At least 30,000 Romanians and Bulgarians have come to Britain to work in the last year, as border controls were lifted to comply with EU law, figures are set to show this week
Tens of thousands of eastern European migrants have moved to Britain for work in the last year at a time when border controls were being relaxed, official figures are forecast to show this week.
In an exclusive analysis prepared for The Telegraph, economists from Oxford University predict that the figures will show at least 30,000 more Romanians and Bulgarians were working in the UK in the first three months of this year than during the same period in 2013.
The increase – of more than 25 per cent – is likely to take the total number of migrants now living in Britain from these two countries alone to 200,000, when their unemployed family members are taken into account.
The figures follows the lifting of all restrictions on new migrants coming to Britain from Romania and Bulgaria, the European Union’s poorest member states, on January 1.
On Wednesday, official employment statistics will provide the first indication of the impact that lifting the partial ban has had on immigration to Britain.
Up to 200000 Romanians and Bulgarians now in UK
