Home Office opens door for Croatians to work in Britain

CROATIANS will have unrestricted access to the British jobs market after the Government opted against extending controls.

Currently Croatian nationals need permission from the Home Office to work in the UK. But the requirement will expire from the end of June – bringing their rights to work in Britain in line with other EU citizens.

When Croatia joined the EU in 2013, member states were able to restrict citizens’ access to labour markets for a maximum of seven years. The controls could only be extended for the final two years if there was clear evidence that removing them would lead to a “serious labour market disturbance”.

Caroline Nokes, the immigration minister, said: “This decision has not been taken lightly, but after careful consideration, we have concluded that there is not enough evidence to satisfy the legal requirements to extend the controls for the final two-year period.”

Population estimates for 2016 suggest fewer than 10,000 Croatians live in the UK.