Contact the Immigration Team
Exeter Office
Tel: 01392 210700 Email us
In Order to comply with European Community Law, the UK have amended the European Regulations - Accession (Immigration and Worker Authorisation) Regulations 2006 and 2004 to allow certain categories of Romanian and Bulgarian nationals and other Accession state nationals to work without requiring authorisation under those Regulations.
The 2006 Regulations require Bulgarian and Romanian nationals to apply for authorisation from the Home Office prior to starting work in the United Kingdom unless they fall within one of the exempt categories of worker set out in regulation 2 of the 2006 Regulations.
This restriction on access to the United Kingdom labour market is imposed pursuant to a derogation from the normal European Community rules on the free movement of workers.
Under the derogation Member States may, during the first two years following accession, restrict access to their labour market by the family members of Bulgarian and Romanian workers. Regulation 2 of the 2006 Regulations accordingly did not exempt from the need for authorisation the Bulgarian and Romanian family members of Bulgarian and Romanian workers who are working in the UK under an authorisation issued under those Regulations. The derogation provides, however, that from 2009 the spouse of a worker and their descendants who are under 21 years of age or are dependants should be given unrestricted access to Member States' labour markets.
In addition, regulation 2 is being amended to exempt Bulgarian and Romanian spouses, civil partners and children under 18 of a person who has leave to enter or remain in the United Kingdom under the immigration rules which allows that person to work where such family members would have been allowed to work pre-accession under those rules.
The 2004 Regulations require nationals from eight of the 2004 accession States to comply with the worker registration scheme established by the Regulations to work in the United Kingdom unless they fall within one of the exempt categories of worker set out in regulation 2 of the Regulations. This restriction on access to the United Kingdom labour market is imposed pursuant to a derogation set out in the Accession Treaty for those States (signed in Athens on 16thApril 2003), which is in substance the same as the derogation in the Accession Treaty for Bulgaria and Romania.
If you require advice on the regulations above, please contact the Immigration Team on 01392 210700, or email us
Follow us on Twitter
