Position for New Member States - Workers Registration Scheme.
From 1 May 2004 nationals from New Member States will be free to come to the United Kingdom. Nationals from Malta and Cyprus will have full free movement rights and are not required to obtain a workers registration certificate.
Nationals from the following new member states; Poland, Lithuania, Estonia, Latvia, Slovenia, Slovakia, Hungary and the Czech Republic who find a job in the United Kingdom are required to apply to register with the Home Office under the new 'Worker Registration Scheme' as soon as they find work.
Full details on the Worker Registration Scheme are available on the website Worker Registration.
Some details are set out below.
The Worker Registration Scheme
From 1 May 2004, most nationals of the new member states (except Cyprus and Malta) working in the UK will be subject to the Accession State Worker Registration Scheme. Where they are subject to the scheme, they need to register if they plan to work for more than one month for an employer in the UK. Once you have been working legally in the UK for 12 months without a break you will have full rights of free movement. You can then get an EEA residence permit confirming your status. Nationals of Malta and Cyprus working in the UK can apply for a residence permit now.
Do I need to register to work in the UK?
You will need to register with the Home Office if:
**you are a national of one of the new Member States (apart from Malta and Cyprus) subject to the Worker Registration Scheme; and
**you start a new job on or after 1 May 2004; or
**you have been working in the UK before 1 May without permission
You will not be subject to the worker registration and therefore do not need to register if one or more of the following applies:
**you are self-employed;
**you have been working legally in the UK for 12 months or more in the job you hold on 1 May 2004;
**you have been working legally in the UK and you stay in the same job after 1 May 2004;
**you were issued with leave to enter the UK before 1 May as a seasonal agricultural worker and took up employment on the Seasonal Agricultural Workers Scheme on or after 1 May;
**you are providing services in the UK on behalf of an employer who is not established in the UK;
**you are also a citizen of the UK, another EEA State (other than one of the 8 new Member States) or Switzerland;
**you are the family member of a Swiss or EEA national (other than one of the 8 new Member States) who is working in the UK;
**you are the family member of a Swiss or EEA national who is living in the UK as a student, or a retired or self sufficient person.
When should I register?
You should apply to register with the Worker Registration Scheme as soon as you start a new job. If you do not apply within one month of starting a job, your employment will be illegal after that date. It will be illegal until you are issued with a registration certificate and you may have to stop working.
How do I apply?
You should complete application form WRS giving your name, address, date of birth, nationality and your employment details.
To get an application form and more information, telephone: 08705 210 224
Or visit: www.ind.homeoffice.gov.uk or www.workingintheuk.gov.uk
Send your form to:
Worker Registration Team
Home Office
Walsall Road
Cannock
WS11 0WS
We recommend that you use registered post.
