Worker Registration Scheme (WRS)

Nationals of the new European Union (EU) member states that joined on May 1st 2004 and their families are free to enter, live and work in the United Kingdom (UK) legally under the new Worker Registration Scheme (WRS).

If you plan to work for more than one month, you will need to register under the Worker Registration Scheme once you find work. You need to apply for a Worker Registration Certificate within one month of starting employment. The certificate confirms your eligibility to work for a named employer in the UK.

Worker Registration Certificates are issued for 12 months. If you change jobs before working continuously for 12 months you will need to renew your registration. You may hold more than one job at the same time. You must apply for a separate Worker Registration Certificate for each employer you are working for.

You will have full rights of free movement once you have worked in the UK continuously for a 12 month period, and you may then obtain an European Economic Area (EEA) residence permit confirming your status. Once you have been working legally in the UK for 12 months you no longer need to register and can obtain an EEA Residence Permit confirming your status.

Nationals from Malta and Cyprus taking up employment or self-employment, and nationals from all the new member states taking up self-employment rather than employment will have full free movement rights and are not required to obtain a Workers Registration Certificate. Nationals of Bulgaria and Romania are eligible under seperate rules.

How important is it for new EU nationals to register?

It is the employer's responsibility to gather and retain relevant documented evidence from new employees to firmly establish their nationality and therefore their right to work in the UK.

Employers are obliged to check that workers from the new member states have registered under the Workers Registration Scheme. It is unlawful to employ nationals of the new member states who have neither worked here legally for 12 months nor registered for the job they are doing under this scheme.

If you have been working illegally in the UK then you need to apply for a Worker Registration Certificate under the Worker Registration Scheme as soon as possible. Your status will then be considered legal in the UK and your employer will no longer be at risk of being prosecuted.

Requirements

You need to register under this scheme if you are a national of a new member state (excluding Malta and Cyprus) and you start a new job on or after 1 May 2004, or have been working in the UK before 1 May 2004 without permission. You must be able to maintain and accommodate yourself and any dependants joining you adequately without turning to public funds.

What are the exemptions from registering?

You do not need to register under this scheme if you are a national of a new member state and you either:

• are a national of Malta or Cyprus,
• are self-employed,
• have been working legally in the UK for 12 months or more in the job you held on 1 May 2004,
• have been working legally in the UK and stayed in the same job after 1 May 2004,
• were issued with leave to enter the UK before 1 May 2004 as a Seasonal Agricultural Worker and took up employment on the Seasonal Agricultural Workers Scheme on or after 1 May 2004,
• are providing services in the UK on behalf of an employer who is not established in the UK,
• are also a national of the UK, Switzerland, or an EEA state other than the new member states,
• are a family member of a UK, Swiss or an EEA national of a state other than the new member states who is working in the UK, or
• are a family member of a UK, Swiss or EEA national who is living in the UK as a student, a retired or a self sufficient person.

Am I entitled to a residence permit?

A residence permit confirms you have the right of free movement within the EEA. You can apply for a residence permit if you are:

• a national of Cyprus or Malta who is also working in the UK, or
• a national of any new member state working as a self-employed person in the UK, or
• a national of a new member state, apart from Cyprus or Malta, and you have been working without a break in the UK legally for no less than 12 months, or
• a national of any new member state living in the UK as a full-time student, a self-sufficient person, or a retired person.

Who can accompany the holder of a worker registration certificate?

A spouse or an unmarried partner, and children under the age of 18 may accompany you to the UK as dependents. Dependents are allowed to stay in the UK for the same period as the principal applicant. There are usually no restrictions on dependants working in the UK.

Dependents are eligible to free health care provided by the National Health Service. Children entering the UK as dependants are entitled to a free public school education.

If you have the right to live in the UK, family members may join you. Under European Community (EC) law family members also include:

• your, or your spouse's grandchildren under 21; and those over 21 that are dependent on you;
• dependent relatives, for example, your or your spouse's parents and grandparents;

Other relatives such as brothers, sisters or cousins do not have an automatic right to live with you. Applications will be considered from other relatives to join you if you are working in the UK and:

• your relatives are your dependants; or
• they were living with you before you came to the UK.

Family members who are not nationals of the EEA must apply for an EEA family permit at a British Embassy in their home country before travelling to the UK to live here either on a long-term basis or permanently. Entry may be refused if they try to enter the UK without an EEA family permit.

Do I need a Lawyer?

Mulberry Finch will assist you in all aspects of your application. We will assist you with documentary evidence requirements, including drafting and presentation. You are advised not to proceed with an application if you are unsure whether you qualify or not. If you are interested in taking this further please contact us now.