Immigration Solicitors

The Romania ambassador to Britain, Ion Jinga, has mocked the deputation of MPs and reporters who waited to greet new migrants from Bulgaria and Romania at Luton Airport on New Year’s Day.

Mr Jinga likened the deputation to characters in Samuel Beckett’s play Waiting for Godot, who wait for a man who never turns up.

On New Year’s Day, just two Romanians arrived at Luton and both already had jobs in the UK and were returning to Britain after the holidays, Mr Jinga said.

Some media reports had warned of a huge influx of new migrants from Bulgaria and Romania when the border restrictions were lifted on 31 December.

MigrationWatch had warned as many as 50,000 new migrants from Eastern Europe could arrive in the UK every year for five years.

There were also fears that low-skilled workers could make their way to Britain to take advantage of benefits and services such as the NHS.

Two senior Labour ministers also warned that UK companies might take advantage of migrant workers and push down wages for British nationals.

Labour Shadow Home Secretary Yvette Cooper said that the coalition government had “ignored” calls to strengthen existing legislation, which could have extended the border restrictions for up to five years beyond the 31 December deadline.

Prime Minister David Cameron placed restrictions on new migrants claiming benefits in the UK before Parliament broke up for its Christmas and New Year holiday on 20 December. However, many critics of the lifting of border restriction for Bulgaria and Romania claimed this was not enough – including some Tory MPs.

Shadow Immigration Minister David Hanson also said that the coalition government had given free rein to employment agencies which recruit solely from Eastern Europe for jobs in the UK.

But despite pre-Christmas concerns over migration, few new migrants from Bulgaria and Romania have arrived in the UK in the first few days of January.

Before Christmas, UK bosses such as former Marks and Spencer’s chairman Sir Stuart Rose called for more immigration because of the strong work ethic of migrants and their willingness to work long hours for comparatively low wages, which business bosses claimed would help boost business in Britain.

Yvette Cooper said, however:

“We want to see action to stop immigration being abused and exploited as a source of cheap labour to undercut wages and jobs.

"That means stronger enforcement of the minimum wage and action against gangmasters or employers who put migrant workers in overcrowded accommodation then exploit them on poverty pay – undercutting local workers and responsible businesses too.”

The government is introducing new measures to make employers and landlords responsible for checking the immigration status of workers and tenants – which some critics say is placing the burden of immigration checks on employers and landlords rather than the Border Agency.

Currently, employers found to have given jobs to migrants not allowed to work in the UK can face fines of up to £10,000 per worker if found to be an illegal immigrant or to have overstayed their visa.


Duncan Lewis Immigration Solicitors

Duncan Lewis is a leading firm of UK immigration solicitors and can advise on:

• Asylum
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For expert legal advice on all immigration and asylum law, contact Duncan Lewis immigration solicitors on 020 7923 4020.