No influx of migrant workers from Romania and Bulgaria, survey of airlines and coach companies finds
Your support helps us to tell the story
From reproductive rights to climate change to Big Tech, The Independent is on the ground when the story is developing. Whether it's investigating the financials of Elon Musk's pro-Trump PAC or producing our latest documentary, 'The A Word', which shines a light on the American women fighting for reproductive rights, we know how important it is to parse out the facts from the messaging.
At such a critical moment in US history, we need reporters on the ground. Your donation allows us to keep sending journalists to speak to both sides of the story.
The Independent is trusted by Americans across the entire political spectrum. And unlike many other quality news outlets, we choose not to lock Americans out of our reporting and analysis with paywalls. We believe quality journalism should be available to everyone, paid for by those who can afford it.
Your support makes all the difference.The predicted influx of workers from Romania and Bulgaria following the lifting of immigration restrictions has failed to materialise, a survey of airlines and coach companies has found.
Six airlines and three coach companies who provide services between Romania and Bulgaria and the UK all said they had not seen any increased traffic from the two eastern European states to this country since the New Year.
The figures were uncovered by the pro-immigration campaign group Migration Matters. Over Christmas and New Year, there were warnings from politicians and anti-immigration campaigners, including Ukip and MigrationWatch, that relaxing visa restrictions on Bulgaria and Romania would lead to an influx of people, put pressure on public services and fuel "benefit tourism". Shortly before the visa rules changed on 1 January, David Cameron announced that Bulgarian and Romanian immigrants would not be eligible for out-of-work benefits for the first three months of being in the UK.
On 1 January, Keith Vaz and fellow members of the Home Affairs Committee went to greet Romanians at Heathrow airport, to find that only a handful were arriving. The new research suggests that this trend continued through January and February.
Join our commenting forum
Join thought-provoking conversations, follow other Independent readers and see their replies
Comments