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      IOM                        Regional Information Campaign in Bulgaria and Romania                           

            Bulgaria                                "Clarifying the Myths and Realities of Immigrating to the United Kingdom"

 General information about

  the United Kingdom:

WORK IN UK

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^{RIGHTS OF MOVEMENT FOR BULGARIAN AND ROMANIAN NATIONALS POST ACCESSION}

^{Advice offered in this guidance is of a general nature and subject to change; you should check  http://www.ind.homeoffice.gov.uk  on a regular basis to obtain the latest information}

^{• In October 2006, the Government announced that it would provide workers from Bulgaria and Romania with gradual access to the United Kingdom’s labour market post-Accession. In order to do so, the Government has passed secondary legislation that places restrictions on nationals of those countries’ access to the labour market. The UK labour market will be opened gradually to citizens of Bulgaria and Romania who have the skills we need.}

<sup>• Since 1st January 2007, as European Economic Area (EEA) nationals, Bulgarians and Romanians have been able to move and reside freely in any Member State. They do not require leave to enter or remain to reside legally in the UK.

• They have a right of residence in any Member State for their first 3 months of residence and can remain legally resident in that state as long as they wish if exercising a treaty right as a student; a self-employed person; or if not economically active and self-sufficient. But they do not have a right to reside as a worker.

• Bulgarian and Romanian Nationals wanting to work in the UK will still need to obtain permission to work before starting any employment, unless they are exempt from the requirement to do so.

• Employers and employees will have to abide by the new rules. They are enforced through fixed penalties (in the case of employees) and, where appropriate, prosecution.</sup>
 

^{The accession regulations were approved in Parliament on 7th December 2006. Further information on how to make an application is now on the Home Office website. This includes the application forms and guidance.}

^{WORKER AUTHORISATION SCHEME}

^{• We will require that workers from Bulgaria and Romania must, exempt where they are exempt from the requirement, obtain an accession worker card before they commence employment in the United Kingdom.}

^{• Those qualifying for such a document will generally be those skilled workers who meet the criteria for the issue of a work permit under the existing work permit arrangements.}

^{• However, accession worker cards will also be issued to lower skilled workers coming to undertake approved seasonal agricultural work and employment in the food processing sector. Existing schemes for lower skilled work in these sectors will move to being restricted to workers from Bulgaria and Romania.}

^{Accession Worker Cards}

^{1. Workers not exempt from the requirement to seek permission to work will need to hold an accession worker card or a Seasonal Agricultural Workers Scheme work card in order to be legally employed in the United Kingdom. An accession worker card will be issued in respect of a specific job with a specific employer, provided that relevant qualifying criteria are met. Employment cannot commence prior to the accession worker card being issued. If the holder of an accession worker card wishes to change employment, they will need to obtain a new accession worker card for that employment.}

^{2. There are certain categories of employment for which non-EEA nationals are not currently required to obtain a work permit (for example, sole representatives of overseas businesses, au pairs, employees of overseas governments and ministers of religion). It will be possible for nationals of Bulgaria and Romania to apply for an accession worker card for these categories of employment where they meet the existing criteria for approval of such employment.}

^{Accession worker cards will also be issued for:
• skilled jobs that meet the current criteria for the issue of a work permit; and
• lower skilled jobs in the food processing sector, where the existing criteria for the issue of a Sectors Based Scheme permit are met.
In these instances, as is currently the case for non-EEA workers, the employer will first need to apply for a document confirming that these criteria have been met. Once the employer has been issued with a letter of approval confirming that these criteria have been met, the worker will then be required to make an application for an accession worker card.}

^{EU Rights as a worker – Registration Certificates
Persons exempt from a requirement to obtain a Accession Worker Card}

