UKIP leader, MEP Nigel Farage. Photo by EPA/BGNES
By Tom Newton Dunn
The Sun
Around 400,000 Bulgarians plan to move West when controls are lifted in less than six months — and the UK is now TOP of their list.
A bombshell new poll carried out in the struggling country has revealed almost one in five — 17 per cent — of 15 to 55-year-olds are ready to pack their bags.
And Britain, along with Germany, is now their favoured destination to escape the economic gloom.
Under EU rules, we are powerless to stop Bulgarians and Romanians coming to live here from January 1, 2014. Previously, Spain, Greece and Italy had been Bulgarians’ top choices because of the language similarities.
But many more now speak English, leaving Britain as the choice in recent years for 22.5 per cent of Bulgarian migrants, the survey by pollsters Afis for the European Parliament found. Only Germany is narrowly more popular with 22.9 per cent.
If the same percentage is repeated from January, 80,000 Bulgarians will arrive here.
Immigration campaigners last night insisted that would put massive pressure on hospitals, schools and the welfare system.
UKIP boss Nigel Farage said: "There is no escaping the blunt reality. According to these figures, almost 100,000 Bulgarians want to come here and that number may hit a million in future years. To stop them we need to leave the EU — nothing else will do."
With a population of 7.3 million, Bulgaria is one of the EU's poorest countries.
Many thousands are also expected to come here from Romania — which is almost three times the size of its next door neighbour with a population of 20 million.
Tougher immigration rules are being drawn up by Home Secretary Theresa May — but they will not come into force until at least next spring, missing the EU rule change.