Nine Countries to Remove Work Restrictions for Bulgarians, Romanians on January 1

Bulgarian and Romanian nationals will soon be able to work freely throughout the European Union (EU) after work restrictions for these nationals expire in nine countries on January 1, 2014. Austria, Belgium, France, Germany, Luxembourg, Malta, Netherlands, Spain, and the United Kingdom will allow Bulgarian and Romanian nationals to work in their countries as other EU nationals do, without having to obtain work authorization.

Spain currently imposes work restrictions only on Romanian local hires and not on Bulgarian nationals.

When Bulgaria and Romania joined the European Union in 2007, established EU member countries could elect to maintain work restrictions for nationals of both countries until January 1, 2012. Member countries had the option to renew the restrictions until 2014, if lifting them would have adversely affected the domestic labor market. All other EU members by now offer Bulgarians and Romanians unrestricted access of the right to work in their countries.

Switzerland, which is not an EU member, will continue to subject Bulgarian and Romanian nationals to work permit quotas separate from those for third-country nationals.

Croatia is the newest EU member state after joining on July 1, 2013. As was the case with Bulgaria and Romania, some EU states have chosen to treat Croatians as they treat nationals of existing EU states, while others have opted to impose temporary work restrictions, which they can do for up to seven years, provided that certain conditions are met.

This alert is for informational purposes only. If you have any questions, please do not hesitate to contact the global immigration professional with whom you work at Fragomen Global Immigration Services or send an email to [email protected].