More than 80,000 Bulgarians set sights on Britain: Poll finds 20% of those who are considering leaving the country want to come to the UK

Britain and Germany are favoured destinations, according to a poll

Tens of thousands of Romanians and Bulgarians 'poised to migrate'

Restrictions curbing citizens' jobs rights here must be lifted in 2014

Plausible projections suggest as many as 50,000 a year may come

More than 80,000 Bulgarians are likely to move to Britain in a new wave of large-scale migration.

According to a poll conducted for the European Parliament, Britain and Germany are favoured destinations.

The survey, carried out by the Afis organisation, provides fresh evidence that tens of thousands of Romanians and Bulgarians are poised to migrate to the UK.

On the move: Protesters shout slogans and wave national flags during an anti-government protest in Sofia last Thursday. More than 80,000 Bulgarians are likely to move to Britain in a new wave of large-scale migration

The two countries joined the EU in 2007 and under Brussels rules, restrictions curbing their citizens’ right to take jobs here must be lifted at the beginning of next year.

There are no official estimates of how many may come, but plausible projections suggest it might be as many as 50,000 a year.



According to the Afis poll more than one in 20 Bulgarians – 400,000 people – are considering leaving the country and 22.5 per cent of them, more than 80,000, are likely to move to Britain.

The European Parliament poll follows a survey for the BBC’s Newsnight in April which found that 8.2 per cent of Romanians and 13.6 per cent of Bulgarians would consider Britain as a migration destination.



Concerns: UKIP's immigration spokesman Gerard Batten said 'we can clearly see the UK will be a magnet for those who want to work because of the wage differential'

Those percentages suggest 350,000 citizens of the two countries are considering moving to Britain.

'Given the political unrest that is taking place in Bulgaria right now, I will only expect this figure to rise. The situation is compounded by an extremely high level of corruption in this EU member state' Gerard Batten, UKIP

According to a study carried out for the Migrationwatch think-tank earlier this year, a Bulgarian family with one earner on the national minimum wage would have a weekly income of £62 in their own country.

However in Britain, where the minimum wage would be boosted by Housing Benefit, Council Tax Benefit, Child Benefit, and tax credits, the family’s income would be £543 a week.

UKIP’s immigration spokesman, Gerard Batten, said of the Afis poll: ‘Given the political unrest that is taking place in Bulgaria right now, I will only expect this figure to rise. The situation is compounded by an extremely high level of corruption in this EU member state.