Bulgaria is giving away passports to tens of thousands of non-European Union foreigners opening a backdoor for workers-to-be in the Union, according to The Sunday Telegraph.

Bulgarian citizens will be able to work in Britain when the country joins the EU next January.

The British daily slams Bulgaria for lax procedures for issuing citizenship that being exploited by corrupt officials who agree to fast-track passports.

The article published in Sunday's edition of the newspaper adds to existing fears in the United Kingdom and Western Europe about the large number of migrants, some with criminal records, expected to arrive from Romania and Bulgaria.

More than 20,000 people from countries such as Moldova and Macedonia have taken up Bulgarian citizenship in the past few years, and at least 55,000 more are on the waiting list, The Sunday Telegraph says.

It quotes results from its own investigation showing that many applicants openly admit to not speaking Bulgarian, having no Bulgarian heritage and knowing nothing about the country.

The Sunday Telegraph said the majority are motivated by the prospect of tapping into the EU job market.

A discussion is under way in the UK whether to give Romanians and Bulgarians access to the British labour market, triggering a EU10 syndrome of the notorious "Polish plumber" epitomizing the fear of foreign labour flux.

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