Page Title

BR Guidance

BR Guidance Version 01/2007

GUIDANCE FOR NATIONALS OF BULGARIA AND ROMANIA ON
OBTAINING PERMISSION TO WORK IN THE UNITED KINGDOM

1. The purpose of this guidance is to explain what, if you are a national of
Bulgaria or Romania, you and your family will need to do if you wish to take
employment in the United Kingdom after 1 January 2007. It explains what sort of
documents you may be required to obtain in order to work legally and the steps you
should take to do so. It also explains what you can do if you are coming to or present
in the United Kingdom for some other purpose (for example, study or self-employment)
and you wish to obtain a document confirming your status.
2. From 1st January 2007 you will be able to move and reside freely in any
Member State. You will not require leave to enter or remain to reside legally in the
UK. You will have a right of residence in any EU Member State for the first 3 months
of residence on an unrestricted basis and remain legally resident in that state as long
as you wish, providing you are exercising a treaty right as a student, a self-employed
person, or if you are self-sufficient (and not economically active). You will not
however, have an automatic right to reside as a worker (unless you are exempt from
work authorisation requirements – see paragraph 6 below).
3. If you want to work in the United Kingdom from 1 January 2007, you may
qualify for the issue of a registration certificate or accession worker card depending
on your circumstances. Your family members may also qualify for the issue of a
registration certificate or accession worker card or, if they are non-EEA nationals, a
residence card or family member residence stamp. You should read the guidance
below before you make an application. How you make an application is set out in
paragraphs 20 to 27 below.
Work authorisation
4. The UK government has stated that it will provide nationals of Bulgaria and
Romania with only gradual access to its labour market from 1 January 2007. This
means that from 1 January 2007, nationals of Bulgaria and Romania will continue to
be required to obtain authorisation of their employment if they wish to work in the
United Kingdom. If you take employment without obtaining such authorisation
you, and your employer, may be committing a criminal offence (see paragraphs
34 to 35 below).
5. To obtain such authorisation you will normally be required to obtain an
accession worker card. You will not, however, need to obtain an accession worker
card if:
• you are exempt from the requirement to do so (see paragraphs 6 to 8
below); or
• you are coming to the United Kingdom under the Seasonal Agricultural
Workers Scheme (SAWS) and hold a valid work card issued by a SAWS
operator; or
BR Guidance Version 01/2007 2
• you were given leave to enter or remain in the United Kingdom before 1
January 2007 and your passport has been endorsed with a condition
restricting your employment to a particular employer or category of
employment (for example, if you are already in the United Kingdom as a
work permit holder or au pair). If this leave to enter or remain expires
before you qualify to be exempt from work authorisation requirements (see
paragraph 7 below), or you wish to engage in employment other than the
job for which the leave was granted, you may need to obtain an accession
worker card.
Exemption from the work authorisation requirement
6. You will not require a work authorisation document in order to take
employment in the United Kingdom if you are exempt from this requirement. If you
are exempt, you will be able to take employment without restriction. You may, if you
wish, apply for a registration certificate confirming that there are no restrictions on
your taking employment (see paragraph 21 below which advises you which
application form you should use).
7. You will be exempt from the requirement to obtain authorisation to work in
the United Kingdom if:
• you have leave to enter under the Immigration Act 1971 and that leave does
not place any restrictions on taking employment in the United Kingdom. For
example, you have been given leave to remain as the spouse of a British
citizen or as the dependant of a work permit holder;
• you have been working with permission, and without interruption, in the
United Kingdom for a period of 12 months ending on or after 31 December
2006. For example, you are already present in the United Kingdom as a work
permit holder or in some other category that confers permission to take
employment (for example as a student and you have been in part-time
employment continuously for 12 months);
• you are providing services in the United Kingdom on behalf of an employer
established elsewhere in the European Economic Area (EEA);
• you are also a citizen of the United Kingdom or another EEA state, other than
Bulgaria or Romania, or Switzerland;
• you are the family member of a EEA national exercising a Treaty right in the
United Kingdom (except if you are the family member of a Bulgarian or
Romanian national who is subject to work authorisation requirements) or the
spouse or civil partner of a British citizen or person with settlement in the
United Kingdom.
