Workers from countries not currently members of the EU are obtaining Bulgarian and Hungarian passports which enable them to access job markets in EU member states, including the UK.
It is thought Bulgaria, Hungary and Romania are offering passports to nationals of countries which include Moldova, Macedonia, Turkey and the Ukraine, if they have a link to the country via a grandparent.
Hungary and Bulgaria are currently gateways for migrants and refugees from outside the EU.
Some refugees claim asylum in these countries and then move on – many refugees from war-torn countries like Syria and the Democratic Republic of Congo are thought to make their way to France and then the UK to seek asylum. However, the UK has recently said it would not take any Syrian refugees and has pledged £500 million in aid instead.
Bulgaria is currently struggling with the influx of refugees across the EU – and in October, Slovakia and Hungary offered financial aid to help Bulgaria deal with migrants fleeing war zones outside the EU. Many Syrian refugees are entering Bulgaria across the Turkish border.
There has also been recent unrest in the Ukraine as campaigners push for EU membership, rather than closer ties with Russia.
However, Ukrainians and other non-EU nationals who hold a Bulgarian or Hungarian passport would be eligible to work across the EU.
Malta has also announced that it intends to sell Maltese passports for €650,000 EUR (£544,099), which would give wealthy non-EU nationals access to the job markets in EU member states.
Malta is another EU member state which acts as a gateway to refugees – and it is now become the most overcrowded country in the EU.
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