Tackling the misbeliefs and ambiguity surrounding Romanians who work and live in the UK.
With the general elections approaching, alongside EU membership the question of immigration has also become topical. One instance that encloses both these questions simultaneously is immigration from the countries of two newer EU member states, namely Romania and Bulgaria. The restrictions on the workforce of these two states had been lifted as of the start of 2014, hence now they are able to work freely in the UK.
This has made the headlines for a while but hasn’t emerged to become an issue of greater relevance (despite some politicians claiming that it would become one). Yet it did have an impact on the lives of some, as it highlighted the presence of these peoples, specifically their lives as immigrants who were already present.
Although both of these member states are handled equally, the fact that Romania is almost three times the size of Bulgaria in population made it more relevant in terms of being perceived by the local population as posing a greater „threat to jobs of local populace” (a greater factor in altering their lives to be precise). Due to this, many misbeliefs and myths developed, enclosed with a lot misperceptions and misunderstood concepts. In the following, and in some upcoming articles, I wish to explore these notions and tackle unfounded stereotypes or honest mistakes, so as to show the real issues facing Romanians living in London and the UK.
