New Immigrants from the A8 Countries to the United Kingdom
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Database NEW IMMIGRANTS FROM THE and management, hospitality and catering, agricul- ture, manufacturing and food, fish and meat process- A8 COUNTRIES TO THE ing. In many cases, A8 nationals are supporting the UNITED KINGDOM provision of public services in communities. They have registered as bus, lorry and coach drivers and as care workers. The biggest group of workers (27 per- Nationals from A8 countries (Czech Republic, cent) is in general occupations classified as process Estonia, Hungary, Latvia, Lithuania, Poland, Slovak operatives (other factory workers). This is followed Republic and Slovenia) who wish to take up employ- by warehouse operatives (8 percent), packers (6 per- ment in the United Kingdom for a period of at least cent) and kitchen and catering assistants (6 percent). a month are generally required to register with the Worker Registration Scheme. Workers who are self- The numbers of A8 nationals applying for tax- employed do not need to register and are therefore funded income related benefits, child benefits and not included in the Worker Registration Scheme tax credits is relatively low. In Table 2 all claims data. In addition, there is no deregistration require- from A8 nationals between May 2004 and March ment, so people who work for a short time and then 2008 are included. The applicants are however not return to their country would be counted in the sta- only those A8 nationals who registered with the tistics in the same way as people who intend to stay Worker Registration Scheme during that period on a long-term basis. (Table 1), but include those who migrated to the United Kingdom earlier and those who are not According to the Worker Registration Scheme data, required to register.Thus Table 2 is not comparable 812,000 initial applications were approved between with Table 1. 2004 and the first quarter (Q1) of 2008. The highest proportion of approved applicants were Polish Between May 2004 and March 2008 there were 8,899 (67 percent of the total;Table 1).The vast majority of applications for Income Support, 15,495 for income- workers were young people (82 percent aged based Jobseeker’s Allowance and 456 for State between 18 and 34). Men accounted for nearly Pension Credit. 5,818 applications were allowed to 60 percent of workers. Most of the registered work- proceed for further processing. In addition, a total of ers (93 percent) stated that they had no dependents 102,029 applications for child benefit and a total of living with them in the United Kingdom when they 58,394 applications for tax credits have been registered. approved. A8 workers are going where the work is. They help W.O. to fill the gaps in the labour market of the United Kingdom, particularly in administration, business Table 1 Immigration from the new EU accession countries to the United Kingdom Nationality of approved applicants 2004 2005 2006 2007 2008 Q1 2004–2008 Czech Republic 8,255 10,575 8,345 7,500 1,585 36,260 Estonia 1,860 2,560 1,475 965 175 7,035 Hungary 3,620 6,355 7,060 8,865 2,435 28,335 Latvia 8,670 12,960 9,490 6,280 1,280 38,680 Lithuania 19,270 22,990 17,065 14,235 2,520 76,080 Poland 71,025 127,325 162,500 150,115 29,790 540,755 Slovak Republic 13,020 22,035 21,755 22,425 4,965 84,200 Slovenia 160 175 185 190 45 755 Total 125,880 204,975 227,875 210,575 42,795 812,100 Note: Data refer to approved applicants rather than the total number of applications made. The figures refer to initial applications only (not multiple applications, i.e. an individual doing more than one job simultaneously, or re- registrations, i.e. cases in which an individual has changed employers). Source: Home Office, Accession Monitoring Report, May 2004–March 2008. CESifo DICE Report 3/2008 60 Database Table 2 Applications of A8 nationals for benefit and tax credits in the United Kingdom,a) May 2004–March 2008 Number of applications Applications for tax-funded, income-related benefits Applications for Income Support 8,899 Applications for income based Jobseekers Allowance 15,495 Applications for State Pension Credit 456 Total disallowed 19,032 Total allowed to proceed for further processing 5,818 Total 24,850 Applications for Child Benefit, approved 102,029 Applications for Tax Credits, approved 58,394 a) All claims from A8 nationals are included; the Table is not restricted to those required to register with the Worker Registration Scheme. If an A8 national appears in more than one claim than all his/her claims are included in this Table. Source: Home Office, Accession Monitoring Report, May 2004–March 2008, pp. 25, 27 and 28. Reference Home Office, Accession Monitoring Report, May 2004–March 2008. 61 CESifo DICE Report 3/2008.