End of the road for Accession State rules
The coalition government last week announced that the Worker Registration Scheme for Polish, Czech and other eastern European nationals will come to an end on 30 April 2011.
Under the terms of the Treaty of Accession for the 10 new Member States that joined the EU in 2004, the UK cannot apply transitional restrictions on so called A8 nationals' access to the labour market for more than 7 years. This means that A8 nationals will be able to access the labour market on the same terms as other EU nationals from 1 May. They may apply for a Registration Certificate if they wish to confirm their status in the UK - something that is often useful to show a prospective employer.
Only nationals of Bulgaria and Romania - whose joined the EU in 2007- remain subject to additional checks before they can seek employment in the UK. These restrictions may remain in place until 2014.