8. You may also establish an exemption from the requirement to obtain work
authorisation if you are highly skilled. However, in order to do so, you will need to
demonstrate that you meet certain criteria and obtain a registration certificate on this
basis (see paragraph 9 below).
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Highly skilled workers
9. To qualify as highly skilled, you must either:
• score sufficient points under the points-based system established for the
purpose of the existing Highly Skilled Migrants Programme. More details of
the Highly Skilled Programme, including the attributes for which points are
awarded, are set out on the website www.workingintheuk.gov . You will not
be required to satisfy the requirements of this Programme in respect of
proficiency in English language; or
• meet the criteria for the approval of leave to remain under the existing Science
and Engineering Graduate’s Scheme or Scottish graduates Scheme. To qualify
on this basis you must, in the previous 12 months, have obtained a Higher
National Diploma or degree (including a masters or doctorate) from an
educational institution in Scotland, or a degree with second class honours or
above in a subject approved by the Department for Education or Skills for the
purpose of the Science and Engineering Graduates Scheme1, or a masters or
postgraduate degree in any subject.
We will issue a registration certificate confirming that the holder is not subject to any
restriction on taking employment where we consider the applicant to be highly
skilled.
The self-employed and work authorisation
10. If you are working in a self-employed capacity, and exercising a Treaty right
on that basis, you will not need to obtain authorisation for that work although you will
need to be able, if challenged, demonstrate that you are genuinely self-employed. If
you are exercising a Treaty right as a self-employed person, you may apply for a
registration certificate confirming this, but it is not a requirement that you do so
and a registration certificate issued on this basis will not confer a right to take
employment on any other basis than self-employment.
Students and work authorisation
11. If you are a student in the United Kingdom, you may engage in employment
for up to 20 hours a week without obtaining an accession worker card. However, if
you wish to work, you must first obtain a registration certificate confirming that you
are exercising a Treaty right as a student. This will provide authority for you to work
up to 20 hours per week. You will be required to demonstrate that you are enrolled at
a genuine educational institution. If you are a student and wish to work for more than
20 hours a week, you will need to obtain an accession worker card for this purpose. If
you wish to exercise your treaty right as a student and do not intend to work you are
not required to register.
1 This list of subjects can be found on the website www.ind.homeoffice.gov.uk
BR Guidance Version 01/2007 4
Accession worker card
12. You will need an offer of employment in the United Kingdom before an
accession worker card can be issued and, if you do have an offer of employment, you
must obtain an accession worker card before you commence work. If you start
work before the card has been issued to you, you will be working illegally. An
accession worker card will specify the employer of the holder of the document and,
except in the case of authorised family members, the occupation or category of
employment for which it is issued. An accession worker card will not be issued for a
specified period of time but will cease to be valid if the employment for which it has
been issued ceases. If you change your employment, you will need to apply for a new
accession work card in respect of the new employment.
13. An accession worker card may be issued for the following categories of
employment:
• airport-based operational ground staff of an overseas airline
• au pair placements
• domestic workers in a private household
• overseas government employees
• postgraduate doctors, dentists and trainee general practitioners
• private servants in a diplomatic household
• representatives of an overseas newspaper, news agency or broadcasting
organisation
• sole representatives of overseas businesses
• teachers and language assistants on approved exchange schemes
• overseas qualified nurses undertaking supervised practice
The requirements for issue of an accession worker card for these categories are set out
in Annex A of this Guidance and the application form (form BR3) will tell you what
documentary evidence you will need to provide in support of your application .
14. If your employment does not fall into one of the categories above, an
accession worker card will only be issued if your employer has obtained approval of
the employment through the existing work permit arrangements. This means that your
employer will first need to obtain a letter of approval of the employment from Work
Permits (UK). The criteria and procedures for the issue of letters of approval under
the work permit arrangements are set on the website www.workingintheuk.gov.uk.
Approvals under the work permit arrangements are generally only given for skilled
jobs and where suitably qualified resident labour is unavailable to fill the vacancy.
