The number of Romanians and Bulgarians living in Britain has more than doubled in the three years since immigration restrictions were lifted, figures reveal.
Some 413,000 people from the countries lived in the UK in December 2016, according to the Office for National Statistics – enough to fill a city the size of Cardiff.
This is more than double the 186,000 who lived here at the end of 2013, the figures show.
This means the number rose by 227,000 since they were given the right to freely work in Britain in January 2014.
But just 6,200 British citizens have decided to move to the two eastern European countries, numbers released by the ONS show.
The number of Romanians and Bulgarians living in the UK has more than doubled since immigration restrictions were lifted in January 2014, Office for National Statistics figures show
The statistics lay bare the high-levels of immigration which EU free movement rules have imposed on Britain in recent years.
Before January 2014, Romanians and Bulgarians had restrictions placed on their rights to live and work in Britain.
Under the restrictions, in the first 12 months of stay they were generally required to hold an accession worker card or apply for one of two lower-skilled quota schemes.
Other Bulgarian and Romanian citizens could apply for a registration certificate, giving proof of a right to live in the UK.
These restrictions were lifted on 1 January 2014, and their numbers have since rocketed from the 186,000 who lived in Britain at the end of 2013.
Some 413,000 Romanians and Bulgarians were living in Britain as of the end of 2016, with many working in the construction and hotel sectors (file pic)
Research released by the ONS shows that on average, 328,400 Romanian and Bulgarians lived in Britain between 2014 to 2016.
The statistics authority used this average figure to drill down into the lives of these immigrants.
They found that the overwhelming majority of them – 81 per cent – were aged between 16 and 64 years-old.
Of these immigrants of working age 211,200 were estimated to be working (79 per cent), while 11,500 were estimated to be jobless (four per cent).
And 12,600 were believed to be studying (5 per cent), while 32,100 were classified otherwise economically inactive (12 per cent).
Most Bulgarian and Romanians who have jobs in Britain are working in construction, hotels and restaurants or public administration, health and education.