Nationals of the new European Union (EU) member states that joined on May 1st 2004, and members of their family are free to enter, live and work in the United Kingdom (UK) legally under the new Worker Registration Scheme.

Nationals from the new member states who find a job in the UK need to register with the Home Office under the Worker Registration Scheme as soon as they find work, if they plan to work for more than one month. Their employment will be illegal after that date if they do not apply within one month of starting a job, up until the point they are issued with a registration certificate.

Those registering will be provided with a Worker Registration Certificate. The Worker Registration Certificate will be issued for a period of 12 months. It confirms that they can work and reside in the UK while they are working in that job. If they change jobs before they have worked continuously for 12 months the certificate will lapse and they will have to renew their registration.

Nationals working legally in the UK for 12 months without a break will have full rights of free movement. They can then get a European Economic Area (EEA) residence permit confirming their status.

All nationals from Malta and Cyprus taking up employment or self-employment, and all nationals from the all new member states who are taking up self-employment rather than employment will have full free movement rights and are not required to obtain a workers registration certificate.

Nationals of Bulgaria and Romania are still under the EEA Association Agreement, as those countries have not yet joined the EU.

Please feel free to contact us about the Worker Registration Scheme if you are a national of a new member state or if you are a UK employer interested in employing a national of a new member state.

how important is it to employers for new EU nationals to register?

Only those legally entitled to live and work in the UK may be offered employment. An employer is guilty of a criminal offence if they employ someone who does not have permission to work in the UK.

It is the employer?s responsibility to gather and retain relevant documented evidence from new employees to firmly establish their nationality and therefore their right to work in the UK.

Employers are obliged to check that workers from the new member states have registered under the Workers Registration Scheme. It is unlawful to employ nationals of the new member states who have neither worked here legally for 12 months nor registered for the job they are doing under this scheme.

what are the registration requirements for the worker registration scheme?

You need to register under this scheme if you are a national of a new member state (excluding Malta and Cyprus) and you:

• start a new job on or after 1 May 2004, or
• have been working in the UK before 1 May 2004 without permission.

Finally, you must be able to maintain and accommodate yourself and any dependents joining you adequately without recourse to public funds.

We will guide you with all your documentary evidence requirements.

what are the exemptions from registering for the worker registration scheme?

You do not need to register under this scheme if you are a national of a new member state and you either:

• are a national of Malta or Cyprus,
• are self-employed,
• have been working legally in the UK for 12 months or more in the job you held on 1 May 2004,
• have been working legally in the UK and stayed in the same job after 1 May 2004,
• were issued with leave to enter the UK before 1 May 2004 as a Seasonal Agricultural Worker and took up employment on the Seasonal Agricultural Workers Scheme on or after 1 May 2004,
• are providing services in the UK on behalf of an employer who is not established in the UK,
• are also a national of the UK, Switzerland, or an EEA state other than the new member states,
• are a family member of a UK, Swiss or an EEA national of a state other than the new member states who is working in the UK, or
• are a family member of a UK, Swiss or EEA national who is living in the UK as a student, a retired or a self sufficient person.

what evidence is required for a worker registration scheme application?

fastUKpermit will assist you in all aspects of your application. We will assist you with documentary evidence requirements, including drafting and presentation. You are advised not to proceed with an application if you are unsure whether you qualify or not. If you are interested in taking this further please contact us now.

am I entitled to a residence permit?

You are entitled to apply for a residence permit confirming that you have full rights of free movement within the EEA if you are either:

• a national of Malta or Cyprus working in the UK, or
• a national of another new member state and you have been working in the UK legally for no less than 12 months without a break, or
• a national of any new member state working as a self-employed person in the UK, or
• a national of any new member state living in the UK as a full-time student, or as a retired or self-sufficient person.

fastUKpermit can assist you with all aspects of the application.

what should I do if I have been working illegally in the UK?

If you have been working illegally in the UK then you need to apply for a Worker Registration Certificate under the Worker Registration Scheme as soon as possible. Your status will then be considered legal in the UK and your employer will no longer be at risk of being prosecuted.

can I change jobs, or hold more than one job at the same time?

You may change jobs at any time. If you do change your job, you must apply for a new Worker Registration Certificate.

You may hold more than one job at the same time. You must apply for a separate Worker Registration Certificate for each employer you are working for.

who can accompany the holder of a worker registration certificate?

A spouse or an unmarried partner, and children under the age of 18 may accompany you to the UK as dependents. Dependents are allowed to stay in the UK for the same period as the principal applicant. There are usually no restrictions on dependants working in the UK.

Dependents are eligible to free health care provided by the National Health Service. Children entering the UK as dependants are entitled to a free public school education.

If you have the right to live in the UK, family members may join you. Under European Community (EC) law family members also include:

• your, or your spouse's grandchildren under 21; and those over 21 that are dependent on you;
• dependent relatives, for example, your or your spouse's parents and grandparents;

Other relatives such as brothers, sisters or cousins do not have an automatic right to live with you. Applications will be considered from other relatives to join you if you are working in the UK and:

• your relatives are your dependants; or
• they were living with you before you came to the UK.

Family members who are not nationals of the EEA must apply for an EEA family permit at a British Embassy in their home country before travelling to the UK to live here either on a long-term basis or permanently. Entry may be refused if they try to enter the UK without an EEA family permit.

what are the EU and EEA member states?

Before 1 May 2004, the countries of the EU were:

Austria	Belgium	Denmark
Finland	France	Germany
Greece	Iceland *	Ireland
Italy	Liechtenstein *	Luxembourg
Netherlands	Norway *	Portugal
Spain	Sweden	Switzerland **
United Kingdom

 

* Iceland, Liechtenstein and Norway are not EU states, but are EEA states. Their nationals and their family members have the same rights to enter, live and work in the UK as those of EU nationals within the EU, under the EEA Agreement.

** Switzerland is not an EU state nor an EEA state. Its nationals and their family members have similar rights to enter, live, and work in the UK to those of EU nationals under separate agreements with the EU.

Following the Treaty of Accession, the following 10 countries joined, or acceded to, the EU on 1 May 2004:

Cyprus *	Czech Republic	Estonia
Hungary	Latvia	Lithuania
Malta *	Poland	Slovakia
Slovenia

• Nationals of Cyprus and Malta have the same free-movement rights as other EU nationals.
• The rights of nationals of the other eight countries (known as A8 countries) to reside in another member state have been limited by UK laws until the end of a transition period in 2011.

Bulgaria and Romania will join the EU in 2007.

Full membership talks with Turkey and Croatia are underway.

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