One bed flat has 2,000 tenants ?

[Hum]

Romanian police say they are powerless to act over a scam that is allowing up to 2,000 people at a time to be registered as living in a one-bedroomed apartment in order to gain a residency permit ? and access to the UK job market.

The scam centres around the fact that hundreds of thousands of Moldovans with an ethnic Romanian background have been told they can apply for passports from Romania, giving them an EU travel document that will allow them free movement into Britain.

The average monthly wage in the non-EU country, where unemployment is high, is just ?100 and many Moldovans already work abroad, mostly as illegal immigrants in Europe's black economy.

Romania has only been paid lip-service to the problem because of the money being generated by their new citizens and other advantages.

But local media reported that the business with Romanians ID cards for Moldovans is now such a booming industry that people are even advertising openly with fly posters and pamphlets ? with officials powerless to do anything against it.

The media reports said that although Romania is supposedly being scrutinised by the European Union in view of its bid to joining the Schengen border free area, little interest seems to be paid to the flourishing business.

An undercover Romanian reporter who replied to one of the posters discovered that they would have been one of 2,000 people living at the same address in one of Bucharest's poorer neighborhoods.

The Romanian ID card gives to its holder the right to freely travel in the EU and is issued for ten years, and costs only 100 Euros in bribes. The Moldovans who get the Romanian ID card enjoy the same rights as any other citizen of the EU.

The only requirement for a Moldovan to obtain legally the Romanian ID card is to have a stable residence in the country.

One poster (pictured) said: "I deliver Bucharest ID papers for Moldovans. I require serious applicants only ? no time wasters." This particular advert was posted on a litter bin on one of the capitals public parks.

When called the telephone was answered by a woman named as Madame Mariana who told a Romanian journalist: "We meet tomorrow at noon and we go to the Police Precinct 7. You have to have copies of your ID card, the marriage and birth certificate and a 4 Ron (1 Euro) fiscal stamp. You give me 100 Euros. In ten days the ID card is ready. I registered many people at my address. There is no control, and no problem."

In the neighbourhood of Madame Mariana the business with forged residence documents is booming. Another man near her apartment admits he has 1,800 people registered as living in his apartment.

Bucharest police confirmed that they were aware of the problem but could do nothing about it. A police spokesman said: "The hub of the problem is located in the district 3 of the capital, near the city-centre.

"But we can't intervene, as according to the legislation, there is no limit in having people registered at the same address."

As a result the fact that Moldovans obtain ID cards based on false statements regarding residence is not only known but tolerated by the authorities who admit they are unable to act

The representatives of the population control direction from District 3 in Bucharest says the scampers do not break the law.

Constantin Manoloiu, the director of the District 3 Population control department, said: "There is no legal ground for our staff to refuse to issue ID cards. We have no legal attributions in checking the number of persons living at the same address. If the so-called tenants break the law, the owners of the apartments are not liable, because the tenants can move out anytime without asking for the change of address."

Manoloiu says the only institution that might do something about this situation is the taxman, but again, the investigations are not worth the time as the tax evasion on rent is probably very small scale.

Romania has been accused by several European nations of introducing Moldovans through the backdoor to the EU by easily granting them EU citizenship.

In 2009, president Traian Basescu Romania's policy, saying that his country had "ties of blood" towards its neighbours.

The Netherlands opposed Romania's entry into Schengen, saying the country can not defend its own borders and still has to make progress in combating trans-national organised crime and corruption, two major issues that would jeopardise the security of the the EU borders.

source

[LittleNeutrino Veteran]

at least they are not all actually living in the flat that would be crazy.

[n_K]

Romainian truck drivers have killed countless british people on our roads too then fled out the UK when it's came to the trial, such a **** country.

[I am Reid]

we pretty much just have mexicans to deal with when it comes to that stuff here in america, it seems like you guys have all kinds of problems over there.