Number of migrants coming to UK falls in downturn

Published on Tuesday 24 February 2009 21:48

THE number of eastern European migrants flowing into the UK has fallen sharply in the wake of the economic downturn, according to figures published yesterday.

Work applications from the eight European Union accession countries fell to 29,000 in the last three months of 2008, compared to 53,000 in the same period the previous year, the Office for National Statistics said.

Approved Polish applications fell from 36,000 to 16,000. Applications for the Worker Registration Scheme (WRS) for 2008 fell to 165,000 from 218,000 in 2007 and 235,000 in 2006.

Nationals from Poland, Lithuania, Latvia, Hungary, Slovakia, Slovenia, Estonia and the Czech Republic must register with the WRS if they want to work in the UK for more than a month.

Border and Immigration Minister Phil Woolas said the latest Accession Monitoring Report showed applications were at their lowest level since the countries joined the EU in 2004.

"The number of eastern Europeans coming here to work is dramatically falling and research suggests that many of those that came have now gone home," he said.

"Nevertheless, the government is doing everything it can to ensure migration is working for the British labour market and the country as a whole."

The statistics show 78 per cent of WRS applicants were aged 18 to 34 and, of those who registered in 2008, 86 per cent were working for more than 35 hours a week.

Applications for Jobseeker's Allowance from EU nationals rose in the last quarter of 2008 with 832 of the 2,540 put forward for further consideration.