Bulgarian immigrants: Home Office fails to reject a single request

[-:Undertaker:-]

http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/ukne...e-request.html

http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/arti...-migrants.html

Bulgarian immigrants: Home Office fails to reject single request

Exclusive: Not a single work permit request has been rejected in the past six years despite promise to protect British jobs, says ambassador

The Home Office has failed to reject a single request from British employers to hire Bulgarian immigrants since 2007, the country’s ambassador has said.

Konstantin Dimitrov said he had never heard of a work permit application being turned down, though Border Agency staff are told to refuse requests if British workers can fill the role.

The disclosure raised concerns over whether the freedom of movement restrictions on Bulgarian and Romanian immigrants — due to expire on Dec 31 — had ever been working.

In quotes: the Bulgarian ambassador on immigration controls and 'defamatory' rhetoric

It suggests that the Home Office has failed to protect British jobs in competitive markets. Labour said it would table questions in Parliament after the Home Office confirmed that it did not publish records on the number of rejected work permit requests for Bulgarians.

Keith Vaz, the chairman of the home affairs select committee, pledged on Sunday night to look into the matter.

Mr Dimitrov also insisted that Bulgarians moving to Britain should not be described as “immigrants”.

“Bulgarians are not immigrants,” he said. “Bulgarians are members of the European Union and are moving freely inside the EU, including the UK.”

Mr Dimitrov criticised the “anti-Bulgarian propaganda” from some quarters. Some politicians were making “highly unacceptable … prejudicial” comments.

He said his country’s pride had been hurt by the remarks which risked “enhancing social tension in the UK … detrimental to the fabric of society”.

Currently between 8,000 and 10,000 Bulgarians are estimated to come to Britain each year to work. Mr Dimitrov said this number would not increase when the restrictions were lifted.

Since Bulgaria and Romania joined the EU in 2007, British employers looking to hire nationals from those countries have had to apply for a work permit, while the worker must get an access card.

Certain understaffed industries are exempt from the work permit scheme — those hiring doctors and teachers, for example. But employers in every other field must prove that the job being offered cannot be filled by a Briton.

These restrictions expire on Dec 31, leading to fears that British jobs will be under threat from a flood of migrants. But Mr Dimitrov says the protections in place have already failed to stop a single Bulgarian from working in Britain.

“In other words, most of all those who wanted to work here, especially since we became a member of the EU in 2007, have managed to do so,” he said.

Mr Dimitrov claimed that the embassy had never been informed of a British employer being refused the right to hire a Bulgarian.

Occasionally applications for accession worker cards were turned down, he said.

But this was for technical reasons such as failure to provide the necessary qualifications.

Keith Vaz, the chairman of the Commons home affairs select committee, said he would be raising the comments when Theresa May, the Home Secretary, and her officials appear before his committee next month.

He said he was concerned that employers might not be complying with the requirements of work permit regulations. They should advertise for a certain length of time to allow local people to apply for the job, he said.

“There is no point in having regulations if they are not being followed and we will certainly look at it,” he said.

“In a couple of weeks we have before us the Permanent Secretary, the head of visas and immigration, the head of enforcement as well as Theresa May – these are issues we will put to them.”

David Hanson, Labour’s shadow immigration minister, said he would be tabling Parliamentary questions on the claims. He said: “This raises serious questions about what, if anything, the Government is doing to prepare for the stopping of transitional controls with Romania and Bulgaria.

“We have raised the need for labour market reforms including action on agencies recruiting only from overseas and enforcement of the minimum wage for months and still no action.”

Sir Andrew Green, the chairman of MigrationWatch, said: “It is inexcusable for British employers not to give British workers a level playing field when it comes to recruitment. With a million young people not in employment or training it is imperative they are given the chance to get on the work ladder.”

So even when we are allowed controls on other EU countries (a 'control' that will be removed from our government on January 2014) our politicians still are unable to control it - or rather, don't want to control it.

I read the other day that Cameron was considering action - but as usual for Dave and the Tories, it'll be just talk and no action to follow. I am so SICK of their lies and spin that my blood literally boils when I watch and read of them telling bare faced lies on this topic among many others. I'm not even going to comment on the Labour Party and immigration because I think their record says enough.

So again my argument stands - you couldn't trust them in 2004 when they said only 13,000 Poles a year would come in and 800,000+ came in over a four year period and now it emerges they don't even want to control immigration from countries they were allowed controls on.

Who would be stupid enough to believe anything they say regarding January 2014?

[Chippiewill]

[-:Undertaker:-]

Saw that on Twitter the other day.