From 1 May 2004, nationals from new member states will be free to come to the UK. However, workers from Poland, Estonia, Hungary, Czech Republic, Slovenia and Slovakia will be able to work in the UK as long as they register with the Home Office as soon as the find work, under the Worker Registration Scheme.

Home Secretary David Blunkett said the scheme enables the government to closely monitor the numbers of people coming to the UK from the new EU, the areas and types of employment sought and allows it to impose restrictions to protect the domestic labour market if required. "The obligation we have placed on working accession nationals to register with us is part of our wider crack down on illegal working...enabling workers we need to work here legally rather than fuelling the sub-economy - a modern-day slave trade, exploiting migrant workers and undercutting UK employees," said Blunkett.

The proposed rules will apply for a transitional period of five years after the EU enlargement on May 1, with registration costing £50 per applicant. The workers will be issued with a certificate stating their legal working status, proving they have permission to live and work in the UK. After 12 months of continuous legal employment, the Eastern European nationals will be able to work in the UK without restriction, and have access to several benefits such as job-seeker allowances.

However, the legal status and certificate will lapse if a worker loses their job within 12 months of registration and they will be required to re-register when they find another job. During the initial 12-month work period, all registered and employed Eastern European workers will be entitled to benefits in accord with existing EEA nationals but these privileges will disappear if they are out of a job, in which case they will be required to support themselves without entitlement to benefits or public housing.

All nationals from Malta and Cyprus will have full free movement rights and are not required to obtain a workers registration certificate.