The work permit arrangements do, however, comprise the Sector Based Scheme
under which a quota of permits may be issued for lower skilled jobs in the food
processing industry. More details about the Sectors Based Scheme can be found on
the website www.workingintheuk.gov.uk.
15. If your employer does obtain a letter of approval from Work Permits (UK) this
does not constitute an authorisation to work. You should submit this letter, with a
completed form BR3 (see paragraphs 20 to 21 below), as an application for an
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accession worker card. Only on receipt of the card can you commence work with
your employer.
Family members
16. Bulgarian and Romanian family members of a Bulgarian or Romanian who is
exercising Treaty rights in the United Kingdom and is exempt from work
authorisation requirements are entitled to be issued with a registration certificate
confirming that they are also exempt from those requirements. Applications on this
basis should be submitted on form BR1. Non-EEA family members of a Bulgarian or
Romanian who is exercising Treaty rights in the United Kingdom can apply for a
family member residence card and should do so on form BR 5.
17. Where a person is a national of Bulgaria and Romania, and is the family
member of a Bulgarian or Romanian who is in the UK as a worker, self-employed
person, self-sufficient person or a student and is not exempt from the work
authorisation requirement, the family member will also be required to obtain an
accession work card in order to take employment in the United Kingdom. However,
the criteria for the issue of such a document to a dependant spouse in these
circumstances will not be subject to a skills test or test concerning the availability of
resident labour. The accession worker card will confirm that they been given
permission to work as an authorised family member. Applications on this basis should
be submitted on form BR4 (see paragraphs 20 to 21 below). Non-EEA family
members of a Bulgarian or Romanian holding a work authorisation document may
apply for a family member residence stamp. They should do so on form BR 6.
18. Please note that you will not be able to obtain work authorisation as an
authorised family member if you are the family member of a person holding a work
card under the Seasonal Agricultural Workers Scheme or holding an accession worker
card issued to an au pair or participant in the Sectors Based Scheme.
19. If you are the family member of an EEA national who is registered under the
Worker Registration Scheme (WRS), and you intend to work, you will be exempt
from worker authorisation requirements and can apply, in your own right, for a
registration certificate confirming this. Applications on this basis can be submitted on
form BR7. However, if you are the family member of an EEA national (other than a
person registered under the WRS or a Bulgarian or Romanian subject to work
authorisation) who is exercising a Treaty right in the United Kingdom and who is
applying for a registration certificate confirming this, you may be included with that
person’s application. Such an application can be submitted on form EEA1 to:
European Applications
Immigration & Nationality Directorate
Lunar House
40 Wellesley Road
Croydon
CR9 2BY
How to apply for your document
BR Guidance Version 01/2007 6
Application forms
20. It is important that you ensure that you complete the correct form before you
apply for a document. This will help us to process you application without
unnecessary delay. You should complete the relevant sections of the form as required
and answer all the questions that apply to you and any family members included in
the application.
21. The form you should complete will depend upon your circumstances and the
document you are applying for:
(i) If you are applying for a registration certificate confirming that:
• you are self-employed; or
• you are self-sufficient;
• you are a student;
• you are exempt from the requirement to obtain a work authorisation document
because you fall into one of the categories in paragraph 7 above;
you should complete form BR1. If you have family members and they are nationals
of a member state of the EEA, you may include them in your application (unless you
fall into the category at 17 above).
(ii) If you are applying for a registration certificate confirming that you are
exempt from the requirement to obtain a work authorisation document because you
are highly skilled you should complete form BR2. If you have family members and
they are nationals of a member state of the EEA, you may include them in your
application.
(iii) If you are applying for an accession worker card (unless you are an authorised
family member – see paragraph 17) you should complete form BR3.
(iv) If you are applying for an accession worker card as an authorised family
member (see paragraph 17) you should complete form BR4.
(v) If you have obtained a registration certificate and you have family members
who are not nationals of an EEA state, they may apply for a residence card on form
BR5.
(vi) If you have obtained an accession worker card and you have family members
who are not nationals of an EEA state, they may apply for a family member residence
stamp on form BR6.
