Czech Republic

Alena Cerna, 27, works as a butcher in a sausage factory in Walsall. Arrived in March 2005. Speaks no English - interviewed via translator.

My grandfather was a butcher. There aren't many women butchers but it's a good trade. My boyfriend, Branko, is a butcher too.

We came here through an agency. I'd never been on a plane. They found us work and accommodation. We share a house in Telford with two Slovakians. Rent comes off our weekly wages. We get lifts to and from work.

We work 40-55 hours de-boning pork sorting good meat from bad. We try to get the same shift so we can be together. Right now it's night-shift. I made £50 a week in the Czech Republic. Here I make £160. But no one wants to be a butcher here.

I heard some immigrants got threatened with baseball bats by English people outside a pub near us. So far we are okay. We want to learn English. But all we can do after working is watch TV.

Cyprus

Christina Focratous, 21, studies at London School of Fashion. Arrived September 2004.

I grew up in Cyprus but my parents met in Liverpool, so I sound Scouse. I can easily fake being English - life would be harder here if I couldn't.

My brother and cousin study here too. I feel safer with them. We waited to join the EU to avoid paying £10,000 fees. Loads of people did. Now we're officially 'home' students.

I live in halls in Whitechapel. I like being around the Indians. They put family first, stick together and they're a little bit racist. Like Cypriots. Sometimes I wear the head-dress.

London is hard to love. Making your own little life in a big city is tough. People are guarded. I find myself smiling, wishing someone would say something real. I can't believe no one chats on the Tube. I get so bored I actually talk to myself.

Right now I think it's better to holiday here than live. I am homesick, I know. Maybe if I make some good memories I'll get emotionally involved with London. But I won't make my family here.

Slovakia

Andrea Bencekova, 22, works as a nanny in South London. Arrived May 2004.

I was counting the days till Slovakia joined the EU. I've never been more interested in politics!

When I was 18 I worked here as an au pair. At first London scared me. After a year I didn't want to leave. The shops, the fashion - everything is so cool. Slovakia is nice and safe but I couldn't live there again. I'm in my twenties and just want to have fun. I had to come back. But I had to do it legally so I could feel good.

For two years I waited. My parents didn't want me to leave. Finally I did! The family I worked for gave me my old job. The babies had become toddlers! I am studying English so I can use my business degree. Sometimes I forget how old I am'time passes faster in a foreign country.

A few of my friends have had a hard time here. I know some people don't like immigrants but what would they do without us' Who would build their homes' Who would look after their children'

Latvia

Dmitrijs Vorobjovs, 18, works as a meat packer in a sausage factory in Leicester. Arrived September 2004.

My mother gave me her life savings to come here: £700. I'd never been on a plane. My first night I slept at a bus station. I met some Afghanis who promised me a job and a house if I gave them £300.

They got me no work. For two months I shared a flat in Coventry with 12 people. There were three bedrooms. I never had my own bed. Sometimes I slept on the floor. There were bugs. I was always cleaning. It made me - very sad.

I was poorer than in Latvia and looking for any job. No one helped because I had no English. Then I learned some and found 'A la Carte Recruitment'. Now I have good job and nice house.

In the sausage factory I push meat into a machine. For 40 hours a week I get £165. I send money home to my mother. I share a house with two Poles and my girlfriend, Lada. Now I would like to live here forever. Maybe drive lorries.

Estonia

Mary - Ly Sutt, 28, Nurse at the National Hospital for Neurology and Neurosurgery, part of University College London Hospitals. Arrived February 2003.

Love brought me here. Since school I had a pen-friend in Trinidad. He moved to London and I visited. Now we're married. He's a programmer but can't work because the Home Office is investigating him. We're trying not to think about that.

Willesden is okay but not as nice as Tallinn. There my five year-old son and I lived in a lovely old wooden house. Here we're on a noisy road.

I love English food - you can't get curry in Estonia. In London you tolerate all the different cultures but it doesn't mean you actually care about individual people. I don't even know who my neighbours are. I read about paedophiles and I am scared to let my son play outside.

The English smile so much. They call me 'love' and 'darling'. Now I'm used to all the politeness. People are nicer if you smile.

You're okay if you speak English. There aren't many pure English - it seems most people are immigrants. I'll always be Estonian. Maybe after 10 years here my son will be English. Who knows? He can decide - if we're allowed to stay.

