:00:07. > :00:12.Tonight, the Romanians and Bulgarians are coming in the New
:00:13. > :00:19.Year. You have seen the headlines and heard the rhetoric. London is
:00:20. > :00:24.already ex-piercing a Romanian -- experiencing a Romanian crime wave.
:00:25. > :00:28.I want to find the truth behind the headlines. Do you know anybody
:00:29. > :00:31.amongst your friends who would p want to move to the UK next year?
:00:32. > :00:37.No. Some British companies are keen to
:00:38. > :00:41.persuade more Romanians to come. The demand for them all over Europe is
:00:42. > :00:49.huge. But we also find a village emptied
:00:50. > :00:54.of low-skilled workers. Where have they gone? We have exclusive access
:00:55. > :01:00.with British police on a mission from North London to trans
:01:01. > :01:03.Transylvania. Some people have stigmatised various communities and
:01:04. > :01:08.said they are coming to the UK, bent on criminality. Back home, a British
:01:09. > :01:13.town which fears it faces more pressure on its schools and
:01:14. > :01:17.hospitals. Is it particularly Romanians can worry you? Honestly
:01:18. > :01:21.speaking, yes. The police tells Panorama it is making landmark
:01:22. > :01:26.changes. We will stop them coming back if they are coming back to
:01:27. > :01:30.rough sleep. Images like this have angered the nation. With days to go
:01:31. > :01:33.until they get full working rights in the UK, should we really be
:01:34. > :01:55.worried? Woods in North London. We are with
:01:56. > :01:59.the police looking for a camp of homeless Romanians. Officers from a
:02:00. > :02:05.special Romanian unit are also with us, working alongside the Met.
:02:06. > :02:10.Overnight, the weather has been bad and the police think this camp has
:02:11. > :02:14.been abandoned. You can see they have tried to make
:02:15. > :02:22.it home. They have got bags in here, hanging up. They have got mirrors,
:02:23. > :02:31.old mattresses. Really, there's an overwhelming smell of urine and
:02:32. > :02:35.faeces. Good morning everybody. Thanks for
:02:36. > :02:40.getting up... Earlier we had a briefing. The Romanian police
:02:41. > :02:45.arrived in the autumn as part of an intelligence-sharing process with
:02:46. > :02:50.their British counterparts. Since 2012, we've had large groups
:02:51. > :02:55.of Romanians have been sleeping rough, engaging in work on the black
:02:56. > :03:02.market and some antisocial behaviour. The camp is quiet. But
:03:03. > :03:08.then, we find two Romanians - a young couple in a freezing tent. Can
:03:09. > :03:13.I ask you - how long have you been here? Two weeks.
:03:14. > :03:18.The camp has been reported to the police by the landowner. If they
:03:19. > :03:20.don't raid it, they think it will fill up again fast. More rough
:03:21. > :03:31.sleepers, more antisocial behaviour. It is not really fair on the
:03:32. > :03:35.Romanians to be living like this. We will take them to a homeless
:03:36. > :03:39.organisation to see if they can get cleaned up - a bit of food and see
:03:40. > :03:44.if we can offer them some help. These two already have the right to
:03:45. > :03:48.be in the UK. Romania and Bulgaria joined Europe
:03:49. > :03:54.seven years ago. Until now, to work here you needed to have specialist
:03:55. > :03:58.skills like doctors and nurses, or be self-employed, or be a seasonal
:03:59. > :04:05.agricultural worker. But from January 1st, everyone will be
:04:06. > :04:09.allowed to join the jobs market. Do you really think that living in
:04:10. > :04:12.these condition conditions, that you are in at the moment, that is
:04:13. > :04:28.preferable to being in Romania? Average salaries in Romania are
:04:29. > :04:33.about three times lower than in the UK. In Bulgaria around four times
:04:34. > :04:35.lower. What kind of work did you think you
:04:36. > :04:41.might find? Do you have friends who have come
:04:42. > :04:45.here and got work? The police won't take it any
:04:46. > :04:48.further. They tell the couple how to get into the system legally next
:04:49. > :04:58.year and give them a deadline to leave the woods.
:04:59. > :05:03.There's another side to Romanians here in the UK. This is a reception
:05:04. > :05:15.in the embassy in London. It is full of lawyers, architects and students.
