WEBSITE

Free Movement of EU nationals explained

Health care workers needed in UK now

Employment restrictions for Bulgarians and Romanians extended until end of 2013

If you need any immigration advice or help with Sponsorship or Work Permits, Visa, ILR/Settlement, Citizenship, dependant visa or an appeal against a refusal please email: 

info@immigrationmatters.co.uk or visit www.immigrationmatters.co.uk

Majestic College offer special packages for EU students. They also have a number of employers looking for staff right now and are willing to employ Bulgarians and Romanians.

For more information call Joanna on 0208 207 1020 or email info@majesticcollege.org

There is no link between rising immigration and rising unemployment, independent economists have found – contradicting persistent claims from anti-immigration activists and politicians that an influx of foreign nationals into the UK in recent years has led to more British-born workers on the dole.

The respected National Institute of Economic and Social Research found that there was “no association” between higher immigration and joblessness – even at times of recession or low growth of the sort that Britain is experiencing at the moment.

In fact, the Institute’s researchers suggested that the opposite might be the case and that immigration acts as an economic stimulus, pushing total employment levels higher and dole claimant numbers lower than they would otherwise have been.

“Perhaps surprisingly,” their economists said, “the interaction between migrant inflows and GDP emerges as positive, indicating that during periods of lower growth, migrant inflows are associated with … slower [dole] claimant growth than would otherwise have occurred.” The researchers did concede that the stimulating effects of migration on the overall labour market at a time of recession are likely to be small.

The anti-immigration pressure group MigrationWatch claimed yesterday that rising immigration from Eastern and Central Europe since European Union enlargement in 2004 had contributed to a surge in youth unemployment in Britain, which is now above 1 million. MigrationWatch released its own report, saying: “Youth unemployment in the UK increased by almost 450,000 in the period from 2004 Q1 to 2011 Q3. Over the same period, numbers of workers from the A8 countries grew by 600,000.

“Correlation is not, of course, proof of causation but, given the positive employability characteristics and relative youth of migrants from these countries, it is implausible and counter-intuitive to conclude … that A8 migration has had virtually no impact on UK youth unemployment.”

However, critics of MigrationWatch pointed out that youth unemployment started rising before 2004, the point when Polish and other former Soviet bloc nationals were freely permitted to enter the UK to work.

And Jonathan Portes, the director of the National Institute of Economic and Social Research and former chief economist at the Cabinet Office, also argues today that most of the rise in youth unemployment took place in 2008 and 2009, a period during which the number of Eastern European workers entering Britain to seek employment dipped. Government ministers have implied a link between immigration and joblessness. “Controlling immigration is critical or we will risk losing another generation to dependency and hopelessness,” said Iain Duncan Smith, the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, in a speech last July.

The Coalition has imposed a cap on immigration from outside the European Union and has pledged to reduce net migration to “the tens of thousands” a year by the end of this parliament in 2015.

The Office for Budget Responsibility, however, has cast doubt on whether the Government will succeed in meeting this goal, with the Coalition’s fiscal watchdog estimating that average annual migration until 2016 will be 140,000.

Net migration hit a record high of 252,000 in 2010, although this was mainly due to a sharp fall in the number of Britons leaving the country rather than an increase in immigration.

To analyse the impact of migration on the labour market, the Institute’s researchers compared the overseas nationals who were allocated national insurance numbers in an area with the number of people claiming the dole locally.

Case studies: immigrant success stories

“I came with nothing. Now I employ four people” – Datsa Gaile, 39, Northampton

In seven years I have gone from living in a single room, scouring the country for a job – to editing my own newspaper and employing people. When I came to live in the UK in 2006, a friend and I arranged accommodation and work with an agency in Latvia. But when we arrived in London there was nothing. We thought we would have to stay on the streets. I realised I had to do things for myself. I made a CV and got a job. Then I brought my children to the UK. In 2009 I began studying for a BA in business studies at Northampton. At university, I began a paper for the Latvian community. We print 10,000 copies per month.

“I don’t believe I’m taking someone else’s job” – Agata Wasziewicz-Schmidt Dos Santos, 29, interpreter, Newquay

My husband and I came here in 2008 from Poland. First I worked at Starbucks because I couldn’t get work in languages, even though I speak Polish, Portuguese and English. As soon as I changed my email address to a less foreign name, I started getting invited to interviews. I don’t believe I’m taking someone else’s job, because there aren’t many people who speak Polish and Portuguese. I give back to the community, by working in schools and hospitals. My husband owns a martial arts business. He trains other instructors – one of them is an unemployed Brit. Source: The Independent, London.

