Gnomish Dave - what you also need to take account of is that it costs thousands of pounds per year (on average) to meet the legal requirements and if you are not a higher rate taxpayer you have to do this every two years (or up to 5 depending when you arrived). And if "they" so decide, you have I think 48hours to leave the country. The pressures for someone on minimum hours to work illegally rather than legally are huge.