The Insolvency Service announced the closure in March after a three-week review, to the astonishment of the 45 staff based there.

Under European regulations, any European Union national who can show a “centre of main interest” can go bankrupt in England and Wales and get all their debts written off, including those incurred in their country of birth.

Prospect branch secretary Yvette Hill said: “Bankruptcy tourism has all but ended in the County Court at Hull because of the local knowledge acquired by the Official Receiver's staff.

“The Official Receiver worked closely with the court to show that the evidence provided as “centres of main interest” was suspect. One of the companies involved in promoting bankruptcy tourism was put out of business by the Insolvency Service.

“The closure of the Hull office and the loss of this important local knowledge will once again make it easier for EU nationals to make the short trip across the North Sea to write off their debts and leave with their assets intact.”

A “centre of main interest” determines which area a person or company is most closely associated with for the purposes of cross-border insolvency proceedings. People made bankrupt in the UK are discharged after one year, while it takes seven years in Germany.

More liberal bankruptcy laws have enabled many EU nationals to file their own petitions in bankruptcy with the help of companies that provide evidence that the petitioners’ “centre of main interest” is in England and Wales. Once a bankrupt has seen the Official Receiver and had their debts written off, they usually return to their home country.

Until recently, ‘bankruptcy tourism’ was a major growth industry. For example, Germans wanting to take advantage of the insolvency laws boarded the ferry from Rotterdam and became bankrupt in Hull.