Immigration Matters could add hundreds of similar success stories of migrants who have made it in the UK ‘against the odds’.

In our experience, employers do not go out of their way to deliberately employ foreign workers instead of Brits. In fact it is normally the exact opposite. Their lives are made far easier if they can find a local person with no visa, work permit or yellow card issues.

In the majority if cases overseas staff are only employed as a last resort because they cannot find British workers to do the job.

Work permits were issued for ‘shortage occupations’ or under ‘labour market test’ whereby the employer had to prove that the post could not be filled by a resident worker. In other words, these rules ensured that no British worker was being deprived from taking the job.

EU citizens from Eastern European countries have free movement treaty rights to live and work anywhere within the EU, although there are certain employment restrictions on Bulgarians and Romanians which have been extended until the end of 2013 by the UK government.

It should not be forgotten that in times of economic troubles right wing groups have sought to lay the blame on immigrants.

In the 1930’s this led to catastrophic consequences for Jewish people living in Nazi Germany.

In the 1970’s Idi Amin expelled thousands of people of Indian decent from Uganda. Many of those who came to Britain thrived in this country whilst Uganda fell apart and eventually collapsed.

See also:

British youth unemployment link to immigration rise pressure group claims

7 tips for completing a Yellow Card BR1 application to work and study in the UK

Immigration Rules for Bulgarian and Romanian nationals

HOW TO FIND APPLICATION FORMS FOR A ‘YELLOW’ OR ‘BLUE’ CARD REGISTRATION CERTIFICATE ON THE UK BORDER AGENCY WEBSITE

Free Movement of EU nationals explained

Health care workers needed in UK now

Employment restrictions for Bulgarians and Romanians extended until end of 2013

If you need any immigration advice or help with Sponsorship or Work Permits, Visa, ILR/Settlement, Citizenship, dependant visa or an appeal against a refusal please email: 

info@immigrationmatters.co.uk or visit www.immigrationmatters.co.uk

Majestic College offer special packages for EU students. They also have a number of employers looking for staff right now and are willing to employ Bulgarians and Romanians.

For more information call Joanna on 0208 207 1020 or email info@majesticcollege.org

Migrationwatch UK says in the third quarter of last year there were 600,000 more workers in the UK from eight former Soviet bloc countries than in 2004, when they joined the EU.

Over the same period, UK youth unemployment rose by almost 450,000.

The Institute for Public Policy Research says the study is “flawed”.

According to data from the Office for National Statistics, youth unemployment in the UK increased from 575,000 in the first quarter of 2004 to 1,016,000 in the third quarter of 2011.

Over the same period, the number of workers from the A8 countries which joined the EU in 2004 – Poland, the Czech Republic, Hungary, Slovakia, Slovenia, Estonia, Latvia and Lithuania – grew by 600,000.

Migrationwatch UK, which campaigns for tighter immigration controls, said it would be “a very remarkable coincidence if there was no link at all” between the figures.

Immigrant demographic

Sir Andrew Green, Migrationwatch UK chairman, said: “Correlation is not, of course, proof of causation but, given the positive employability characteristics and relative youth of migrants from these countries, it is implausible and counter-intuitive to conclude – as the previous government and some economists have done – that A8 migration has had virtually no impact on UK youth unemployment in this period.

“We hear a great deal from employers about the value of immigrant labour, especially from Eastern Europe, but there are also costs some of which have undoubtedly fallen on young British born workers.”

Migrants from the A8 countries “have tended to be disproportionately young, well-educated, prepared to work for low wages and imbued with a strong work ethic”, Sir Andrew said.

Matt Cavanagh, associate director at the left-leaning IPPR think tank, said the report was “just conjecture, disingenuously presented as research”.

According to the IPPR, youth unemployment began rising before the influx of workers from Eastern Europe.

“To try to make our youth unemployment problem look like it is only or mainly an immigration problem – as this report does, by selective use of dates, and a methodologically bogus juxtaposition of aggregate A8 migration with aggregate rise in unemployment – is a profound mistake, and an irresponsible one at that,” Mr Cavanagh said.