(vii) If you are applying for a registration certificate as the family member of a
person registered under the Worker Registration Scheme you may complete form
BR7.
BR Guidance Version 01/2007 7
You may obtain these forms from our distribution centre.
Telephone: 08705 210224 (between 9.00am and 5.00pm, Monday to Friday)
Or visit: www.ind.homeoffice.gov.uk or www.workingintheuk.gov.uk
Documents
22. You must provide all relevant documents, including passports/ID cards as
appropriate. Unless the application form indicates otherwise, all documents should be
originals. If you cannot provide original documents when applying, you should
explain why and say when you will be able to provide them. If you provide a certified
copy, it should be a copy certified by the body or authority which issued the original
document, or by a notary. To decide your application we need to see the originals of
passports or ID cards, and if needed to prove a family relationship, original marriage
or civil partnership certificates and birth certificates. If you cannot supply original
documents, it is unlikely that we will approve your application.
Photographs
23. You must provide two identical photographs of yourself and any family
members included in the application. These should be taken against a light
background, be clear and of good quality, and must be full face. They must not show
you or your family members wearing sunglasses or any head covering unless this has
to be worn for religious or cultural reasons. Photographs where the head covering
covers the face will not be acceptable. The photographs you provide will be
reproduced in you and your family members’ documents if the application is
successful. You should therefore ensure that you are content for the photographs to be
used for this purpose.
Fees
24. There will be no charge for the consideration of your application.
Submitting your application
25. You must submit your completed application by post to:
BULGARIAN AND ROMANIAN APPLICATIONS
IMMIGRATION AND NATIONALITY DIRECTORATE
PO BOX 4160
SHEFFIELD
S1 9DZ
Posting your application to any other address will delay it. To help us record the
receipt of your application, we recommend the use of Recorded or Special Delivery
and that you keep the RD or SD number.
26. We return all documents by Recorded Delivery. If you want your passport and
other documents returned by Special Delivery, you will need to provide a suitably
sized Special Delivery envelope with the correct pre-paid postage.
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27. We can only consider an application for a registration certificate if you are
already in the United Kingdom. If you require an accession worker card and have
obtained an offer of employment before you come to the United Kingdom, you can
apply for the document from outside the United Kingdom.
If your application is refused
28. If your application for a registration certificate is refused on the grounds that
you are not exercising a treaty right, you will have a right of appeal and the notice of
refusal will inform you of this. You will not have a right of appeal if the application is
refused on the grounds that you have failed to provide evidence of
identity/nationality, or that evidence is not found to be genuine.
29. If your application for an accession worker card is refused and you wish to
have that decision reconsidered, we will review the decision providing you provide
your grounds for reconsideration of our decision within 28 days. Details of how to
request a review will be given in your refusal letter.
Choosing an immigration adviser
30. The forms, and this guidance, are intended to enable you to make your own
application. If you do engage an immigration adviser to assist you, you should take
care when choosing one. The Office of the Immigration Services Commissioner
(OISC) regulates immigration advisers. Its website at www.oisc.gov.uk contains a list
of authorised advisers. It also has links to websites for solicitors, barristers and legal
executives. If you have a complaint about an immigration adviser or need other
information, the OISC contact details are:
Office of the Immigration Services Commissioner
5th Floor
Counting House
53 Tooley Street
London
SE1 2QN
Telephone: 0845 000 0046
31. Alternatively, the Law Society, which regulates solicitors in England and
Wales, can help you find a solicitor. You can contact them on 0870 606 6575 or visit
their website at www.solicitors-online.com. If you wish to complain about a solicitor
you can contact the Law Society’s Consumer Complaints Service helpline on 0845
608 6565 or write to them at:
The Law Society
Victoria Court
8 Dormer Place
Leamington Spa
Warwickshire
CV32 5AE
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Complaints about our service
32. If you want advice about how to make a complaint about the service you have
received from the Immigration and Nationality Directorate, please telephone 0870
241 6523 or visit our website at www.ind.homeoffice.gov.uk. You may complain in
writing to:
IND Complaints Unit
PO Box 1384
Croydon
CR9 3JY
Data protection notice
33. All information provided by you to the Home Office will be treated in
confidence but it may be disclosed to other government departments, agencies, local
authorities, the police, foreign governments and other bodies for immigration
purposes or to help them perform their functions. The Immigration and Nationality
Directorate may also use information provided by you for training purposes.
