Romanian migration to the United Kingdom
Encyclopedia
Romanian migration to the United Kingdom refers to the phenomenon of Romanian people moving to the United Kingdom
as citizens or non-citizen immigrants.
, Horia Georgescu, George Ross and Leonard Kirschen, Marie-Jeanne MacDonald, Gladys Wilson, Sanda Carciog and Mihai Carciog.. Ion Ratiu is the President of the British-Romanian Association between 1965 - 1985, followed by Iolanda Stranescu Costide between 1985 until its closure in 1996, the organisation having fulfilled its aim to restore a democratic regime in Romania.
At the time of the 2001 Census
, 7,631 Romanian-born people were residing in the UK. When Romania joined the European Union
in January 2007, the British government placed transitional restrictions on the rights of Romanians to move to the UK, which were subsequently extended and currently remain in place. The Office for National Statistics
estimates that, in 2009, 58,000 Romanian-born people were resident in the UK.
In June 2009, some 115 Romanian citizens of Roma ethnicity living in Belfast fled their homes in the south of the city after a spate of what the BBC described as "racist" attacks, including bricks being thrown through windows. Some 20 families sought refuge in a local church hall before being transferred to a local leisure centre. The actions were condemned by British Prime Minister Gordon Brown
and Northern Ireland Alliance Party politician Anna Lo
. It is believed that the majority of the individuals targeted are ethnic Roma
. The displaced families were temporarily rehoused, but the majority subsequently decided to leave Northern Ireland and return to Romania.
There has been a flow of Romanian job seekers entering the UK for recent years although the UK Government requires them to apply for permission before starting to work. Migrant workers from Romania still consider the UK the most favourite destination to come and work. About 90,000 Romanians have applied for 22,000 jobs in the UK in the first half of year 2011.
religion and there are a total of 11 such churches in the UK, seven of which are in London.
United Kingdom
The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern IrelandIn the United Kingdom and Dependencies, other languages have been officially recognised as legitimate autochthonous languages under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages...
as citizens or non-citizen immigrants.
History, population and settlement
The small number of Romanians that first arrived in Britain were primarily Jews fleeing persecution during the Second World War.. The activities of the Romanian exiles started in 1941, through the effort of individuals such as Ambassador Viorel Tilea, Major George-Emil Iliescu, and legal counselor Ecaterina Iliescu. They founded the Anglo-Romanian Refugee Committee in 1948. The Free Romanian Orthodox Church is active, in parallel, between 1950-55, under the leadership of Father Gildau, with a Parish Committee chaired by Mihai Carciog. This, then, is transformed into the 'Romanian Orthodox Women's Association in the UK', which, in turn, becomes in 1965 the British-Romanian Association - also known under its Romanian name of ACARDA ("Asociatia Culturala a Romanilor din Anglia") - through the initiative of a representative group of individuals from the small Romanian community, including Ion RatiuIon Ratiu
Ion Raţiu was a Romanian politician and the presidential candidate of the National Peasants' Party in the 1990 elections, in which he ranked third with 4.29% of the vote.-Biography:...
, Horia Georgescu, George Ross and Leonard Kirschen, Marie-Jeanne MacDonald, Gladys Wilson, Sanda Carciog and Mihai Carciog.. Ion Ratiu is the President of the British-Romanian Association between 1965 - 1985, followed by Iolanda Stranescu Costide between 1985 until its closure in 1996, the organisation having fulfilled its aim to restore a democratic regime in Romania.
At the time of the 2001 Census
United Kingdom Census 2001
A nationwide census, known as Census 2001, was conducted in the United Kingdom on Sunday, 29 April 2001. This was the 20th UK Census and recorded a resident population of 58,789,194....
, 7,631 Romanian-born people were residing in the UK. When Romania joined the European Union
European Union
The European Union is an economic and political union of 27 independent member states which are located primarily in Europe. The EU traces its origins from the European Coal and Steel Community and the European Economic Community , formed by six countries in 1958...
in January 2007, the British government placed transitional restrictions on the rights of Romanians to move to the UK, which were subsequently extended and currently remain in place. The Office for National Statistics
Office for National Statistics
The Office for National Statistics is the executive office of the UK Statistics Authority, a non-ministerial department which reports directly to the Parliament of the United Kingdom.- Overview :...
estimates that, in 2009, 58,000 Romanian-born people were resident in the UK.
In June 2009, some 115 Romanian citizens of Roma ethnicity living in Belfast fled their homes in the south of the city after a spate of what the BBC described as "racist" attacks, including bricks being thrown through windows. Some 20 families sought refuge in a local church hall before being transferred to a local leisure centre. The actions were condemned by British Prime Minister Gordon Brown
Gordon Brown
James Gordon Brown is a British Labour Party politician who was the Prime Minister of the United Kingdom and Leader of the Labour Party from 2007 until 2010. He previously served as Chancellor of the Exchequer in the Labour Government from 1997 to 2007...
and Northern Ireland Alliance Party politician Anna Lo
Anna Lo
Anna Manwah Lo MBE is an Alliance Party politician in Northern Ireland. Born in Hong Kong, of Chinese ethnicity, Lo was elected to the Northern Ireland Assembly for South Belfast in the 2007 assembly election...