He added: “There are a number of established statistical methods for testing the robustness of any apparent correlation – but this report doesn’t even bother to try.”

Restrictions maintained

A recent Office for National Statistics report looked at trends in Eastern European migration and it said that just over 300,000 workers arrived in the UK during the recession. It said there was a “growing body of evidence” that A8 workers were taking jobs that local employers find hard to fill with domestic workers.

“It is not only an issue of migrants accepting the dirty, difficult and dangerous jobs that the UK labour force shuns, but also a matter of the very positive work ethic amongst A8 workers,” said the report.

Danny Sriskandarajah, director of the Royal Commonwealth Society educational charity said Migrationwatch UK had not shown any evidence of a causal relationship between immigration and youth unemployment.

“It’s great that Migrationwatch acknowledge that the overwhelming majority of recent immigrants are hardworking but a pity that they choose to scapegoat them for the woes caused by the economic downturn,” he said.

The Home Office said it was working to reduce net migration.

“Controlled migration can bring benefits to the UK economy, but uncontrolled immigration can put pressure on public services, infrastructure and community relations,” a spokesman said.

“That is why we are ensuring graduates and the workforce get the opportunities and skills they need so that they can find work, and why we have maintained restrictions on workers from Romania and Bulgaria, and made it clear we will always introduce transitional controls on new European Union member states to stop unregulated access to British jobs.” Source: BBC

Migrationwatch UK do not explain what they suggest the UK Government do about EU treaties signed by their predecessors. Short of pulling out of the EU there is little Britain can do about EU immigration, which is why non-EU immigration and student visas are being cut back.

Although the public will largely support the government’s moves to restrict non-EU and Bulgarian and Romanian immigration, certain sectors are still struggling to find staff.

Care homes are facing a staffing crisis following a government clampdown on non-EU immigration and changes to Tier 2 work visa rules.

Employers looking for staff, like those in the care industry, are increasingly turning to EU member workers from Eastern Europe – because they cannot find local workers willing to do the job.

However, not all EU members have the same rights to work in the UK and getting it wrong could result in a hefty fine for the employer.

Employers are often unaware of the distinct difference between ‘A8’ nationals (Polish, Latvian, Slovakian, Czechs, Hungarians, Slovenians Lithuanians and Estonians), who joined the EU in 2004 and more recent members from Bulgaria and Romania. Although both groups have the same rights to freely enter the UK, they do not enjoy the same rights to work, or free movement of labour.

Even though they are EU members, when it comes to employment Bulgarian and Romanian citizens do not have the same rights as other Europeans, for instance from Poland, Slovakia or other A8 Accession countries. See: Free Movement of EU nationals explained.

Bulgarians and Romanians coming to the UK on Yellow Card registration permits can work and study full time on vocational courses such as NVQ or QCF courses in Health and Social Care.  

See also:

7 tips for completing a Yellow Card BR1 application to work and study in the UK

Immigration Rules for Bulgarian and Romanian nationals

HOW TO FIND APPLICATION FORMS FOR A ‘YELLOW’ OR ‘BLUE’ CARD REGISTRATION CERTIFICATE ON THE UK BORDER AGENCY WEBSITE

Free Movement of EU nationals explained

Health care workers needed in UK now

Employment restrictions for Bulgarians and Romanians extended until end of 2013

If you need any immigration advice or help with Sponsorship or Work Permits, Visa, ILR/Settlement, Citizenship, dependant visa or an appeal against a refusal please email: 

info@immigrationmatters.co.uk or visit www.immigrationmatters.co.uk

Majestic College offer special packages for EU students. They also have a number of employers looking for staff right now and are willing to employ Bulgarians and Romanians.

For more information call Joanna on 0208 207 1020 or email info@majesticcollege.org

Bulgarians and Romanians exercising treaty rights as students under Yellow Card registration certificates are reporting that their applications are taking between three and six months to be processed and approved by the UK Border Agency. 

The Bulgarian and Romanian case working team in Sheffield, which appears to be swamped with Yellow and Blue Card BR1 applications, have up to six months to make a decision under their service standards. 

Bulgarian and Romanian student applicants, who are not allowed to work until they have received their Yellow Card permission, are understandably anxious and many give up and return home, or look for jobs overseas in other countries, because they can no longer afford to support themselves. 

