VISITS to Britain by people from eight East European states soared by 25 per cent in the month after they joined the EU, according to figures published yesterday.

The first figures on the effects of the expansion of the EU to include former Soviet bloc states also showed that more than 24,000 migrants applied to be registered for work by the end of June.

However, more than 14,000 of those were in Britain before enlargement. Many of them were in Britain either illegally or working in the black economy. Only 8,000 of those registering had arrived after enlargement of the EU on May 1.

The two sets of figures published yesterday were designed to combat fears that there would be a “flood” of migrants from Eastern Europe with some of them seeking to take advantage of more generous welfare benefits.

Des Browne, the Immigration Minister, told MPs in a written Commons answer: “There is no evidence that accession workers are exploiting the benefits system.”

Figures from the Office for National Statistics (ONS) show that visits by people from Poland, the Czech Republic, Slovakia, Hungary, Latvia, Estonia, Lithuania and Slovenia tallied 99,000 in May compared with 79,000 in May 2003 and 51,000 in May 2002.

When visits by people from Malta and Cyprus, which also joined the EU on May 1, are included the total number of visits by citizens from all new EU states rose to 107,000 in May 2004 compared with 86,000 in May 2003. The travel trends figures do not show how many visitors subsequently left Britain to travel home or to other EU states.

Separate figures published by the Home Office show that of the 24,000 people from the eight East European states that applied to join the Workers’ Registration Scheme, almost 60 per cent were from Poland, 17 per cent from Lithuania and 8 per cent from Slovakia.

The overwhelming majority of those registering were aged 18-34 and single. The split between men and women was 52 per cent to 48 per cent.

Mr Browne told MPs that early indications suggested that the numbers registering were already falling. In the last two weeks of June, the number seeking to register was 25 per cent lower than for the last two weeks of May and first two weeks of June. The majority of those registering were employed in low and medium-skilled jobs in London, East Anglia, central England and the South East. A total of 96 per cent are in full-time work.

Mr Browne told MPs that 6,523, or 34 per cent, were working in the hospitality and catering industries, 17 per cent in administrative and management jobs and 17 per cent in the agricultural industry.

Among those registering were 61 accountants, 53 nurses, 25 teachers and four lawyers. Mr Browne said that there had been 240 claims for income support and jobseeker’s allowance by migrants but that 234 had been refused immediately.

A total of 190 claims for child benefit by citizens of new accession states had been approved since May 1. Only 102 nationals from the new EU states applied for homelessness assistance, with almost 80 per cent being refused.

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