Immigration Solicitors

Chairman of the Commons Select Home Affairs Committee, Keith Vaz – Labour MP for Leicester East – has dismissed the furore over immigration from Bulgaria and Romania as a “sideshow”.

Mr Vaz and other MPs visited airports on 1 January to see for themselves the extent of immigration to the UK from Bulgaria and Romania, after border restrictions were lifted on 31 December, allowing freedom of movement across the EU for nationals of these countries.

However, MPs and reporters waiting at UK airports for the first arrivals of the new year from Bulgaria and Romania found that most passengers from those countries were already living and working in the UK – and were returning to Britain after the Christmas and New Year holidays.

Many Bulgarians and Romanians working in the UK have been here since some working restrictions were lifted in 2007.

Skilled workers came to the UK to take up jobs in the NHS and industry – and some of these workers were actually recruited by the health service or businesses.

Other workers from Bulgaria and Romania have taken up jobs in retail and hospitality – two sectors involving long hours and relatively low wages. Some Bulgarian and Romanian nationals have also set up businesses in the UK, or work self employed in jobs such as taxi drivers or contractors – or in seasonal work, such as packing or agricultural jobs.

BBC reporters found that in Manchester, Roma immigrants have integrated well already – with none of the issues reported in Sheffield or London, such as noise, dumping rubbish on the public highway or fouling the public highway.

Mr Vaz said that the debate over immigration from Bulgaria and Romania was a sideshow compared with the wider debate on EU immigration to the UK.

In an article for The Huffington Post, Mr Vaz said that there was “no excuse” for the government not to have attempted to estimate the number of new migrants which might come to the UK from those countries.

The Home Affairs Committee recently visited Bulgaria and Romania and Mr Vaz said he had found it hard to find anyone from those countries who were planning to come to the UK when border restrictions were lifted on 1 January.

Before the Christmas break, Mr Cameron put before the House of Commons proposals to introduce limitations on new migrants claiming benefits – these included new migrants having to wait for three months before claiming out-of-work benefits.

Media reports suggested that there was an overwhelming public fear that a huge influx of new migrants from Bulgaria and Romania would start to arrive in the UK, with the aim of claiming benefits and accessing public sector housing and services, including free NHS healthcare.

Mr Vaz said:

“There are already 141,000 Romanian and Bulgarian citizens working in the UK. Many are self-employed. With the right to be employed, they will be brought into the mainstream of the British economy – the big winner being the Treasury.

“Those who may have been the subject of exploitation can now move out of the shadows,” he added.

“Ask any migrant the reason why they want to come to the UK – it will not be for the benefits system or, for that matter, the quality of the beer. It is to work.”

On New Year’s Day, Mr Vaz and fellow MPs were filmed at Luton Airport waiting to witness the anticipated influx of new migrants from Bulgaria and Romania for themselves – however, the expected numbers mooted in some of the UK press failed to materialise.

The Vaz said that compared with immigration to the UK and other parts of the EU from other regions of the world such as Africa, immigration from Bulgaria and Romania was a sideshow.
“The sheer scale of illegal migration from North Africa and Afghanistan – and now Syria – makes the arrival of Romanians and Bulgarians practically a sideshow," he said.
"Greece has been overwhelmed by the annual arrival of over 100,000 refugees and asylum seekers. Their destination of choice is not Athens, but London and Paris., Mr Vaz added.


Duncan Lewis Immigration Solicitors

Duncan Lewis is a leading firm of immigration and asylum lawyers and can advise right to work in the UK, as well as citizenships, benefits for migrants to the UK, illegal entry and detention in the UK and student visas.

For expert legal advice on any immigration or asylum matter, contact Duncan Lewis immigration lawyers on 020 7923 4020.