UK visa limits remain for Romanian and Bulgarian workers until 2011

November 04 2009 by Liam Clifford

UK immigration say that the restrictions placed on Bulgarians and Romanians will stay in place.

The UK immigration department announced yesterday that it intends to maintain restrictions on the number of Bulgarians and Romanians who can move to the UK until the end of 2011.

The two countries joined the EU in 2007 and the UK imposed the restriction immediately. The department then renewed these restrictions in December last year. EU regulations allow countries to restrict movements of immigrants from within the EU for a total of seven years only.

Phil Woolas, the UK immigration minister, stated that the decision was based on the protection of the UK workforce during the recession. "Given the current labour market situation, it is important that we continue to give weight to the need to protect the interests of the resident workforce."

Many thousands of immigrants have moved to the UK to work from new EU member countries, including Poland and the Czech Republic, that joined in 2004. This influx of immigrants ready to work in the UK helped to propel the UK’s recent boom years and plugged holes in the labour market. Many immigrants from within the EU now fulfill important roles within industries like healthcare, construction, agriculture and transport.