800,000 eastern Europeans apply for UK work permits
Nearly 800,000 Eastern European immigrants have applied to work in Britain since eight ex-Soviet countries joined the European Union (EU) in 2004, government figures show.
The applications for work permits do not include the self-employed or those from Romania and Bulgaria, who joined the EU last year.
Since Poland and seven other East European countries joined the EU in May 2004, some 796,000 applications have been made for work permits, of which 766,000 were approved.
However, the Home Office figures released today also showed that the number of failed asylum seekers from Britain last year fell by 26 per cent compared to the year before to 13,595.
“Overall today’s figures prove that last year we deported someone every eight minutes – and we got our priorities straight,” border and immigration minister Liam Byrne said.
“We deported the highest ever number of foreign lawbreakers, up by a huge 80 per cent, and we attacked illegal working much harder because it undercuts British wages, with 40 per cent more illegal working operations.”
Some 30,000 immigrants from Bulgaria and Romania were granted to permission to work in Britain in 2007.
Mr Byrne claimed that restrictions would remain on the number of applications granted to the two countries.
“It’s too soon to evaluate the full impact of the accession of Bulgaria and Romania to the EU which is why we decided to maintain restrictions for at least another year,” he said.
“Our indications are that the policy of restricting access to the UK’s labour market is helping to ensure that only those who have something to offer the UK are allowed to work here.”
The Home Office also declared today that annual asylum application levels are at their lowest level for 14 years.
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