Unlike other EU members, Bulgarian and Romanian citizens will not have unrestricted ‘free movement’ rights to work in the UK until at least the end of 2013. 

Joanna, a Student Administrator with NVQ provider Majestic College, reports that postal applications are taking much longer than earlier last year which is why many are now trying to obtain a personal appointment with the ‘same day service’ at Croydon: 

‘Most new applicants are trying for an appointment at Croydon, although this is not easy as the service is extremely busy. 

‘Yellow Cards do eventually come through after the UKBA have made all their checks and confirmed the work placements, but if documents, such as the comprehensive sickness insurance policy, are missing this can cause further delays or lead to a refusal.’ 

Even those who manage to obtain a same day service appointment in Croydon are not always successful on the day and find their cases are still referred to Sheffield. However, cases referred in this way are looked at much earlier than those sent via the postal service. 

Joanna offers the following tips for BR1 Yellow Card applicants: 

1. Follow the instructions and guidance carefully – the BR1 form looks simple but is not as easy to complete as you think. Some questions and requirements are repeated in different sections of the form, many of which do not apply to students. If in doubt, take advice from a qualified OISC registered Immigration Adviser. It is illegal to give immigration advice in the UK unless authorised. 
2. Make sure the BR1 Yellow Card application, which you can download from the UK Border Agency website, is fully completed and all relevant questions are answered and boxes ticked. 
3. Print your answers in BLOCK CAPITALS and follow British formats for postal addresses and dates. 
4. Ensure all documents are attached in the correct format – for instance if original bank statements are required do not send copies or un-endorsed internet print outs. 
5. Photographs must be in the correct format – see UK Border Agency website. 
6. For students on courses lasting six months or more Comprehensive Sickness Insurance is required under EU Law – an EHIC is not sufficient – so make sure you take out a fully comprehensive policy with a reputable insurance company. Send all the insurance documents not just the summary of cover. 
7. Keep copies of the form and all documents submitted and send by Recorded or Special Delivery post.

Finally, although the process may take time it will be worthwhile in the long run. There are jobs in the UK for those prepared to work especially in the care sector and catering and hospitality industry which already employs thousands of Bulgarian and Romanian workers. 

See also:

Immigration Rules for Bulgarian and Romanian nationals

HOW TO FIND APPLICATION FORMS FOR A ‘YELLOW’ OR ‘BLUE’ CARD REGISTRATION CERTIFICATE ON THE UK BORDER AGENCY WEBSITE

Free Movement of EU nationals explained

Health care workers needed in UK now

Employment restrictions for Bulgarians and Romanians extended until end of 2013

If you need any immigration advice or help with Sponsorship or Work Permits, Visa, ILR/Settlement, Citizenship, dependant visa or an appeal against a refusal please email: 

info@immigrationmatters.co.uk or visit www.immigrationmatters.co.uk

Majestic College offer special packages for EU students. They also have a number of employers looking for staff right now and are willing to employ Bulgarians and Romanians.

For more information call Joanna on 0208 207 1020 or email info@majesticcollege.org

Brussels rules are letting thousands of migrants into Britain ‘by the back door’.

Nearly 11,000 moved here this year on the basis of having been given citizenship in another EU country.

The total, revealed in figures from the Office for National Statistics, is up more than a third on the 8,000 cases recorded in 2006. Many of the migrants would normally have been barred from taking up residence in Britain.

But under EU rules they are automatically entitled to come here once they have EU citizenship and start working – or claiming benefits. The data, compiled from passenger surveys, shows that 47,000 non-EU immigrants have found their way to the UK using this method over the past five years.

Priti Patel, the Tory MP who uncovered the information, said the loophole completely undermined Government efforts to curb the surge in immigration that took place under Labour. She urged ministers to raise the issue in Brussels and take action to wrest back control of Britain’s borders.

Miss Patel took up the issue herself after a BBC documentary in October highlighted the case of an Ecuadorean family who moved to London after gaining citizenship in Spain.

The family of six were receiving £2,300 a month in housing benefit to rent a flat in Islington, as well as tax credits and child benefit.

Miss Patel said she was ‘astonished’ by the number of people entering the UK by this route.

She added: ‘The Government has made a commitment to cut immigration from outside the EU into  Britain. But those efforts are being completely undermined by this astonishing loophole which has already allowed 10,000 non-Europeans to sneak in through the backdoor each year.

