Moving to UK from Romania

I'm posting this for a friend of mine. She is a dual British/Irish citizen in Northern Ireland. Her boyfriend of the past two years in Romanian. They are looking at how he can move over here. They do not want to marry right away, and he is not in a highly skilled job field.

Can he move here as a self-sufficient person, and live with her? She is employed full time and owns her ow home. The rules for Romania and Bulgaria seem a bit confusing. If he were to do that, how long before he could then take employment?

They've looked into the work permit option, but he doesn't have any job qualifications that would suit; he's don'e mostly manual labor type jobs.

Any suggestions?

Can he move here as a self-sufficient person, and live with her?

Indeed he can. Since Romania joined the EU on 01.01.07 he has had the right to enter the UK visa-free, and indeed has the ability to be self-employed or a self-sufficient person. What he does not have is the ability to be employed, without a Work Permit. That is, to be employed, the prospective employer would need to obtain a WP in order to employ him.

Is the requirement of a work permit an indefinite thing? Is there a point in time where they can take up permit free employment, say after residing here x amount of time, or should they just base their plans on him only being able to be self employed?

Is the requirement of a work permit an indefinite thing?

No, but it is built into the treaty whereby Bulgaria and Romania joined the EU (and the EEA). In concept terms this is exactly the same as the transitional arrangements that were in place when the UK joined, or when Spain etc joined.

Not sure exactly when but there will come a point in time when the A2 nationals mentioned above will have unfettered EU and EEA rights to live and work anywhere in the EEA.

But I am just wondering whether the fact that the two of them have lived together for two years means that he is could be classed as an extended family member, and thus acquire the right to be employed? Anyone an views on that possibility?

Sorry, I wasn't clear in my initial post. They haven't lived together; just done the long-distance thing for the last two years. That's the main reason they don't want to marry right away; they want to actually live together first. I'll pass along the info you gave me John, cheers!!

Since they haven't lived together or married, there is no way that the restrictions to the labour market will be removed and hence the Romanian will have to get a work permit and the Accession Card for the first year here in the UK. He might be able to get a yellow Registration Certificate on the basis of self-sufficiency but as it is absolutely useless for obtaining work, I don't see a point in applying for it.

But had the hypothetical scenario been that of an 'extended family member' I think he should be eligible for the blue Registration Certificate as the unmarried partner of a British national using the BR1 or as the Irish national using the EEA1. Don't see any basis for the refusal in such a case.