Austria has insisted on tough restrictions. The country will maintain its existing system of work permits for two years - and restrictions are likely to be extended for another five years after that.

Belgium plans to apply restrictions for up to two years after enlargement. In this initial phase it can apply whatever restrictions it wants and does not need to give any justification.

Denmark initially pledged to let migrants from the 10 new states work freely - but it changed its mind. Immigrants can come to Denmark for up to six months, but have no automatic access to benefits. If the immigrants find a job, they can have residence and work permits.

Finland plans to apply restrictions for up to two years after enlargement. During this time citizens of the new member states can get a job without a work permit only if the employment office decides there is no-one available from the Finnish labour market. Otherwise, work permits will be required. After two years the government will decide if it is necessary to continue this policy.

France will maintain the existing work permit system for two years. Immigrants who manage to obtain work permits will have the same access to social security as French nationals. They will also be able to bring their family with them, who will have full access to the labour market. Different regimes will apply for seasonal workers, students and researchers.

Like Austria, Germany has insisted on tough restrictions. The country plans to maintain existing work permits for two years and is likely to extend this for up to seven years. However, existing deals with new member states would apply. For example, the German Embassy says that there are 100,000 Polish workers in Germany and 350,000 seasonal workers.

Greece plans to apply restrictions for up to two years after enlargement. A final decision on what these will be and whether they will last for a further five years will be made by the new government, after the general election on 7 March.

Ireland says it welcomes new workers but says it will be proposing changes to its social welfare code to prevent abuse of the country's benefits system when the 10 new members join the EU.

Italy has yet to make a decision on whether to apply restrictions for up to two years after enlargement.

Luxembourg plans to apply restrictions for up to two years after enlargement.

Like Sweden and Denmark, the Netherlands initially pledged to let migrants from the 10 new states work freely in their countries - but changed its mind. The government initially suggested a quota of immigrants from new member states of 22,000 in the first year. But it has now agreed to tighten regulations still further, to reflect the wishes of a majority in the Dutch lower house of parliament - which said that access to the labour market should be granted only when there are not Dutch nationals to do a job. However, in sectors where the Netherlands is short on workers, it will be easier for employers to obtain work permits.

Portugal plans to apply restrictions for up to two years after enlargement and will grant work permits. The Portuguese government has a 6,500 annual limit on immigrant workers of all nationalities - so any work permits must fit in with this policy. The government will reconsider after the first two years.

Spain plans to apply restrictions for up to two years after enlargement. In this initial phase the country can apply whatever restrictions it wants and does not need to give any justification.

Sweden initially pledged to let migrants work freely - but has changed its mind. The country is particularly concerned about exploitation of its generous social security system - which requires work for only 10 hours to gain access to benefits. The current work permit scheme will remain in place - and Sweden has indicated that it will apply this system for two years. But this proposal has yet to be approved by parliament.

The UK is one of the last of the current members to announce its plans. Workers will have to register and will be able to claim benefits like Jobseeker's Allowance and income support only if they have worked continuously in the UK for at least a year. Some other benefits, however, will be available for those in work immediately.