‘The British public are living with the consequences of a decade of Labour’s open door policy on immigration which is why this Government must take on these EU laws that let non-Europeans come into Britain and access jobs and benefits.

‘It is in the British interest to reject these laws and on this issue, just say no to Europe.

‘This also raises the question of why these people are choosing to come here. They have entered the EU elsewhere and chosen to become citizens of other EU countries, yet they are still coming here.

‘Is it down to a benefits system which encourages people to come here and live off the state?’

The revelation raises fresh questions about the Coalition’s pledge to cut net immigration to under 100,000 a year. Last month official figures revealed that the figure had soared to a record 252,000 in 2010.

EU countries all have different requirements for migrants wanting to become a citizen, and there are fears that some could be a soft touch for those whose ultimate aim is to come to the UK.

EU rules mean that asylum seekers are meant to be dealt with in the country of their arrival. But in cases where a migrant or asylum seeker has been granted citizenship they are free to travel anywhere in the EU.

Critics claim that Britain’s generous benefits system acts as a magnet for migrants.

Ministers have introduced a range of measures designed to curb immigration, including a cap on the number of non-EU economic migrants coming here and a crackdown on private colleges providing a route into Britain on Tier 4 student visas.

But officials admit there is little they can do to curb immigration from the EU, because free movement of labour is a fundamental principle of the single market.

A landmark ruling by the European Court of Justice earlier this month stripped Britain of its power to return asylum seekers to Greece.

Under EU rules, British officials can return asylum seekers to the first European country they set foot in.

But the ECJ last week said no one should be returned to a country if it did not uphold their ‘fundamental rights’. This would rule out Greece because its asylum system is in such a mess.

Around 90 per cent of illegal migrants enter Europe through the country. Source: Daily Mail.

Short of leaving the EU there is little the UK can do to prevent European migrants and their families exercising treaty rights or settlement under EEA Rules. Although the vast majority come to Britain to work, unlike non-EU migrants on working visas or international Tier 4 students, EU citizens are entitled to claim benefits such as Housing, Unemployment and Child Benefit even if the children are not in the UK.

An estimated 1 million eastern European citizens have migrated to the UK since the EU expanded in 2004 allowing full ‘free movement of labour’ rights to the ‘A8’ countries such as Poland, Slovakia and Hungary.

Germany and France, the two main drivers behind the EU expansion and the failed single currency, did not give free movement of labour rights to its new partner nations leading to disproportionate immigration in the UK and Ireland, two of the countries which did. 

When two new former eastern bloc countries, Bulgaria and Romania, joined the European Union in 2007, Britain along with a number of European countries imposed work restrictions on the ‘A2’ accession members.

Romanian and Bulgarian (EU2) nationals seeking to work in the UK will still need permission from the UK Border Agency before they can work in the UK.

Employers are often unaware of the distinct difference between ‘A8’ nationals (Polish, Latvian, Slovakian, Czechs, Hungarians, Slovenians Lithuanians and Estonians), who joined the EU in 2004 and more recent members from Bulgaria and Romania. Although both groups have the same rights to freely enter the UK, where they previous required a visa, they do not enjoy the same rights to work.

Even though they are EU members, when it comes to employment Bulgarian and Romanian citizens do not have the same rights as other Europeans, for instance from Poland, Slovakia or other A8 Accession countries. See: Free Movement of EU nationals explained.

The UK government recently extended employment restrictions on Bulgarians and Romanians until the end of 2013 and Prime Minister David Cameron vetoed further treaty changes indicating that Britain wants to draw a line in the sand on further European expansion.

Euro sceptics hope that David Cameron’s action and a new EU inner sanctum could see Britain clawing back powers from Brussels and perhaps opting out of ‘free movement of labour’ arrangements which has seen unprecedented mass migration from poorer eastern European countries.

Bulgarians and Romanians coming to the UK can apply for various forms of permission to work such as a Yellow Card registration permit, which allows full time work and study full time on vocational courses such as NVQ or QCF courses in Health and Social Care. 

See also:

Employment restrictions for Bulgarians and Romanians extended until end of 2013

Could David Cameron’s EU veto spell the end of ‘free movement of labour rights’ and mass immigration from Eastern Europe?