Working without permission
34. After 1 January 2007, it will be an offence for an employer to employ a
Bulgarian and Romanian national that is subject to the requirement to hold an
accession worker card but does not have one, or who is undertaking work other than
that specified in the card. Employers will face a maximum fine upon conviction of
£5000 per worker.
35. You, the worker, will also commit an offence in these circumstances and if
you are prosecuted and convicted of this offence you could face imprisonment for up
to 3 months. Individuals who commit this offence may be offered the opportunity to
discharge their liability to prosecution through the payment of a fixed penalty of
£1000.
BR Guidance Version 01/2007 10
ANNEX A
CATEGORIES OF EMPLOYMENT AND QUALIFYING REQUIREMENTS
FOR THE ISSUE OF AN ACCESSION WORKER CARD
Authorised category of employment Relevant requirements in relation to
authorised category of employment
Authorised categories of employment requiring a letter of approval under the work
permit arrangements
Employment under the Sectors Based
Scheme
The applicant –
(1) holds a letter of approval under the
work permit arrangements issued under
the Sectors-Based Scheme; and
(2) is capable of undertaking the
employment specified in that letter.
Training or work experience The applicant –
(1) holds a letter of approval under the
work permit arrangements issued under
the Training and Work Experience
Scheme; and
(2) is capable of undertaking the training
or work experience as specified in that
letter.
Work permit employment The applicant –
(1) holds a letter of approval under the
work permit arrangements issued in
relation to work permit employment; and
(2) is capable of undertaking the
employment specified in that letter.
Other authorised categories of employment
Airport based operational ground staff of
an overseas air line
The applicant has been transferred to the
United Kingdom by an overseas-owned
airline operating services to and from the
United Kingdom to take up duty at an
international airport as station manager,
security manager or technical manager.
Au pair placement The applicant –
(1) has and intends to take up an offer of
an au pair placement;
(2) is aged between 17 to 27 inclusive;
(3) is unmarried and is not in a civil
partnership; and
(4) is without dependants.
Domestic worker in a private household The applicant –
(1) is 18 and over
(2) has been employed for at least a year
outside the United Kingdom as a
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domestic worker under the same roof as
his employer or in a household that the
employer uses for himself on a regular
basis; and
(3) intends to be so employed by that
employer in the United Kingdom.
Minister of religion, missionary or
member of a religious order
The applicant –
(1) if a minister of religion –
(a) has either been working for at least
one year as a minister of religion in any
of the five years immediately prior to the
date on which the application for the
worker accession card is made or, where
ordination is prescribed by a religious
faith as the sole means of entering the
ministry, has been ordained as a minister
of religion following at least one year’s
full time or two years’ part time training
for the ministry; and
(b) holds an International English
Language Testing System Certificate
issued to him to certify that he has
achieved level 4 competence in spoken
English, and the Certificate is dated not
more than two years prior to the date on
which the application for an accession
worker card is made;
(2) if a missionary, has been trained as a
missionary or has worked as a missionary
and is being sent or has been sent to the
United Kingdom by an overseas
organisation;
(3) if a member of a religious order, is
living or coming to live in a community
maintained by the religious order of
which he is a member and, if intending to
teach, does not intend to do so save at an
establishment maintained by his order;
and
(4) intends to work in the United Kingdom as a minister of religion,
missionary or for the religious order of
which he is a member.
Overseas government employment The applicant intends to work in the
United Kingdom for an overseas
government or the United Nations or
other international organisation of which
the United Kingdom is a member.
Postgraduate doctors, dentists and trainee The applicant –
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general practitioners (1) is a graduate from a medical or dental
school who is eligible for provisional or
limited registration with the General
Medical Council or General Dental
Council and intends to work in the United
Kingdom as a doctor or dentist as part of
his training; or
(2) is a doctor, dentist or trainee general
practitioner eligible for full or limited
registration with the General Medical
Council or the General Dental Council
and intends to work in the United
Kingdom as part of his postgraduate
training or general practitioner training in
a hospital or the Community Health
Services.
