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New Restrictions on Workers from the EU

By: Louise Smith, barrister - Updated: 29 Nov 2018 | comments*Discuss
 
Eu Workers Uk Restrictions Accession

The UK’s Conservative Party has said that it is part of their immigration policy to apply “transitional controls” to immigrants from all new EU member states in the future.

Basic Rules on EU Workers Within the EU

The basic rule is that citizens of EU countries are allowed to travel freely within the EU and that they may live or work in any EU country without first having to obtain permission. This was a founding principal of the European Community and is contained in Article 39 of the EC Treaty.

Workers from EU countries are entitled to receive equal treatment to the citizens of any other EU country in which they are seeking or undertaking work. (There are some exceptions to this rule - for example, in relation to public sector jobs.) This has always been the default position for EU workers in the UK. However, the rules may differ depending on the particular country of origin and when that country entered the EU.

Transitional Restrictions on Workers from New EU Members

The EU’s Accession Treaty enabled 10 new countries (“the Accession States”) to join the EU in 2004. This treaty specifically allowed the existing Member States to impose restrictions on the freedom of workers from some of the new members to take up employment in the existing EU countries.

Until 2006 the existing Member States were allowed to impose any restrictions they felt were appropriate, without having to justify them to the European Commission. From 2006 Member States were required to notify the Commission if they wished to continue with restrictions and from 2009 the Commission would have to be persuaded that any continuing restrictions were justified. From May 2011 onwards it will cease to be permissible under EU law for any restrictions to be placed on workers from the Accession States.

Past Experience of EU Workers in the UK

In 2004 several Eastern European countries – including Poland, Lithuania and the Czech Republic – as well as Cyprus and Malta joined the EU. The UK’s government at the time imposed few restrictions on the nationals of these countries coming to the UK to work. The only practical restrictions placed on many workers from these countries related to their entitlement to claim state benefits in the UK. However, citizens of the Eastern European countries which joined the EU in 2004 would usually need to register on the Worker Registration Scheme if they were to work for a UK employer for longer than one month.

Some people felt that the influx of workers to the UK from the countries which joined the EU in 2004 was damaging to the British labour market in that it reduced the number of UK jobs available to British workers. Indeed, most other European countries imposed restrictions on the right of nationals of the Accession States to work. When two more countries – Bulgaria and Romania – joined the EU in 2007 far greater restrictions were imposed on their entitlement to work in the UK. Whilst nationals of these two countries were entitled to come and live in the UK, they were generally required to obtain a work permit and an accession worker card before they could work in the UK. Similar restrictions were also placed on the families of Bulgarian and Romanian workers.

The Coalition Government’s Policies on EU Workers

The UK’s Coalition Government has made limiting the level of new immigration to the UK central to its immigration policy. In March 2011 the Immigration Minister, Damian Green, confirmed that the government would implement policies to restrict the right of EU nationals to work in the UK. However, the government may not implement rules that retroactively prevent the nationals of existing EU countries from working in the UK. The new policies would apply to the nationals of states which join the EU in the future.

Several countries - including Turkey, Iceland, Albania and Serbia – are currently in the process of applying, or trying to apply, to become part of the EU. The UK may now be less economically attractive to workers than it was to citizens of the Accession States back in 2004. However, the mere prospect of workers from these countries flooding the British labour market when the UK economy is struggling to emerge from recession and unemployment is high might send a shiver down the spines of voters and politicians alike. The Conservative dominated Coalition Government will undoubtedly do anything it can within the legal parameters to prevent a further onslaught of foreign workers from new EU members.