Illegal immigrants find loophole to get in to UK on a Eurostar train from Lille straight into London St Pancras

EU and non-EU workers take more UK jobs as number of Britons in work plunges

Health care workers needed in UK now

HOW TO FIND APPLICATION FORMS FOR A ‘YELLOW’ OR ‘BLUE’ CARD REGISTRATION CERTIFICATE ON THE UK BORDER AGENCY WEBSITE

Free Movement of EU nationals explained

Immigration Rules for Bulgarian and Romanian nationals

If you need any immigration advice or help with Sponsorship or Work Permits, Visa, ILR/Settlement, Citizenship, dependant visa or an appeal against a refusal please email: 

info@immigrationmatters.co.uk or visit www.immigrationmatters.co.uk

Majestic College offer special packages for EU students. They also have a number of employers looking for staff right now and are willing to employ Bulgarians and Romanians.

For more information call Joanna on 0208 207 1020 or email info@majesticcollege.org

The EU Agency Workers Directive gives such workers equality with directly employed staff after 12 weeks in a job.

This could mean pay rises and rights to holidays, sick pay, maternity leave and access to private health benefits.

As expected, trade unions welcomed the move, but some employers and agencies say it could discourage firms from hiring casual staff.

The move comes after the UK government implemented the European Union directive, which was introduced on 1 October.

Under the new rules, agency workers will be allowed to use some of the same facilities as staff.

For example, from the first day of employment they can use a creche, canteen or transport services.

They will also be entitled to information about internal vacancies at the company they are working for, and to be given the opportunity to apply for them.

After 12 weeks in the same role, agency workers will be entitled to the same employment and working conditions as permanent staff.

These include pay, overtime, shift allowances, holiday pay and bonuses attributable to individual performance, as well as maternity rights.

Billy Hayes, general secretary of the Communication Workers Union, said the development was “the best possible Christmas present for the majority of our agency members”.

“Six years after the launch of the CWU’s campaign, hundreds of thousands of agency workers across the UK can now finally look forward to some basic employment fairness,” he said.

“Not so very much to ask for, you would have thought, yet it’s been a fight that has pitched the trade union movement against successive UK governments and commercial interests – some of which are even now trying to circumvent this welcome piece of European legislation.”

But some employers’ groups, such as the Forum of Private Business, suggest the new rules will make the labour market less flexible, and job creation and recruitment will suffer.

And the CBI said many businesses were scaling back on agency workers because of the extra cost of the new law, which should be “setting alarm bells” through Whitehall.

There are currently 1.4 million agency workers in the UK.

Agency staff already have basic employment rights in the UK, such as the minimum wage, and are subject to the Work Time Regulations which provide for 20 days basic holiday and eight days bank holiday leave. Source: BBC.

The EU led directive is expected to damage the British agency workers industry which helps the country’s employers remain competitive.

Migrant workers employed through agencies receive varying degrees of fair treatment.

EU workers, such as Bulgarians and Romanians, and students are more likely to work for an agency, which then places them into temporary positions in client companies.

Most of the larger established agencies treat staff fairly, however, some are not so good.

Some Bulgarian and Romanian citizens, who do not have the same rights as other Europeans, have reported cases of exploitation and pay rates below the minimum wage.

Bulgarians and Romanians coming to the UK can set up a business and obtain a self employed yellow card, or obtain a student Yellow Card registration permit, which allows them to study and work full time if they are taking vocational courses such as NVQ or QCF courses in Health and Social Care.

Whilst employers are reluctant to take on an employee on a self employed basis, some agencies are not so fussy and will employ Bulgarians and Romanians regardless of their status.

But ‘flexibility’ comes at a price. Long hours, no holiday or sick pay and rates as low as £3 per hour are common in agencies which turn a blind eye to your immigration status.

See also:

Could David Cameron’s EU veto spell the end of ‘free movement of labour rights’ and mass immigration from Eastern Europe?

EU and non-EU workers take more UK jobs as number of Britons in work plunges

Health care workers needed in UK now

HOW TO FIND APPLICATION FORMS FOR A ‘YELLOW’ OR ‘BLUE’ CARD REGISTRATION CERTIFICATE ON THE UK BORDER AGENCY WEBSITE

Free Movement of EU nationals explained

Immigration Rules for Bulgarian and Romanian nationals

If you need any immigration advice or help with Sponsorship or Work Permits, Visa, ILR/Settlement, Citizenship, dependant visa or an appeal against a refusal please email: 

info@immigrationmatters.co.uk or visit www.immigrationmatters.co.uk

Majestic College offer special packages for EU students. They also have a number of employers looking for staff right now and are willing to employ Bulgarians and Romanians.

