(UNGHENI) - Scores of Moldovans arrived on Sunday night at the border with Romania aboard the last train to take them into the country before new visa restrictions came into force at the stroke of midnight, when Romania joined the European Union.

"I had to bring my journey to Bucharest forwards by three days so I would't have to queue up for a visa," Moldovan businessman Valeriu told AFP in the northeastern Romanian border town of Ungheni.

Not only were Valieru's holiday plans disrupted but he had to celebrate the New Year on his own in a badly-lit sleeping car in the very last compartment of the so-called "Friendship" train.

"It's a nightmare at the Romanian consulate in Chisinau," said a young man called Vladimir of the complex formalities -- 43 questions in all -- and endless queues required to submit a visa request.

When Romania joined the EU at midnight on December 31, its eastern border also became the 27-nation bloc's eastern border. That meant ending all non-visa human movements between it and Moldova, a former Soviet republic with which it has strong historical and ethnic ties.

The new rules leave a bitter taste for the Moldovans, whose country was part of a union with Romania until it was seized by the Soviet Union, and whose people essentially speak the same language.

Indeed, Bucharest had delayed introducing the new rules as long as possible because of the privileged links it enjoyed with its eastern neighbour.

Under the new scheme, visas are free but to obtain them Moldovans must prove they have sufficient money to survive in Romania.

The Moldovans were informed of the new rules several months ago. But during the last days of December thousands of them nevertheless streamed across by road and rail for the last visit to Romania they will be allowed to make by just showing their passports.

The onslaught astounded the Romanian police.

"Where can all these poeple possibly be going?" one border guard asked his colleague at the northeastern border post of Sculeni, casting a worried eye at the never-ending queue in front of his office.

Dumitru Scutelnicu, the head of police on Romania's eastern border, fears the introduction of visas will encourage Moldovans to cross over illegally.

But he warned any would-be clandestine migrants would have a hard time. Romania's borders with both Moldova and neighbouring Ukraine "are well secured and will soon be fitted with equipment from the western border", he said.

Before Romania entered the EU that equipment was used to prevent Romanians slipping across illegally into EU member Hungary. Now they both belong to the same club, those border controls will be relaxed.

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