Can I live and work in the United Kingdom?

This page explains if you can live and work in the United Kingdom if you are a Bulgarian or Romanian national.

You can move and live freely in any European Union (EU) member state as a European Economic Area (EEA) national. You do not need permission to enter or remain to live in the United Kingdom. If you want to work in the United Kingdom you will need to apply for an accession worker card, unless you are exempt (see below) and your employer may have to apply for a work permit. For information on how to apply for an accession worker card and a work permit you should see the Applying section .

Not all categories of employment will require your employer to apply for a work permit. In certain categories you will only have to apply for an accession worker card. These categories are:

• airport based operational ground staff of an overseas airline; and
• au pair placements; and
• domestic workers in a private household; and
• ministers of religion, missionaries or members of a religious order; and
• overseas government employment; and
• postgraduate doctors, dentists and trainee general practitioners; and
• private servants in a diplomatic household; and
• representatives of an overseas newspaper; news agency or broadcasting agency; and
• sole representatives; and
• teachers or language assistants on an approved exchange scheme; and
• overseas qualified nurses coming for a period of supervised practice.

Work authorisation

You will need to apply for an accession worker card, which authorises you to work in the United Kingdom, unless you are exempt (see below) or if:

• you are coming to the United Kingdom under the seasonal agricultural workers scheme and hold a valid work card issued by a SAWS operator; or
• 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. If this leave to enter or remain expires before you qualify to be exempt from work authorisation requirements, or you wish to engage in employment other than the job for which the leave was granted, you will need to obtain an accession worker card.

Exempt from the worker authorisation requirement

You can apply for a registration certificate even if you are exempt from having to do so, if you would like confirmation that there are no restrictions on you taking employment in the United Kingdom. For information on how to do this you should see the Applying section.

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; or
• 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); or
• you are providing services in the United Kingdom on behalf of an employer established elsewhere in the European Economic Area (EEA); or
• you are also a citizen of the United Kingdom or another EEA state, other than Bulgaria or Romania, or Switzerland; or
• 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; or
• you are the family member of a Bulgarian or Romanian national who is self-employed, self-sufficient or a student.

If you meet the highly skilled migrant person criteria, you may be exempt from having to have an accession workers card, but you will need to apply for a registration certificate on this basis. For information on how to apply for a registration certificate you should see the Applying section.

For further information on working in the United Kingdom if you are a Bulgarian or Romanian national you must read the guidance on the right side of this page.