Oct. 24 (Bloomberg) -- The U.K. and Ireland said they will restrict migration from Bulgaria and Romania when the two countries join the European Union in 2007, reducing support for allowing unlimited immigration within the union.

``We believe that this is a process that has to be managed,'' Tom Kelly, U.K. Prime Minister Tony Blair's spokesman told reporters in London today. ``We need time to absorb the lessons'' of the previous wave of migration in 2004.

In Dublin, Trade Minister Micheal Martin said Romanians and Bulgarians would have to apply for work permits to take jobs in the region following a ``very significant inflow'' on migrants during the past two years.

Both the U.K. and Ireland had no restrictions on who could come to work there when 10 nations joined the EU two years ago. Today's move reflects concerns that immigration in the U.K. and Ireland is putting strains on schools and hospitals and driving up unemployment and pushing down wages.

In Britain, three-quarters of voters surveyed want tougher immigration controls while 23 percent want the rules relaxed or maintained, according to a survey of 975 adults by Ipsos Mori Ltd. The survey on Aug. 13 had a 3 point margin of error.

Romanian View

The European Commission joined officials from Bulgaria and Romania in expressed disappointment with the decisions, saying countries should make a bigger effort to allow workers to flow freely within the EU.

``We regret if member states who have opened for the 10 are not going to open for Romania and Bulgaria,'' European Commission spokeswoman Katharina Von Schnurbein told a Brussels press conference today. ``We want to establish a free movement of workers throughout the EU as soon as possible.''

Romanians said the U.K. has benefited from immigration.

``The U.K. has benefited hugely from immigrants,'' Raduta Matache, acting Romanian ambassador to London, said in an interview. These are ``industrious, hard working and highly skilled'' people who want to come to Britain.

Bulgarian Foreign Ministry spokesman Dimitar Tzanchev said the U.K. ranks seventh as a destination to work abroad by people in his nation after Spain, Germany, the U.S., Greece, Brazil, Canada and France. The ministry estimates between 14,000 and 15,300 Bulgarians are interested in working abroad next year.

Bulgarian Migration

``The decision to restrict free migration of workers is very regrettable,'' Tzanchev said at a news conference in Sofia today. ``We understand Britain's heightened sensitivity on this issue, yet all analyses show there is no danger of mass emigration to Bulgarian workers to the U.K.''

The U.K. said it will issue work visas to Bulgarians and Romanians under the current system, with high-skilled applicants, the self-employed, and up to 19,750 agricultural workers allowed in each year.

``We will expect employers to look exclusively to workers from EU nations to meet any low-skilled labor shortages within the U.K.,'' Home Secretary John Reid said in a statement. ``From the first of January 2007 we will be phasing out all low-skilled migration schemes for workers outside the EU.''

It will be an offence for migrant workers to work in the U.K. without an authorization document. Breaches will be punished by an on-the-spot fixed penalty, with employers facing fines. Immigration experts said the measures may drive workers into black-market jobs that aren't regulated by government.

Black Market

``The government can restrict work visas, it cannot restrict access to those who want to come to the U.K.,'' Catherine Drew of the Institute of Public Policy Research said in an interview. ``We could see a push of Romanians and Bulgarians into the illegal workforce.''

Migrants helped boost Britain's workforce to a record 29 million in August, putting the jobless rate at a six-year high of 5.5 percent. The influx of new workers also helped keep a lid on wage growth, contributing to the Bank of England's efforts to limit interest rate increases.

The Confederation of British Industry, the nation's biggest business lobby group, has said the government should limit immigration to prevent a wave of cheap labor from threatening U.K. labor markets and the character of the country.

Union View

Unions that fund the Blair's Labour Party have urged the prime minister to refrain from setting limits on immigration. The Trades Union Congress, representing 7 million workers, says the government should focus instead on making sure immigrants are paid a fair wage.

``The U.K. government cannot stop the free movement of new EU citizens, nor can it prevent them working as self-employed once they are here,'' said TUC General Secretary Brendan Barber. ``Bogus self-employment and cash-in-hand jobs are two of the commonest ways that workers are exploited in the U.K.''

Before EU expansion in the 2004, British officials estimated about 13,000 migrants a year would come into the U.K. from Poland, Hungary and the other nations joining the union. In August, the Home Office said it had issued 427,095 work permits to eastern Europeans since then and the actual number of migrants was probably closer to 600,000.

Romania and Bulgaria, with a combined population of 30 million, have incomes that are a third of the EU average. Britain's opposition Conservative Party, which has pushed for more limits on immigration, said the government's statement lacks specifics.

``This statement is more notable by what it doesn't say and what it doesn't answer,'' Conservative lawmaker David Davis said. ``Where is the detail.''

To contact the reporter on this story: Robert Hutton in London at rhutton1@bloomberg.net.

Last Updated: October 24, 2006 08:49 EDT