Number of Romanians who live in the UK doubled since restrictions were lifted

The number of Romanians and Bulgarians who live in the United Kingdom has doubled since work restrictions were lifted for both categories of nationals, according to the Daily Mail.

Around 413,000 citizens coming from Romania and Bulgaria were UK residents at the end of 2016, more than twice compared to 2013, when data released by the Office for National Statistics (ONS) showed the number stood at 186,000. The number of UK citizens who moved to Romania and Bulgaria stands at 6,200.

ONS data shows that, on average, 328,400 Romanians and Bulgarians lived in the UK between 2014-2016, most of them (81 percent) aged between 16 and 64. The majority of working age individuals, namely 211,200, representing 79 percent were employed, while 11,500 were unemployed (4 percent), 12,600 were studying (5 percent) and 21,000 were not employed or conducting a business (12 percent), the data shows.

Most Romanian and Bulgarian citizens who are residents of the UK are employed in the constructions sector, hotels and restaurants, public administration, health and education.

Restrictions on Romanian and Bulgarian citizens were lifted in January 2014.