TOUGH curbs banning tens of thousands of unskilled workers from Bulgaria and Romania coming to Britain are to be unveiled by ministers this week.

The move comes as new government figures show that four out of every five existing east European immigrants earn little more than the minimum wage and pay on average half the amount Britons pay in taxes. The report claims they may not be as much of a boon to the economy as some have suggested.

John Reid, the home secretary, will seek to allay fears that Britain has become a “soft touch” for migrants by announcing that there will be no open door for workers from the two states when they join the European Union on January 1.

Reid is expected to signal a strategic shift in immigration policy by making Romanians and Bulgarians show that they can fill specific skills gaps before they are allowed to work here. The move reflects a determination by ministers to end low-skilled migration to Britain.

Measures covering workers from Poland, Latvia, Estonia and the other five east European countries — known as the Accession 8 (A8) nations that joined the EU in 2004 — allow their citizens, including the unskilled, to register for work here.

The policy has been held responsible for helping to attract many of the 427,000 migrants who have flocked to Britain from eastern Europe over the past two years.

The change of direction is supported by new research about the overall contribution to the economy made by migrants from the A8 countries. A study to be published this week by Migrationwatch, the independent think tank, shows that 95% of eastern European workers earn less than £8 an hour and 80% earn less than £6 an hour — just above the minimum wage of £5.25 for those aged 22 and over.

The study, based on Home Office statistics, indicates that only 2% earned more than £12 per hour: “This means that the average annual earnings of east Europeans are only 60% of those of British workers. On this basis, their tax and National Insurance contributions average £2,900 a year compared with £5,500 for a British worker.”

The study found the average annual earnings of A8 migrants was £11,800 — because many work in poorly paid jobs such as farm and building site labour or waitressing — compared with £22,000 for the employed working population overall in 2005.

“This implies that their contribution to gross domestic product per head for the economy as a whole is probably slightly negative,” the report says.

Sir Andrew Green, chairman of Migrationwatch, said: “Such low incomes do not matter as long as these migrants remain young, single and healthy. But if the number of dependants increases the picture will look very different. It will also look different if east Europeans start to take British jobs on a significant scale since we will also be paying unemployment benefits to the British unemployed.

“They are clearly willing workers who are valuable to individual employers but the idea that they are a major boon to our economy as a whole does not survive examination.”

Reid hinted at the new curbs in a speech earlier this month when he said it “isn’t fair or sensible” not to consider the impact of new migrants on schools, hospitals and housing.

His comments signalled a dramatic shift from Labour’s previous policy, summed up in its 2005 general election manifesto, which stated: “Our philosophy is simple. If you are ready to work hard and there is work for you to do, then you are welcome here.”

Reid has set up a panel of experts, headed by business leaders, to assess the skill shortages in Britain to work out how many migrants are needed. It would then set an “optimum” level of migration which is “beneficial in terms of enhancing the economy of this country”.

The panel will try to balance the needs of the economy against whether there are enough school places to teach the children of migrants and enough resources to deal with the additional burden on the health service.

Before Reid’s new policy, private government research estimated that between 60,000 and 140,000 Bulgarians and Romanians would enter Britain following the countries’ EU entry.

Officials warned privately that these could include about 45,000 “undesirables” with records as petty criminals or deemed to be a security risk.

More than 7,000 unaccompanied refugee children have applied for asylum in Britain since the beginning of 2004, according to Home Office figures.

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