Bar on migrant workers 'leads them to stay longer

The government's restrictions on Romanians working in the UK actually encourage them to stay and bring their families, according to research carried out for the British embassy.

An unpublished survey of Romanians who have moved to the UK reveals how Britain's policy to restrict migrants who want to work is conflicting with its aims. By making it more difficult for Romanians and Bulgarians to attain their financial targets the government merely delays their return home, analysis conducted in Romania and given to the British embassy suggests.

Under the current restrictions, only highly skilled workers and some agricultural workers can work legally in the UK. A growing number of Tory MPs, with the backing of London's mayor, Boris Johnson, wish to see those curbs – due to be lifted in January 2014 – kept in place. However, research by the International Agency for Source Country Information requested by the British embassy and seen by the Observer suggests the current restrictions are working against Britain's policy goal.

More than half (58%) of those surveyed said their primary condition for returning to Romania was having achieved their savings or pension aspirations or to start a business. Less than half (47%) said they sent money back to relatives in Romania, while more than two thirds (68%) said they regularly saved. The average amount saved was £945 a month. Romanians in the UK want to save about £85,000 before they would contemplate returning home.

Nicolaas de Zwager, the founder and director of the research body, who analysed the results for the British embassy in Romania, said: "The average household in Romania is already saving almost €12,000 annually, that's 42% of household income. That tells you that these migrants have no interest in becoming little Englishmen," because their aim is principally to save money. "It's painful to save €12,000 a year on an income of €29,000 and any block we put up to stop them from reaching their migration goal simply delays their return.

Illegal workers overstay in Britian

"If I am a Romanian migrant in the UK working in the black economy and I am there for two years, I am doing OK but not great. It is taking a long time to reach my goal so I am incentivized to bring my wife and kids over. The policy is contrary to the interests of the UK.

"Now, if I bring my wife and kids over I am thinking about social security, putting my kids into school. This is where the problem starts."

De Zwager, a former United Nations consultant and director for the International Centre for Migration Policy Development, said it was myth that migrants to the UK wanted to send all their money back home. "Most English people think: I live in England because it is a beautiful place to live so everybody else wants to live in England. But this is not the case. They are there to save, and it is in the interests of the migrant to send back as little as possible. We should stop talking about money being sent back. There is very little impact on the UK by that.

"We need to start talking about how we can help migrants achieve their financial targets and get them home. Then you have successful migration that develops Romania and stops the long term migration to the UK."

Last week this newspaper revealed the extent of the anger among Romanian politicians about Britain's attitude towards their workers. There is particular concern about the government's plan to restrict access to the NHS to some Romanians and Bulgarians.

De Zwager said he feared that politics was getting in the way of an effective British immigration policy.

"The embassy heard my analysis, but there is an institutional lethargy. And the politics is difficult. Would you be the politician who stands up in front of 100 angry people and say we have got it wrong on migration? That they want to achieve a goal and get out of England as quickly as they can? It is not a comforting thought for people" -- They shouldn't be here in the first place .. end of!! ~ Fx