:05:16. > :05:20.I am they are here to find a real job, pay tax to the Government. The
:05:21. > :05:24.number of Romanian students at UK universities have increased by 30%
:05:25. > :05:29.since 2010. Many of them sense they are treated with suspicion.
:05:30. > :05:36.What do you think is the perception of Romanians in the UK? It is not a
:05:37. > :05:40.great one, to be honest. Through our individuality and our views we can
:05:41. > :05:45.tell them and show them the greatness of our country. The first
:05:46. > :05:51.thing I say when I meet a new person I say, this is my background, where
:05:52. > :05:55.I come from. I say I am Romanian. I know people because of the negative
:05:56. > :06:00.approach to Romanians lately, they don't want to say that.
:06:01. > :06:05.The negative attitudes have been fuelled by images such as these.
:06:06. > :06:09.Romanian Roma around Marble Arch this summer. Police moved them on
:06:10. > :06:15.many times. Some have even been flown home but returned.
:06:16. > :06:23.Then there was this - a camp at Hendon football club. It was evicted
:06:24. > :06:29.by police in the summer. As a result crime in the area dropped.
:06:30. > :06:34.Still, of all the arrests for begging in London last year,
:06:35. > :06:38.Romanians accounted for 49%. For pickpocketing it was 34%. Figures
:06:39. > :06:43.like that have helped shape our opinions.
:06:44. > :06:48.A recent poll suggested 82% of people thought restrictions on the
:06:49. > :06:53.numbers of Romanians and Bulgarians allowed to set until the UK should
:06:54. > :07:01.continue next year. It has all helped boost the popularity of the
:07:02. > :07:04.UK Independence Party. Let's be franing here, crime will come if
:07:05. > :07:08.these people -- frank here, crime will come if these people come here.
:07:09. > :07:16.It is something British society doesn't need. Is that something
:07:17. > :07:20.specific to Romanians? There is a definite link between Romania and
:07:21. > :07:23.crime - that is born out of these statistics.
:07:24. > :07:27.I don't like to draw the distinction of anything such as Romanian crime.
:07:28. > :07:33.Crime is crime and we will enforce against all of it. What drives crime
:07:34. > :07:37.not just poverty - it is dispartiy. Romania is clearly a poor country in
:07:38. > :07:41.comparison to the United Kingdom. And the temptations temptations
:07:42. > :07:44.available to all migrants from poorer backgrounds, from anywhere in
:07:45. > :07:45.the world, are greater when they come to what is perceived to be a
:07:46. > :08:01.richer country. Transy vain ya in northern row --
:08:02. > :08:06.Transylvania, in northern Romania. It is where I first met my wife, now
:08:07. > :08:12.a barrister in the UK. I have been coming here for two decades.
:08:13. > :08:17.There are some prosperous towns up here, but there is also poverty and
:08:18. > :08:23.no group is poorer than the Roma. They are a different ethnicity from
:08:24. > :08:29.Romanians, they came from India 700 years ago and settled across many
:08:30. > :08:33.Eastern Europe countries. I am joining British police, here in an
:08:34. > :08:39.information-sharing process. This is the village of Apata. It might look
:08:40. > :08:44.like any other traditional, tranquil community in the Carpa mountains. It
:08:45. > :08:50.is not. Apata has a secret and the British police have come all this
:08:51. > :08:54.way to try and unlock it. Chief Superintendent Adrian Usher's
:08:55. > :08:59.patch in London has a high number of Romanians, many of them Roma. It is
:09:00. > :09:05.the Roma many Romanians blame for their poor image abroad. Remember
:09:06. > :09:11.the Hendon Stadium, out of the 68 evicted, 65 came from Apata.
:09:12. > :09:24.Is this your home? He wants to find out why. How many people live here?
:09:25. > :09:27.Seven. Is there any water or... No. What do you use for the toilet and
:09:28. > :09:38.washing? Toilet in the field.
:09:39. > :09:44.The Roma have been persecuted through the centuries.
