Britain remains a prime destination for European migrants as new figure shows the number of foreigners with right to work hit 820,000.

Based on figure form the Department for Work and Pensions, migrants from Romania and Bulgaria top the list with their numbers soared by 223% and 128% respectively in just one year. The figure shows 152,363 Romanians registered to work in the UK, up from 47,116 in 2014. And the number from Bulgaria hit 40,476, up 128 per cent on a year earlier.

The two eastern European countries now account for a third of all foreign workers registered in the UK.

According to MigrationWatchUK, applications for National Insurance grew enormously after EU work curbs were lifted, giving people from Romania and Bulgaria full access to the UK jobs market. Workers from Romania and Bulgaria have been able to take job in the UK like other European migrants since January 2014.

“It is a huge number and it shows this country is a magnet for migrants”, Alp Mehmet, the vice-chairman of MigrationWatchUK said.

In total 824,154 people from around the world were registered to work in the UK in the year to March which is 44 per cent higher than before Prime Minister David Cameron took the office, first time, in 2010.

The new figure has, however, further undermined Cameron's hopes of cutting net migration to below 100,000. Upon his re-election, the premier ordered every minister in the government to step up efforts to tackle immigration. His new plans include tougher rules to prevent migrants claiming benefits such as housing and the NHS.

The issue of Europe and anti-immigration sentiment in particular has flourished in recent years. But if hundreds of thousands of people are still coming for work, there is little which can be done to stop them - especially from the EU.

One of the reasons Cameron wants to renegotiate Britain's membership of the EU is immigration. But other EU leaders have ruled out making any changes to freedom of movement laws which allow their citizens to travel to Britain in search of a job. 

It remains unclear if Conservatives-led Britain will succeed in negotiating reforms with its European partners. This also as the EU does not want to see Britain leave and most people in the UK don’t want to leave the bloc as well.

SKL/SKL