Private servant in a diplomatic household The applicant –
(1) is 18 and over; and
(2) intends to work in the United
Kingdom as a private servant in the
household of a member of staff of a
diplomatic or consular mission who
enjoys diplomatic privileges and
immunity within the meaning of the
Vienna Convention on Diplomatic
Relations(2).
Representative of an overseas newspaper,
news agency or broadcasting organisation
The applicant has been engaged by an
overseas newspaper, news agency or
broadcasting organisation outside the
United Kingdom and is being posted to
the United Kingdom by that newspaper,
agency or organisation to act as its
representative.
Sole representative The applicant –
(1) has been employed outside the United
Kingdom as a representative of a firm
that has its headquarters and principal
place of business outside the United
Kingdom and has no branch, subsidiary
or other representative in the United
Kingdom;
(2)intends to work as a senior employee
with full authority to take operational
decisions on behalf of the overseas firm
for the purpose of representing it in the
United Kingdom by establishing and
operating a registered branch or wholly
(2) Cmnd. 2565.
BR Guidance Version 01/2007 13
owned subsidiary of that overseas firm;
and
(3) is not a majority shareholder in that
overseas firm.
Teacher or language assistant The applicant intends to work at an
educational establishment in the United
Kingdom under an exchange scheme
approved by the Department for
Education and Skills, the Scottish or
Welsh Office of Education or the Department of Education, Northern Ireland, or administered by the British
Council’s Education and Training Group. Overseas qualified nurses The applicant – (1) has obtained
confirmation from the Nursing and Midwifery Council that he is eligible for admission to the Overseas
Nurses Programme; and (2) has been offered and intends to take up a supervised practice placement
through an education provider that is recognised by the Nursing and Midwifery Council or a midwifery
adaptation programme placement in a setting approved by that Council.
1. In this Annex –
(a) “au pair placement” means an arrangement whereby a young person –
(i) comes to the United Kingdom for the purpose of learning English;
(ii) lives for a time as a member of an English speaking family with
appropriate opportunities for study; and
(iii) helps in the home for a maximum of 5 hours per day in return for an
allowance and with two free days per week;
(b) “letter of approval under the work permit arrangements” means a letter issued by
the Secretary of State under the work permit arrangements stating that employment by
the employer specified in the letter of the person so specified for the type of
employment so specified satisfies the labour market criteria set out in those
arrangements;
(c) “member of a religious order” means a person who lives in a community run by
that order;
(d) “minister of religion” means a religious functionary whose main regular duties
comprise the leading of a congregation in performing the rites and rituals of the faith
and in preaching the essentials of the creed;
(e) “missionary” means a person who is directly engaged in spreading a religious
doctrine and whose work is not in essence administrative or clerical;
BR Guidance Version 01/2007 14
(f) “Sectors Based Scheme” means the scheme established by the Secretary of State
for the purpose of paragraph 135I(i)(3) of the immigration rules (requirements for
leave to enter the United Kingdom for the purpose of employment under the Sectors
Based Scheme);
(g) “Training and Work Experience Scheme” means the scheme established by the
Secretary of State for the purpose of paragraph 116(i) of the immigration rules
(requirement for leave to enter the United Kingdom for approved training or work
experience);
(h) “work permit arrangements” means the arrangements published by the Secretary
of State (4) setting out the labour market criteria to be applied for the purpose of
issuing the work permits referred to in paragraphs 116(i) (Training and Work
Experience Scheme) and 128(i) of the immigration rules and the immigration
employment document referred to in paragraph 135I(i) (Sectors Based Scheme) of the
immigration rules;
(i) “work permit employment” means a category of employment covered by the work
permit arrangements, other than employment covered by the Sectors Based Scheme
and the Training and Work Experience Scheme.
(3) Paragraph 135I was inserted by immigration rules changes on 30th May 2003 (Cm 5829).
(4) These arrangements are published by Work Permits UK, part of the Home Office, and are
available on Work Permits UK’s website.