:09:45. > :09:48.This mission is a delicate one. Once he's discovered why so many from
:09:49. > :09:52.here came to the UK, he'll advise them they shouldn't return unless
:09:53. > :09:57.they can support themselves. What I am saying is we know that if you
:09:58. > :10:02.come to the UK without a main job to come to, then you are at increased
:10:03. > :10:05.risk of being exploited or being the victim or perpetrator of crime. You
:10:06. > :10:11.are stepping into a controversial arena here. The issue of immigration
:10:12. > :10:15.and what will happen to Romania in particular in the New Year. I am not
:10:16. > :10:21.here to comment on political issues. We are here to protect the residents
:10:22. > :10:24.of London, that includes those who come to London looking for work.
:10:25. > :10:30.Next is the home of a man who used to live in the Hendon Stadium camp.
:10:31. > :10:38.He knows the secret of why so many from Apata headed to the same place.
:10:39. > :10:46.Who was the first person to leave here? Was it you? No. My cousin.
:10:47. > :10:49.Your cousin was the first. And he went and then he phoned you.
:10:50. > :11:01.Do you know how many people from here went to London? Do you know?
:11:02. > :11:04.Maybe 400. People like Alexandru travelled to
:11:05. > :11:09.the UK for work on the strength of one phone call. They are preprared
:11:10. > :11:14.to endure a grim camp in London so they can provide enough money for a
:11:15. > :11:17.family home like this. Thank you for letting me see your
:11:18. > :11:29.home. He plans to live in the Chief
:11:30. > :11:32.Superintendent's own patch back in London.
:11:33. > :11:37.If you want to get an idea of the depth of the connection between here
:11:38. > :11:41.and the UK, one little girl ran over and said, "Very good in
:11:42. > :11:43.Cricklewood." Cricklewood - you know Cricklewood?
:11:44. > :11:54.Very good! And it is Cricklewood where hundreds
:11:55. > :11:59.of Romanians, many of them Roma, are part of a growing underclass. This
:12:00. > :12:05.is what residents wake up to each morning - gangs of Romanians waiting
:12:06. > :12:10.for work on the black market. Among them is Alex, who looks for
:12:11. > :12:14.cash-in-hand labouring jobs. He speaks no English and has no
:12:15. > :12:18.qualifications. Even so, he plans to try and enter the formal job market
:12:19. > :12:23.in January. Back home, he has a partner and
:12:24. > :12:28.three children, deciding whether to come too.
:12:29. > :12:35.TRANSLATION: I am a Gypsy and proud of it. It is not an inUS I do not
:12:36. > :12:39.steal and don't commit crimes. I would bring my family here. I don't
:12:40. > :12:45.think it would be too difficult to look after them. I would rent two
:12:46. > :12:53.rooms and a kitchen if everything was convenient.
:12:54. > :12:59.So, how many others have come. Since 2007? Official figures say there are
:13:00. > :13:04.currently just over 100,000 Romanians and 57,000 Bulgarians.
:13:05. > :13:09.Those are just estimates. The truth is, we simply don't know.
:13:10. > :13:14.We don't count them in and don't count them out? No, we don't. When I
:13:15. > :13:19.spoke to you last year we raised the same point, you said it will change
:13:20. > :13:24.soon. Yes, we are putting in place exit controls. How many Bulgarians
:13:25. > :13:27.and Romanians does the Government think will come here next year? If
:13:28. > :13:34.you look at the organises who have made estimates, they vary. Some have
:13:35. > :13:38.made them at the low end. The range demonstrates it is not a sensible
:13:39. > :13:42.thing to do. Politicians have got their
:13:43. > :13:47.guesstimates badly wrong before. In 2004, ten new countries joined
:13:48. > :13:52.Europe. The Poles with their close ties to the UK were expected to
:13:53. > :13:57.come. But the Labour Government underestimated the number by at
:13:58. > :14:02.least five times. That has given UKIP a stick with which to beat the
:14:03. > :14:08.other parties this time around. The number of people who have come has
:14:09. > :14:11.been underestimated. MigrationwatchUK say it will be
:14:12. > :14:15.50,000 a year, that is what they estimate over the next five years.
:14:16. > :14:20.What we know or expect is that large numbers of people will come. His
:14:21. > :14:25.figures are from a think-tank concerned about uncontrolled
:14:26. > :14:30.immigration. In 204 it was about -- 2004, it was about countries joining
:14:31. > :14:36.the EU. This time Romania and Bulgaria are in.