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Hi I'm interested in my child attending school from Sept 2019. We all have EU passports. He will be doing assessments for the school in jan 2019. The school will notify me by end if Jan if he gets accepted, to start in Sept does he need a Visa. I'm looking at coming across for employment in February. Would I require a visa
EDUARDA - 29-Nov-18 @ 6:42 AM
Ryan - Your Question:
Hi,Do EU nationals need any documentation to work in the UK on a temporary basis? The example I have is a team of EU workers will come to fit out a shop in the UK which could take up to 12wks. The contract is with a EU firm which I will pay directly. The EU firm will then pay its workers in Euro's.Please advise.Many Thanks, Ryan
Our Response:
Until the Brexit negotiations are finalised then EU members are still free to travel and work in the UK. You can find out more via the gov.uk link here .
AboutImmigration - 12-Sep-17 @ 4:20 PM
Hi, Do EU nationals need any documentation to work in the UK on a temporary basis? The example I have is a team of EU workers will come to fit out a shop in the UK which could take up to 12wks. The contract is with a EU firm which I will pay directly. The EU firm will then pay its workers in Euro's. Please advise. Many Thanks, Ryan
Ryan - 12-Sep-17 @ 1:16 PM
Good Day Could someone please help me as I do not seem to be getting any confirmation from the UK Government! I am a South African living in the UK on an EEA Family Permit. I have been here for 6 months. My husband is a Portuguese EEA National exercising his treaty rights in the UK and he has been working in the United Kingdom for over a year now. My EEA Family Permit was for 6 months. I applied for my UK Residency Card before my family permit expired. I have lost my job because my family permit has expired! I have no proof to confirm my application for a residency card is being processed. All I have is the Royal Mail postage receipt with a tracking number and proof that my documents have been signed for and received by an official at UK Visa and Immigrations. My employer has stated that if I can prove in writing that my application has been received and is being dealt with they will employ me again, however no one is willing to assist me and I have been told the process can take up to 6 months before I get an answer. I am yet to receive my Biometrics letter. Apparently If they go ahead a do a Right to Work check now it will come back as " not allowed to work" because I have not done my Biometrics yet. Please would someone be kind enough to advise me on this matter! I understand that i cannot be given a time frame on how long the application will take to process, all I ask for is a verification email that my application has been received and I do have the right to continue working while waiting for my Residency Card. If I understand the EU Laws correctly, as the spouse of an EU Citizen exercising his Treaty Rights in the United Kingdom I am entitled to work as long as I am residing with my husband, which I am. I have been issued my National Insurance Number and I have my own bank account so I do not understand why I can not continue working while waiting for my Residency Card?? Am I honestly expected to loose my employment until I receive my Residency Card?? This just does not add up, why was I entitled to work on a 6 month EU Family Permit and then be advised by Gov.UK website to apply before the expiry date (which I did do) and then be told that the Residency Card application could take up to 6 months to process? Why do they not tell you to apply immediately when entering the UK as the time frame does not make sense? Please,I am desperately in need of some advice as I can not afford to NOT be employed right now. I look forward to a response as soon as possible Than you so much! Katy x ________________________________
Katy.DC - 26-May-17 @ 9:44 PM
T - Your Question:
Hi,I want to move to the U.K. to find work. What can I do to protect my right to remain after brexit. Do I need a registration certificate?
Our Response:
You can see more via the gov.uk link here. Whilst you still have free movement, there has been no legislation announced regarding EU citizens that have only been in the UK a short time on whether they will be forced to leave the country or allowed to stay. For now, it is just the legislation outlined in the document that will stay in place, we cannot predict what may be announced in the future for those who reside outside these time frames.
AboutImmigration - 3-Mar-17 @ 12:42 PM
Hi, I want to move to the U.K. to find work. What can I do to protect my right to remain after brexit. Do I need a registration certificate?
T - 2-Mar-17 @ 1:51 PM
Hi I'm in the UK, working, on a spousal visa attached to a new Zealand passport, of which the spousal visa will expire in 2017. I've recently obtained a passport from a EU country due to having citizenship and hence I'm wondering if it is worth leaving the UK and re-entering on my EU passport before article 50 is triggered. Any advice?
Freddie - 25-Sep-16 @ 9:23 PM
Paula - Your Question:
I'm Portuguese living and working in the UK 16years. Can I apply for residence card after the referendum?
Our Response:
Please see gov.uk link here which you still should be able to apply for until Article 50 is triggered, which is when the UK will begin to negotiate a withdrawal.
AboutImmigration - 27-Jun-16 @ 11:05 AM
I'm Portuguese living and working in the UK 16years. Can I apply for residence card after the referendum?
Paula - 26-Jun-16 @ 8:57 AM
my girlfriend lives in Germany at the moment. but intends to move to the UK to live with me in august . and hopefully find employment, know we are leaving the EU, would this still be possible,?
kenny.j - 25-Jun-16 @ 2:24 PM
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