And just to help out, this is the latest news from the Home Office
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. Bulgarian 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.
This authorisation will normally take the form of an Accession worker card. 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:
(a) Airport based operational ground staff of an overseas airline
(b) âAu pairâ placements
(c) Domestic workers in a private household
(d) Ministers of religion, missionaries or members of a religious order
(e) Overseas government employment
(f) Postgraduate doctors, dentists and trainee general practitioners
(g) Private servants in a diplomatic household
(h) Representatives of an overseas newspaper, news agency or broadcasting organisation
(i) Sole representatives
(j) Teachers or language assistants
(k) 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.
The qualifying criteria published in these guidance notes must be followed by UK employers when applying for a letter of approval to employ Bulgarian and Romanian nationals to work in the UK. However, there are some aspects of the work permit arrangements that will cease to be relevant to Bulgarian or Romanian nationals. These include:
Bulgarian and Romanian nationals will cease to be subject to immigration control. They will no longer require leave to enter or remain and we will therefore no longer issue Multiple Entry work permits for them;
UK employers are not required to inform us of a Technical Change of Employment;
An Accession worker card will be valid for as long as the Bulgarian or Romanian worker remains in the employment for which the card has been issued. UK employers will not therefore need to seek an extension of the initial approval under the work permit arrangements.
There will be no restrictions on Bulgarian and Romanian nationals switching from one employment category into another employment category whilst in the UK (but if an individual changes jobs, their new employer must apply for another letter of approval from Work Permits (UK) and the individual must apply for a new Accession worker card).
There are no restrictions on Bulgarian or Romanian nationals changing their status in the UK from a worker to a student, a self-employed person or a self-sufficient person;
For applications under the Student Internships and Sectors Based Scheme there is no requirement for Bulgarian or Romanian nationals to be out of the country at the time of an application.
If an application made under the work permit arrangements is approved, we will issue a letter of approval. This, on its own, does not authorise work in the UK for a Bulgarian or Romanian national. To obtain authorisation the Bulgarian or Romanian national should upon receipt of the letter of approval complete an application for an Accession worker card on form BR3 and submit both to the Home Office. Only on receipt of the Accession worker card can the person commence work with an employer.
If the Bulgarian or Romanian national has any dependants who wish to work, study, be self-employed or be self-sufficient in the UK they will need to read the âGuidance notes for Bulgaria and Romania nationalsâ for details of the action required for their dependants to obtain authorisation.
Form BR3 and the âGuidance notes for of Bulgaria and Romania nationalsâ can be found on this website.
This is the news that was posted before the Polish and Latvians were allowed to join the EU
From 1 May 2004 nationals from New Member States will be free to come to the United Kingdom. Nationals from Malta and Cyprus will have full free movement rights and are not required to obtain a workers registration certificate.
Nationals from the following new member states; Poland, Lithuania, Estonia, Latvia, Slovenia, Slovakia, Hungary and the Czech Republic who find a job in the United Kingdom are required to apply to register with the Home Office under the new âWorker Registration Schemeâ as soon as they find work.
That was the reason I asked why a Bulgarian or a Romanian was any different to a Maltese or Cypriot, or Hungarian or Estonian