:14:37. > :14:41.The newspapers are saying the gates are opening - there'll be a flood of
:14:42. > :14:47.Romanians - is that something you recognise? Absolutely not. Because
:14:48. > :14:51.Romania joined the European Union seven years ago. Those who wanted to
:14:52. > :14:56.go and work and live abroad, they already did so. And a very tiny
:14:57. > :15:02.minority of Romanians have chosen Britain as their work destination.
:15:03. > :15:05.Back in Romania, there's another side to the country - the middle
:15:06. > :15:11.classes, with very different attitudes towards the UK.
:15:12. > :15:15.Whilst we are filming, my brother-in-law is offered a job in
:15:16. > :15:21.the UK. He and a group of friends were
:15:22. > :15:26.enjoying a drink in their favourite bar in Bucharest. The job is for a
:15:27. > :15:29.US computer giant based in London. I am intrigued to find out if he'll
:15:30. > :15:34.take it. Most people would think you would
:15:35. > :15:40.leap at the chance and say, great, a UK-based job? Not really. There
:15:41. > :15:44.should be a lot of money to motivate me to make such a big change. You
:15:45. > :15:48.only said I'll come for pots of money - did you? Not quite. That was
:15:49. > :15:54.the message. And what about the others? You have been to the UK,
:15:55. > :16:00.haven't you? I lived in the UK for two years. I used to work for a
:16:01. > :16:04.British company. Why did you leave? I thought two years was enough for
:16:05. > :16:09.me to get the British experience and then move on.
:16:10. > :16:15.Have you been to the UK? No. Do you want to go? Yes, on vacation. As
:16:16. > :16:19.they point out, it's not just the UK lifting its work restrictions next
:16:20. > :16:25.year. There are eight other European countries doing the same.
:16:26. > :16:30.I don't really understand why they feel they are the only privileged
:16:31. > :16:37.people who will receive the flood of Romanians.
:16:38. > :16:39.But we did find some people interested in exploring the UK jobs
:16:40. > :16:50.market. At this career careers fare for
:16:51. > :16:55.medical professional, British recruiters are having to work hard
:16:56. > :17:00.to attract the cream. The Romanians are in huge demand in Germany. The
:17:01. > :17:04.Danish are here and they will recruit as many as they can. The
:17:05. > :17:14.Scandinavians are here. The demand for them all over Europe is huge.
:17:15. > :17:18.When Romanians migrate most look south, towards the Mediterranean and
:17:19. > :17:23.Italy, where the language is closer to theirs. There are over one
:17:24. > :17:28.million Romanians already there. Spain is second, with 800,000, even
:17:29. > :17:32.though it has similar work restrictions to the UK. Britain is
:17:33. > :17:36.way behind, with an estimate of just over 100,000. Some countries believe
:17:37. > :17:41.migrants bring economic advantages and they offer incentives to come.
:17:42. > :17:47.You have companies here that give courses to do German and any doctor
:17:48. > :17:51.or nurse with a reasonable level of German will get a job in Germany
:17:52. > :17:57.very easily. Probably easier than working in the UK.
:17:58. > :18:04.Even so, we find Aura Popa - a graduate pharmacist.
:18:05. > :18:08.She's just been offered a job in Dudley, near Birmingham. She fell in
:18:09. > :18:13.love with the UK after being a student there. For all migrants,
:18:14. > :18:17.mastering English opens up the international jobs market. The
:18:18. > :18:22.decision for Aura is not a simple one.
:18:23. > :18:25.At home, she's got six-year-old Luca and ten-month-old Emma. They will
:18:26. > :18:30.not be able to come with her until she knows the job is permanent.
:18:31. > :18:38.After much thought, she decides to take it.
:18:39. > :18:44.I hope my children will love England as much as I do. I really like the
:18:45. > :18:49.country and that is where I want to live for a long period of time.
:18:50. > :18:55.Her husband, Ciprian, will stay with the children in Romania for the
:18:56. > :19:00.moment. It will be a difficult period for
:19:01. > :19:05.me, staying without them, but I hope a short period of time, as soon as I
:19:06. > :19:10.get more confidence over there, I can bring them. So, I will work very
:19:11. > :19:14.hard to bring them quickly. This is the family's last evening
:19:15. > :19:20.together. She leaves tomorrow and they are not sure when they will be
:19:21. > :19:25.reunited. Graduates like Aura are not the ones
:19:26. > :19:31.worrying most people though. It's the unskilled, and the uncounted who
:19:32. > :19:36.currently live beneath the radar like the man in Cricklewood and
:19:37. > :19:40.Alex. Despite his good intentions about securing a proper job in the
:19:41. > :19:44.New Year, you can see how he might become a burden to the UK taxpayer.