For more information call Joanna on 0208 207 1020 or email info@majesticcollege.org

A new report from the Chartered Institute of Personnel and Development said there is “scant evidence” the migrant cap introduced in April is hampering recruitment of specialist staff but its minimal effects are largely due to the economic crisis and rising unemployment.

The CIPD urged the Government not to restrict the number of migrants coming to work in Britain any more than planned because the country needed to remain flexible to hiring overseas labour if demand picked up.

The latest labour market outlook report showed demand for migrant workers fell in the quarter to December, alongside a decline in overall hiring intentions.

The number of private sector firms planning to hire migrants decreased over the quarter to 23pc, down from 32pc in the previous three months.

The fall in demand was largely felt among engineering, IT and finance roles, the survey said.

Gerwyn Davies, public policy adviser at the CIPD, said: “Looking at migration statistics in isolation, it might look like the migrant cap now fits.

“With employment prospects set to deteriorate further in the next year, there is scant evidence that the cap is hampering or will impact on employers’ ability to fill vacancies with skilled workers in the short to medium.

“However, this could change quickly if the economic situation improves in the UK and EU, in which case, the Government needs to be alert to raising the bar accordingly if we face a situation where the demand is exceeding supply of suitably qualified and experienced staff for highly skilled roles.”

The Government introduced new rules in April which set an annual limit of 20,700 non-EU migrant workers coming to Britain under Tier 2 of the visa system.

The limit does not apply to multinational companies transferring workers from overseas departments to British offices, although strict conditions apply on who has the right to stay in the UK for long periods of time. Source: The Telegraph.

The findings of this report do not reflect the anecdotal evidence from care industry and catering employers who are finding it difficult to recruit senior carers.

Employers are increasing turning to Eastern European workers to fill vacancies, but many do not realise that not all EU citizens have the same right to work in the UK.

When it comes to working in the UK (and many other EU countries) Bulgarian and Romanian citizens do not have the same rights as other Europeans, for instance from Poland, Slovakia or other A8 Accession countries.

Bulgarians and Romanians coming to the UK can set up a business or obtain a student Yellow Card registration permit, which allows them to study and work full time if they are taking vocational courses such as NVQ or QCF courses in Health and Social Care.

See also:

Could David Cameron’s EU veto spell the end of ‘free movement of labour rights’ and mass immigration from Eastern Europe?

EU and non-EU workers take more UK jobs as number of Britons in work plunges

Health care workers needed in UK now

HOW TO FIND APPLICATION FORMS FOR A ‘YELLOW’ OR ‘BLUE’ CARD REGISTRATION CERTIFICATE ON THE UK BORDER AGENCY WEBSITE

Free Movement of EU nationals explained

Immigration Rules for Bulgarian and Romanian nationals

If you need any immigration advice or help with Sponsorship or Work Permits, Visa, ILR/Settlement, Citizenship, dependant visa or an appeal against a refusal please email: 

info@immigrationmatters.co.uk or visit www.immigrationmatters.co.uk

Majestic College offer special packages for EU students. They also have a number of employers looking for staff right now and are willing to employ Bulgarians and Romanians.

For more information call Joanna on 0208 207 1020 or email info@majesticcollege.org

Judges in the High Court have dismissed a legal challenge to laws that require immigrant spouses to be able to speak English in order to live in the UK.

Church of England Vicar facing jail for 31 sham marriages for illegal brides and grooms

Another Church of England vicar facing a long prison sentence after admitting staging 31 sham marriages. The Rev Canon John Magumba, 58, conducted weddings between illegal immigrant brides and grooms and EU passport holders they barely knew so they could remain in Britain.

Seven illegal workers arrested in London noodle bar as owner could be served up a £70,000 fine

Employers have little excuse for employing a non-EU migrant without the correct visa, but many are unaware that some EU member citizens, Bulgarians and Romanians, also need permission to work in the UK.