^{Those people who will be exempt from the requirement to obtain an accession worker card if they intend to take employment in the United Kingdom, will be able to obtain a registration certificate confirming their status post accession if required. They will include:
• Those with unrestricted permission to work on 31 December 2006 or those who have completed 12 months legal and continuous employment in the United Kingdom ending on or after 31 December 2006;
• Those who are the spouse of an EEA national or a British citizen;
• Those who are highly skilled and are in possession of a registration certificate confirming that they have unrestricted access to the labour market. Those falling into this category will be those who meet the existing criteria for admission under the Highly Skilled Migrants Programme, the Science and Engineering Graduates Scheme and the Scottish Graduates Scheme.
• Students who intend to work less than 20 hours a week (during term time) and are in possession of a registration certificate confirming that he or she has this restricted permission to take employment. A student may work full time between terms and over the 20 hour threshold as part of a vocational training course.}
 

^{Persons working for twelve months or more lawfully can obtain a registration certificate confirming unrestricted right to access UK labour market.
Spouse/Civil partners of Romanian and Bulgarian Nationals}

^{Where a person is a national of Bulgaria and Romania, and is the spouse of a person holding a registration certificate restricting their access to the labour market (for example, the spouse of a student or self-employed person) or a person holding a work authorisation document, they too will be required to obtain an accession worker card in order to take employment in the United Kingdom. However, the criteria for the issue of such a document to a dependant spouse in these circumstances will not be subject to a skills test. This reflects the entitlements that the dependants of, for example, non-EEA work permit holders enjoy under the existing arrangements for non-EEA workers.}

^{Working without permission}

<sup>It will be an offence for an employer to employ a Bulgarian or Romanian national who is subject to the requirement to hold an accession worker card but does not have one, or who is undertaking work other than that specified in the document. Employers will face a maximum fine upon conviction of £5,000 per worker.

It will be an offence for a Bulgarian or Romanian national who is subject to the requirement to hold an accession worker card but does not have one to take employment or to undertake work other than that specified in the document. Individuals who commit this offence may be offered the opportunity to discharge their liability to prosecution through the payment of a fixed penalty of £1,000.</sup>
 

<sup>SEASONAL AGRICULTURAL WORKERS SCHEME (SAWS)

The scheme allows Bulgarian nationals to enter the UK to do seasonal agricultural work for farmers and growers. The SAWS is managed through 9 authorised operators, which recruit workers and issue work cards. See a list of the operators below. People who want to join the scheme must apply to the Operators. You can approach them directly. You must apply for the scheme from outside the UK. Approved candidates are hired for a maximum period of 6 months, and should return to Bulgaria upon its expiration. The SAWS card may be obtained more than once provided that there has been a break of 3 months from the time of your previous employment under the scheme. The SAWS card is issued for the named individual on the work card only and any alterations, including use by another person, will render the work card invalid. Under the SAWS the worker will be allowed to work for the SAWS-registered farm as stated on the work card.</sup>
 

^{Who are the SAWS operators?
Details of the nine SAWS operators. All applications for SAWS work are made to the operators direct!}

^{AU PAIR}

<sup>The scheme allows a single person between 17 and 27 to come to the United Kingdom to study English. You can live for up to 2 years as a member of an English-speaking family. You help in the home for up to five hours a day. 

Useful addresses for more information:

British Au Pair Agencies Association
Trafalgar House
Grenville Place
London NW7 3SA
Tel: +44 20 8906 3116
Fax: +44 02 8906 3461
Website: http://www.bapaa.org.uk/

The International Au Pair Assn (IAPA)
c/o FIYTO
Bredegade 25 H
DK. 1260 Copenhagen K
Denmark
Tel: +45 3317 0066
Fax: + 45 3393 9676
Website: http://www.iapa.org/

The Employment Agency Standards Office
Department of Trade and Industry (DTI)
1 Victoria Street
London SW1H 0ET
Helpline: 0845 955 5105

There is also useful information about working as an Au Pair -  HERE</sup>

 