:19:45. > :19:48.There are signs of just how vulnerable it can be.
:19:49. > :19:54.TRANSLATION: I worked for three days on someone's property. They drove me
:19:55. > :19:58.far away and I didn't even know where I was or how to come back. I
:19:59. > :20:03.waited for two or three days and I tried to call, but when no-one
:20:04. > :20:05.answered, I had no money left and didn't have anyone to borrow money
:20:06. > :20:15.from. He never got paid. What about next
:20:16. > :20:17.year? Could he really earn enough to support his family if his wife
:20:18. > :20:23.decides to come to London as well? We agreed to deliver a video message
:20:24. > :20:41.when we meet up with her. Alex comes from a small, mainly Roma
:20:42. > :20:46.village, Augustin, just up the road from the last one we visited. It is
:20:47. > :20:51.another place where many of the men have already left to find work all
:20:52. > :20:57.over Europe. His partner, Magda, lives in this half-built house with
:20:58. > :21:03.their three small children. Hello. How are you? What will you do next
:21:04. > :21:07.year? Do you plan to join him in Britain?
:21:08. > :21:16.TRANSLATION: For a short period of time. Four or five years maybe.
:21:17. > :21:20.Le, I can't permanently live in a foreign country.
:21:21. > :21:29.Are there any incentives which would encourage her to come? Do you know
:21:30. > :21:34.anything about claiming benefits in the UK? Have you heard anything
:21:35. > :21:38.about that? No. Has your husband mentioned it at all? No. No. Would
:21:39. > :21:45.you go to England just to get benefits? No.
:21:46. > :21:48.TRANSLATION: What would be the point of leaving Romania, just for social
:21:49. > :21:53.benefits. No.
:21:54. > :21:56.Others we spoke to said the same. We went inside to see the video Alex
:21:57. > :22:28.had sent to his family. Le If they do come, this is the kind
:22:29. > :22:33.of place they might choose to settle - migrants have been arriving in
:22:34. > :22:40.Slough for generations. 58% of people here are non-British
:22:41. > :22:45.nationals. Some are sick of it. This is a town where there's already been
:22:46. > :22:49.tension between some of the local population and East European
:22:50. > :22:55.migrants. Right now, they are worried about Romanians.
:22:56. > :23:01.The major problem for us is the resources like schooling, housing,
:23:02. > :23:04.NHS. That's not just related to Romanian, that is an increasing
:23:05. > :23:07.population. It is a challenge for the council and the police. The
:23:08. > :23:10.police and council are working together to sort of resolve the
:23:11. > :23:15.issue. Those kind of worries are reflected
:23:16. > :23:20.across the country. A recent poll suggested that 85% of people thought
:23:21. > :23:26.immigration is placing too much pressure on public services. At the
:23:27. > :23:30.YMCA, community leaders are discussing the ro man Romanian
:23:31. > :23:36.new-comers, mostly Roma. I still have to say about the gathering
:23:37. > :23:41.around the side of my flats, but not long ago there was 50 there and they
:23:42. > :23:46.made such a noise with their talking so loud, they were out there until
:23:47. > :23:53.about 2am. You go the next day and the place is covered with litter.
:23:54. > :23:57.But the YMCA has developed cohesion programmes for the local community,
:23:58. > :24:01.including the Roma - educating the children and trying to win hearts
:24:02. > :24:07.and minds. One of the things I get annoyed
:24:08. > :24:10.about is the negative press about them. As a community they have been
:24:11. > :24:15.accepted now. The young children believe they are part of this
:24:16. > :24:20.community. But there are Sloughs up and down
:24:21. > :24:23.the land and particularly in lean economic times some are worried the
:24:24. > :24:29.new migrants are a step too far, even those who are second generation
:24:30. > :24:36.migrants themselves. It is not just the ro Romanian, the
:24:37. > :24:39.Bulgarians are coming too. Is it particularly Romanians that worry
:24:40. > :24:46.you? Honestly speaking, yes. They do worry me more than others. Why? I
:24:47. > :24:51.don't know, it is just something that I... You cannot pinpoint
:24:52. > :24:55.exactly what it is, but they like to keep themselves separate away from
:24:56. > :25:00.you. They don't want to build that bond. Maybe Pakistanis were like
:25:01. > :25:04.that when they first came? They were actually like that, but look at me
:25:05. > :25:09.today! There were many others in Slough with similar views.
