Oct. 24 (Bloomberg) -- The U.K. will restrict migrants from Bulgaria and Romania from working when the two countries join the European Union in 2007.

``We believe that this is a process that has to be managed,'' Tom Kelly, 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.

Then, the U.K. and Ireland placed no restrictions on who could come and work. This time, work visas to Bulgarians and Romanians will be issued as they were before the countries joined the EU, with high-skilled applicants, the self-employed, and up to 19,750 agricultural workers allowed in each year.

The move reflects concern within Blair's government that immigration is putting strains on U.K. schools and hospitals and driving up unemployment. Britain already is struggling to absorb 600,000 workers added after 10 nations including Poland and Hungary joined the EU in 2004.

``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.''

Voter Opposition

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.

``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.

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 solution is to end exploitation, not put up the shutters,'' TUC General Secretary Brendan Barber said at a press conference on Sept. 10. ``Healthy migrant workers make a net contribution to the economy.''

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 has pushed for more limits on immigration, especially new EU nations.

Bloomberg