Romanians and Bulgarians seeking to work in the UK will continue to require permission from the UK Border Agency before they can work in the UK.
“Maintaining these controls will make sure migration benefits the UK and does not adversely impact on our labor market. The government is radically reforming the immigration system, and has already announced an annual limit on work visas and tough new rules for students to ensure net migration is reduced from the hundreds of thousands to the tens of thousands,” Green was quoted as saying.
He added the Migration Advisory Committee has made a clear case for extending the existing restrictions on Romanians and Bulgarians.
The minister also said the decision supports the UK Government’s commitment to reduce employers’ dependence on migrant workers, particularly for lower skilled jobs, which should help the unemployed find their way back into work and help the domestic workforce to acquire the skills the country’s economy needs.
The release also states a recent report from the independent Migration Advisory Committee (MAC) looked at the impact on the domestic labor market if the transitional controls were removed and found that lifting the current restrictions could cause more Romanian and Bulgarian nationals to come to the UK to work, particularly in lower skilled occupations where there is greater risk of displacement of resident workers and a negative impact on wages.
Permission to work will normally be given only where the worker has a specific job offer and the work is in skilled employment for which the employer has been unable to find a suitably qualified resident worker. There are also quota-based arrangements for lower skilled jobs in the agricultural and food processing sectors which will stay at the same level for 2012 and 2013.