:25:10. > :25:15.Now, the Government is so worried about potential benefit abuse by EU
:25:16. > :25:20.migrants that landmark changes are being implemented. From next year,
:25:21. > :25:24.any new EU migrant will only be able to claim benefits for six months.
:25:25. > :25:28.After that they have to prove they have a realistic chance of finding a
:25:29. > :25:32.job or the money will stop. And English language skills will be
:25:33. > :25:36.assessed to make sure they are employable.
:25:37. > :25:40.The timing of this suggests that it was against Romanians and Bulgarians
:25:41. > :25:44.in particular? No, it is not just about those two countries T changes
:25:45. > :25:48.are about making sure anybody coming here, from anywhere in the European
:25:49. > :25:54.Union, they are coming here to contribute and not to claim from our
:25:55. > :25:57.benefit system. I have met with ambassadors from those countries,
:25:58. > :26:05.any of the rules apply to all European Union nationals.
:26:06. > :26:10.More than 707% of those Romanians who decided to come to Britain are
:26:11. > :26:14.of an age of 18-35. They are young, they are in good health. They do not
:26:15. > :26:17.ask for social benefits. They do not ask for health care. Those who came
:26:18. > :26:24.to Britain, they came to work, not for benefits.
:26:25. > :26:29.Other landmark measures include the clearance of camps like these. From
:26:30. > :26:35.January European nationals found rough sleeping, reg begging or in
:26:36. > :26:39.antisocial behaviour will be sent home and barred from re-entry for 12
:26:40. > :26:45.months, unless they can prove they have a valid reason to be in the UK.
:26:46. > :26:49.There is a talk of capping the number of migrants. Some are worried
:26:50. > :26:58.this is an attack of freedom of movement within the EU. Others, like
:26:59. > :27:03.UKIP, say the best solution is to leave European Union already. It
:27:04. > :27:06.underpins the fill lossty of -- philosophy of Europe. You are
:27:07. > :27:10.chipping away at that The point we have made is we're perfectly happy
:27:11. > :27:15.with the principal, but we have to make sure it is not abused. It is
:27:16. > :27:18.recalibrated. We are in the European Union. The Prime Minister said we
:27:19. > :27:22.need to make some changes to the relationship. That is something that
:27:23. > :27:24.if we win the next election, a Conservative Government will
:27:25. > :27:27.renegotiate and put back to the British people. The Prime Minister
:27:28. > :27:32.has made it clear, he wants to stay in the European Union, but with a
:27:33. > :27:38.change relationship. Since we filmed, Alex has returned
:27:39. > :27:44.to Romania. One of his children has a serious lung infection and is
:27:45. > :27:52.hospitalised N the New Year he hopes to come back and work legally. He is
:27:53. > :27:57.not sure his wife will join him. Aura has settled down so quickly at
:27:58. > :28:01.her pharmacy in Dudley, they have already promoted her. It means she
:28:02. > :28:05.can bring her family to join her for Christmas. I wanted this for a long
:28:06. > :28:11.time and it is finally happening. It is like a dream come true. I really
:28:12. > :28:15.don't imimagine them being here. I don't imagine my husband, my son, my
:28:16. > :28:20.daughter, you know, to start speaking in English and not Romanian
:28:21. > :28:22.- it is strange. It is like a dream come true.
:28:23. > :28:27.How many will come here in the New Year is impossible to say. The
:28:28. > :28:31.politicians might be talking as if they can control all of this, but in
:28:32. > :28:36.reality their hands are tied. This isn't just a debate about Romania
:28:37. > :28:38.and Bulgaria, but about the future of our relationship with Europe and
:28:39. > :29:11.how we might be able to change it. Hello, I'm Ellie Crisell with your
:29:12. > :29:12.90 second