. It is believed that the majority of the individuals targeted are ethnic Roma
Roma minority in Romania
The Roma constitute one of the major minorities in Romania. According to the 2002 census, they number 535,140 people or 2.5% of the total population, being the second-largest ethnic minority in Romania after Hungarians...
. The displaced families were temporarily rehoused, but the majority subsequently decided to leave Northern Ireland and return to Romania.
There has been a flow of Romanian job seekers entering the UK for recent years although the UK Government requires them to apply for permission before starting to work. Migrant workers from Romania still consider the UK the most favourite destination to come and work. About 90,000 Romanians have applied for 22,000 jobs in the UK in the first half of year 2011.
Culture
Most Romanians belong to the Romanian Orthodox ChurchRomanian Orthodox Church
The Romanian Orthodox Church is an autocephalous Eastern Orthodox church. It is in full communion with other Eastern Orthodox churches, and is ranked seventh in order of precedence. The Primate of the church has the title of Patriarch...
religion and there are a total of 11 such churches in the UK, seven of which are in London.
Famous Britons of Romanian descent
- Vera AtkinsVera AtkinsVera Atkins, CBE was a British Intelligence Officer during World War II.-Early life:...
, Intelligence Officer during World War II - J. J. BenjaminJ. J. BenjaminJ. J. Benjamin was a Romanian-Jewish historian and traveler. His pen name was "Benjamin II", in allusion to Benjamin of Tudela.-Life and travels:...
, Historian - Octav BotnarOctav BotnarOctav Botnar was a self-made businessman who founded Datsun UK, and a noted philanthropist, who donated over £100 million in his lifetime....
, Businessman - Alina CojocaruAlina CojocaruAlina Cojocaru is a female principal dancer with The Royal Ballet of London.-Early years:Alina Cojocaru was born and raised in Bucharest, Romania. She has one sister. From a young age she studied gymnastics...
, Dancer - George ConstantinescuGeorge ConstantinescuGeorge Constantinescu was a Romanian scientist, engineer and inventor. During his career, he registered over 130 inventions. He is the creator of the theory of sonics, a new branch of continuum mechanics, in which he described the transmission of mechanical energy through vibrations.Born in...
, Scientist, Engineer and Inventor - Moses GasterMoses GasterMoses Gaster was a Romanian-born Jewish-British scholar, the Hakham of the Spanish and Portuguese congregation, London, and a Hebrew linguist. He was also the son-in-law of Michael Friedländer, principal of Jews' College. The surname Gaster is taken from Spanish Castro, indicating his Sephardic...
, Scholar - David MitranyDavid MitranyDavid Mitrany was a Romanian-born, naturalized British scholar, historian and political theorist. The richest source of information concerning Mitrany’s life and intellectual activity are the memoirs he published in 1975 in The Functional Theory of Politics.-Professional life:Mitrany worked on...
, scholar - The Cheeky GirlsThe Cheeky GirlsThe Cheeky Girls are a pop duo consisting of twin sisters Gabriela and Monica Irimia, from Cluj-Napoca in Transylvania, Romania, but based in Britain. After appearing as auditionees in Popstars: The Rivals, they achieved success in the charts with four top ten hits between 2002 and 2004...
, Singers - George IacobescuGeorge IacobescuGeorge Iacobescu CBE is the chief executive of Canary Wharf Group, a London-based property development company.Born in Romania, Iacobescu trained as an engineer, graduated from the University of Bucharest and then emigrated to Canada and settled in Toronto, where he initially worked for the...
, Chief executive of the Canary Wharf GroupCanary Wharf GroupCanary Wharf Group plc is the owner and developer of nearly of property at Canary Wharf in London. It is notable because over the last 10 years it has constructed more office space in London than any other developer... - Ion RaţiuIon RatiuIon Raţiu was a Romanian politician and the presidential candidate of the National Peasants' Party in the 1990 elections, in which he ranked third with 4.29% of the vote.-Biography:...
, Politician - Simona ArmstrongSimona ArmstrongSimona Armstrong is a Romanian born actress and singer who lives and works mainly in the UK.Between 2004 and 2007, she made a few television acting appearances in the UK, notably in Doctors, Sinchronicity and A Touch Of Frost. On stage Armstrong has appeared in Fame and Little Shop Of Horrors...
, Singer and actress
External links
- Diaspora online
- ClickRomania.co.uk - The Romanian Community in UK
- The News Portal for Foreigners in the UK
- Ziarul Romanesc - Weekly Newspaper for Romanians in the UK
- Romanian cultural centre of London
- Roman in UK - newspaper for Romanians in the UK
- London Romanian Seventh Day Adventist Church
- Romanian Orthodox Church
- Romani Online
- BBC English Language portal
- BBC news - Romanians in Britain