FEWER than 200 migrants from Romania and Bulgaria applied for national insurance numbers to work in Scotland in the first three months of this year, despite warnings that there would be a stampede of new arrivals from the latest EU members.
The two countries joined the European Union on 1 January but their nationals face tougher restrictions than those from other EU states, as ministers feared a backlash over growing numbers of immigrants.

Home Office figures unveiled yesterday showed that just over 10,000 had moved to the UK under the worker registration and agricultural workers scheme. Only 177 of them applied for national insurance numbers in Scotland.
The UK total is a fraction of the 87,220 people from the so called "A8" Central and Eastern European countries who registered in Britain in the three months following their nations' accession to the EU in 2004.

However, there were questions last night over the official statistics which do not record the numbers of people who have moved to the UK or those who have gone home.
The Home Office figures also do not cover the self-employed, such as builders or plumbers.
Damian Green, the Conservative Party's immigration spokesman, said: "These figures are likely to underestimate the true level of immigration as they do not take into account dependants or those who have chosen not to register with the scheme."

But Dr Nikolai Zhelev, honorary consul for Bulgaria in Scotland, said the statistics vindicated his claims that predictions of a tide of immigrants from 1 January were unfounded.
He said: "I was right and the tabloid newspapers were wrong.
"There are some who have come to live and work in Scotland, as is intended under the common-market system, and they are plugging the gaps in the Scottish economy. But it has not been a huge influx.
"It is worth noting that none of them are unemployed or filling the prisons," he added.
Unlike citizens of countries such as Poland, which was one of eight to join the bloc three years ago, nationals of Bulgaria and Romania have to apply to work under a registration scheme.

In addition to the Bulgarians and Romanians, an extra 49,000 workers came to the UK from the A8 countries over the same quarter; this was down 16,000 on the previous quarter.
Liam Byrne, the immigration minister, said it was too soon to evaluate the full impact of EU accession.
But he added: "The early indications are that our policy of restricting access to the UK's labour market is helping to ensure that only those who have something to offer the UK are allowed to work here."
The Home Office has pledged to review the restrictions at the end of this year.

• KATARINA Lecheva, who is among the Bulgarians who have come to live and work in Scotland, says the lifestyle of immigrant workers is not as rosy as some Scots suspect. The 25-year-old arrived in Dundee six months ago and is still earning a minimum wage in care homes rather than exercising her full nursing knowledge.
"It is good here, but it is far from easy and a lot of younger ones are too willing to be exploited.
"Qualifications are meaningless when people are just wanting cheap labour," she added.

GERRI PEEV (gpeev@scotsman.com)
http://news.scotsman.com/