Tens of thousands of Bulgarians are expected to leave their country permanently with a view to settling in Britain, according to a new survey carried out for the European Parliament.
The survey by pollsters Afis found that around 400,000 people – more than 5% of the population – indicated they would leave the country in the next two years with UK the destination of choice for nearly a quarter.
Previously, Spain, Greece and Italy had been Bulgarians' top venues for migration because of the language similarities. But now Britain with 22.5% and Germany with 22.9% per cent are favourites.
If the same percentage is repeated from January 2014, when Bulgariancitizens - along with those from Romania – will gain free movement in to the UK, it is estimated that 80,000 Bulgarians will arrive in Britain.
The UK Government has so far refused to provide official estimates saying they would not be reliable.
The survey findings come in the wake of recent Eurostat wage figures which also point to the huge pull factor the UK may have for Bulgarian migrants.