Senior Carers Workers win stage in appeal for right to settle in UK

The Joint Council for the Welfare of Immigrants (JCWI) has posted the following article on their appeal to win settlement rights for Senior Care Workers who came to the UK on Work Permits.

Sham marriage fixers jailed

The UK Border Agency has confirmed that three marriage visa fixers were jailed at Leicester Crown Court for taking part in a sham marriage conspiracy to secure the right to remain in the UK for an illegal immigrant.

Edexcel examinations awarding body board defends test standards

The article’s allegations do not EDEXCEL’s vocational and management training division where the company acts as an awarding body for thousands of private colleges for overseas Tier 4 students.

If you need any immigration advice or help with Sponsorship or Work Permits, Visa, ILR/Settlement, Citizenship, dependant visa or an appeal against a refusal please email: 

info@immigrationmatters.co.uk or visit www.immigrationmatters.co.uk

Majestic College offer special packages for EU students. They also have a number of employers looking for staff right now and are willing to employ Bulgarians and Romanians.

For more information call Joanna on 0208 207 1020 or email info@majesticcollege.org

Acting on intelligence, officers visited the ‘Tuk Tuk Thai Noddle Bar’ on Queensway, Bayswater, on Thursday 8 December.

They immediately arrested 5 Chinese men and 2 Malaysian women aged between 21 and 48, and discovered that 5 of them had entered the country illegally and 2 had overstayed their visas.

Six of the 7 are currently in immigration detention while ‘steps are taken’ to remove them from the country at the earliest possible opportunity.

A 34-year-old Chinese male has been released, presumably because he has no passport and his own country will not accept him back on a travel document, on condition that he regularly report to the UKBA. Considering he was here illegally at the time of his arrest there is little chance of him showing up for future removal.

The owner of the restaurant was given a penalty notice warning he could face a fine of up to £10,000 for each illegal worker arrested, unless he can prove that he had carried out the correct right-to-work checks.

Marie Babaoglu, head, north central London local immigration team, UK Border Agency said:

‘It is the legal responsibility of all businesses to check their employees have the right to work in the UK.

‘Where we find people who are in the UK illegally, we will seek to remove them. But we also want to send out a strong message to employers: more raids like this are planned.’

Every year, the UKBA impose civil penalties on thousands of companies which fail to carry out proper right-to-work checks on staff.

Employers unsure of the steps they need to take to avoid employing illegal workers can visit the preventing illegal working section of the UKBA website or they can call the UK Border Agency’s employers helpline on 0300 123 4699.

Anyone who suspects that illegal workers are being employed at a business can contact Crimestoppers anonymously on 0800 555 111. Source: UKBA

Despite warnings of huge fines, employers continue to flout the law by employing non-EU and some EU workers illegally.

Employers have little excuse for employing a non-EU migrant without the correct visa, but many are unaware that some EU member citizens, Bulgarians and Romanians, also need permission to work in the UK.

When it comes to working in the UK (and many other EU countries) Bulgarian and Romanian citizens do not have the same rights as other Europeans, for instance from Poland, Slovakia or other A8 Accession countries.

Bulgarians and Romanians coming to the UK can set up a business or obtain a student Yellow Card registration permit, which allows them to study and work full time if they are taking vocational courses such as NVQ or QCF courses in Health and Social Care.

Skilled job applicants are also seeking jobs overseas in other countries such as Australia or Canada, where permanent settlement and naturalisation are more easily available, instead of the UK.

See also:

Could David Cameron’s EU veto spell the end of ‘free movement of labour rights’ and mass immigration from Eastern Europe?

EU and non-EU workers take more UK jobs as number of Britons in work plunges

Health care workers needed in UK now

HOW TO FIND APPLICATION FORMS FOR A ‘YELLOW’ OR ‘BLUE’ CARD REGISTRATION CERTIFICATE ON THE UK BORDER AGENCY WEBSITE

Free Movement of EU nationals explained

Immigration Rules for Bulgarian and Romanian nationals

If you need any immigration advice or help with Sponsorship or Work Permits, Visa, ILR/Settlement, Citizenship, dependant visa or an appeal against a refusal please email: 

info@immigrationmatters.co.uk or visit www.immigrationmatters.co.uk

Majestic College offer special packages for EU students. They also have a number of employers looking for staff right now and are willing to employ Bulgarians and Romanians.

For more information call Joanna on 0208 207 1020 or email info@majesticcollege.org