Romanians in the United Kingdom
| Total population | |
|---|---|
|
Romanian-born residents 83,168 (2011 Census) 310,000 (2016 ONS estimate) |
|
| Regions with significant populations | |
| London (Mostly Northern boroughs such as London Borough of Brent) | |
| Languages | |
| English, Romanian | |
| Religion | |
| Romanian Orthodox, Roman Catholic, Greek Catholic, Protestant, Atheist, Irreligious |
Romanians in the United Kingdom refers to the phenomenon of Romanian people moving to the United Kingdom as citizens or non-citizen immigrants, along with British citizens of Romanian descent. The opportunities for Romanians to migrate to the UK increased when Romania joined the European Union in 2007, and a transitional cap on migration from Romania and Bulgaria expired on 1 January 2014, which saw thousands move to the UK.
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 (ARRC) in 1948. The Free Romanian Orthodox Church was active in parallel to the ARRC between 1950–55, under the leadership of Father Gildau, with a Parish Committee chaired by Mihai Carciog. This later transformed transformed into the 'Romanian Orthodox Women's Association in the UK', which, in turn, became 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 Ratiu, Horia Georgescu, George Ross and Leonard Kirschen, Marie-Jeanne MacDonald, Gladys Wilson, Sanda Carciog and Mihai Carciog. Ion Ratiu was 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. In the 2011 Census, the Romanian-born population grew to 83,168 people throughout the UK, with 79,687 in England & Wales, 2,387 in Scotland, and 1,094 in Northern Ireland.
The Office for National Statistics (ONS) estimated that, in 2012, 101,000 Romanian-born people were resident in the UK. By 2016, this estimate had risen to 310,000.
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