Hungary

Gabor Volgyesi, 26, is a chef at a restaurant in Muswell Hill. Arrived March 2004.

I came here with my girlfriend. We split up. She went back to our home-town and married. I didn't want to see her again so I stayed.

Here I have freedom - no family telling me what to do. I share a house in Golders Green with five Hungarians. We were lucky to hook up - there aren't many of us in London. We're planning a summer party.

I enjoy cooking and studied catering but don't always feel respected. After working six days a week and paying taxes I make £800 a month. Sure, that's more than in Hungary. But everything costs much more here. I'm a Chelsea fan but can't afford the games. I am trying to save for a small restaurant in Hungary.

I like London but don't feel at home here. I open my mouth and people stop listening. If you don't ever talk, you won't ever know me.

After work we go for beers. Pubs are the best thing about England - everyone's the same in the pub.

Malta

Karla Brincat, 24, is doing a postgraduate degree in translation at University of Westminster. Arrived September 2004.

I remember going to London Zoo. I was a little girl and it was the most exciting day of my life. I've always wanted to live here.

England is the most important country to Malta. When we entered the EU, Maltese became an official language of the EU parliament. They need interpreters so they pay me to study here. I hope to work in Brussels.

The UK is an island - but it's big. Malta is miniscule. Here I can travel just a few miles and find a town with a completely different character. I love this variety. And the culture. Malta is very, very Catholic. Here I can go to the theatre when I want and see what I want. I just wish I didn't have to take the Tube.

It's interesting that some newspapers have a problem with immigrants. They have a right to their opinion. I have a right to ignore them. Like I said, I like variety.

Slovenia

Oleg Stanic, 32, works as a tiler. Arrived October 2004.

When I was young I listened to rock music from England on the radio. Iron Maiden were so cool. London is the capital of music.

Now I share a big house in Cricklewood. It's built of bricks - like all of England. It's got a good vibe. There are eight of us. My flatmates are Chilean, Italian, Brazilian and Polish.

For years I worked on cruise-ships. That was okay - but you have no permanent home. And I like construction. I make nearly three times what I'd get in Slovenia. I am trying to save for a house and business back home but London is expensive and I go to lots of gigs so...

I miss the mountains. Here I only see landscapes in galleries. And I miss sunshine. But there's always fun stuff to do. English girls don't care where you're from if you're cool. But they're always stressed. Everyone is hurrying here. Just chill, people. Enjoy it.

Lithuania

Svetlana Petrova, 24, studies business at University of Westminster and works for a club promoter specialising in 'Russian' parties. Arrived January 2004.

Lithuania is small. It feels tiny. In my town I knew everyone my age. I outgrew it. I visited London and loved it. I've always been a clubber and the clubs are amazing. Plus, it's easier to study here than America.

I left home as soon as we joined the EU. So did many of my friends. That might cause a problem for our country.

Every weekend I do the door at 'Propaganda', a Russian club-night. Some English guys come along now too. They love us former-Soviet girls. Maybe that's why life is easier for girls coming here. Luckily for English guys I like them okay.

Here if you bump into someone dancing they say sorry. People accept each other. Even if it's just on the outside, it's enough to live side-by-side happily. I can't make anyone here accept me. But I know they will be polite.

Poland

Przemek Domenik, 27, works as a photographer's assistant in London. Arrived in February 2004 (after being refused entry).

I caught a bus here from Warsaw. It took 32 hours. At Dover the guard said my documents were wrong and put me back on the bus.

But I was determined. Even with a degree there was no work in Poland. So I found hotel work in Manchester and flew back. No one picked me up at the airport. I waited ages. Then I called a guy I met on the bus the first time I tried getting here. He invited me to London. I wasn't scared - I was excited!

I was a painter with some Polish builders and lived with some Poles in a council block in Shadwell. Now I'm learning English at college and working as a photographer's assistant. It's like a dream, man.

We don't eat lunch in Poland, so I've gained weight here. My girlfriend, Angie, doesn't mind. I live with her family in Woodford. They're very cool - second generation Chinese-English.

All I remember about Communism is queuing for everything. Now I just queue to get in to gigs. Poland will always be there. England feels like home. For now.