^{HIGHLY SKILLED MIGRANT PROGRAMME}

<sup>TThe programme is designed to allow highly skilled people to migrate to the UK to look for work or self-employment opportunities. The Highly Skilled Migrant Programme is different from the work permit arrangements because you do not need a specific job offer in the UK, or a detailed business plan to apply. To be recognized as highly skilled migrant, the Bulgarian national should apply to the Bulgarian and Romanian Casework Team (as above) in Sheffield. The Highly Skilled Migrant Programme uses a standard point-scoring system, with 75 points required for success in the scoring area. The Bulgarian nationals, who qualify for the programme, will be issued a registration certificate, proving their status of highly skilled migrants and granting them full access to the UK labour market.

The programme is valid for employee which completed a course of study at a UK university in the past 12 months; for graduates with HND or degree awarded by a Scottish university; Second Class Honours or above in an approved subject on Science and Engineering Graduates Scheme awarded by a UK university; or Masters or PhD degree in any subject awarded by a UK university.</sup>

 

^{SELF EMPLOYED PERSONS}

<sup>As citizens of the EU, Bulgarian nationals can exercise a Treaty right as self-employed persons in any EU member state. The status of self-employed will depend on the circumstances and character of your economic activity. Broadly, you are considered a self-employed person if you are in business on your own account and bear responsibility for the success or failure of that business. If you can answer “Yes” to all of the following questions, it will usually mean that you are self-employed:

1. Do you risk your own money?
2. Can you decide what work to do, how and when to do the work and where
to provide the services?
3. Can you provide the main items of equipment you need to do your job?
4. Do you agree to do a job for a fixed price regardless of how long the
job may take?
5. Do you regularly work for a number of different people?
6. Can you hire someone to do the work for you or engage helpers at your
own expense?
7. Do you have to correct unsatisfactory work in your own time and at your
expense?

In order to be considered self-employed, you have to take the proper steps to obtain a Registration Certificate, indicating that you are paying the due contributions to the Inland Revenue/NI agencies. If you fail to do so, you may not be considered self-employed. If you are self-employed, you are not required to register with the UK Home Office.</sup>
 

^STUDENTS

<sup>As EU citizens Bulgarian nationals are entitled to exercise Treaty rights as students in any EU member state, as long as they have sufficient funds to pay for the course of study and living expenses while they reside in the UK. In addition, the place of study must be a recognised place of education on the Department of Education and Skills approved list. The chosen course of study must lead to a recognised qualification. A list of the recognised educational establishments in the UK can be obtained at the following website: http://www.dfes.gov.uk/providersregister/search.cfm 

If you are a student in the UK and you wish to work, you can do so if you obtain a registration certificate of proof of your right to work. Only full time students (enrolled in a semester course of 15 credit hours per week) can work 20 hours per week.</sup>

 

^{OTHER WORKERS}

^{This category includes workers, such as ministers of religion and sole representatives of an overseas company, which arrive in the UK to establish a branch of the respective company. They must apply to the Romania and Bulgaria Casework Team (as above) in Sheffield.}

^{Link to forms and guidance}

^{FULL ACCESS TO LABOUR MARKET IN THE UK}

<sup>As part of the gradual opening of the UK labour market a few individuals will be able to seek unrestricted access to UK labour market. Qualifying criteria are strict and are based on skills or relationship to UK nationals/settled persons. Anybody who has been legally employed in the UK on a continuous basis for twelve months obtains community rights as a worker. They are entitled to receiving a registration certificate, granting them full access to the UK labour market.

It will be an offence for an employer to employ a Bulgarian national who is subject to the requirement to hold an accession worker card but does not have one, or who is undertaking work other than that specified in the document. The employer will face a maximum fine upon conviction of 5000 pounds per worker.

It will be an offence for a Bulgarian national, who is subject to the requirement to hold an accession worker card but does not have one, to take employment in the UK. Individuals who commit this offence may be offered the opportunity to discharge their liability to prosecution through the payment of a fixed penalty of 1000 pounds.</sup>
 

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