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Report on Ukrainian and Russian immigrants in Poland
Mariana Andrei - Communication Coordinator
28 May 2015
“Corridor Report on Poland: the case of Ukrainian and Russian immigrants”, by Magdalena Lesińska from the Centre of Migration Research at the University of Warsaw, highlights Poland's migration profile.
Although Poland has been and still remains an emigration country, its migration status is changing slowly but steadily, and its transformation into an immigration country is becoming noticeable. The size of the foreign population in Poland is still relatively small in comparison with other countries in Europe, representing less than two percent of the resident population. Moreover, immigration has had a predominantly temporary and circular character. Ukrainians dominate in all statistics related to entry, stay and work of foreigners in Poland. They represent an immigrant group that is perceived to be the closest to Polish society due to geographic, cultural and linguistic proximity and past and present ties.
In contrast with Ukrainian migrants, who have been intensively studied by researchers over the last two decades, the migration strategies and structural features of Russian nationals
in Poland are far less recognized and studied. Ukrainian citizens in Poland are mostly short-term labour migrants. The majority of Ukrainian migrants who reside in Poland come from Western Ukraine (which has historic connections with the Polish state as well as a large Polish minority). As a result, cross-border contacts and mobility across the Polish-Ukrainian border have been ongoing for decades. Most of them circulate between the two countries without any intention to settle in Poland. However considering the recent conflict between Ukraine and Russia, this trend could change in the very near future.
Legal and political framework related to immigration in Poland
In recent years Poland's migration policy has changed towards a wider openness to immigration. The evolution was slow and there are still serious limitations, according to the report. For example on 31 December 2013, the number of valid residence permits issued for Ukrainian citizens was 37,600, as compared to 12,600 in the case of Russians. Moreover, Russians are among the top nationalities registered in asylum seeker statistics. The vast majority of asylum seekers from Russia declare Chechen ethnicity.
As regards the migration policy, Poland has shifted to incentives addressed mainly to EU citizens and nationals from eastern neighbouring countries, and are focused on the legal and economic fields. The most important changes of migration legislation and policies in Poland are related to the liberalization of labour-market entry rules for foreigners (a simplification of legislation on work permits and the introduction of the employers’ declaration system). The legal framework has been developed in response to EU legislation alignment requirements.
According to the report, the integration policy in Poland is actually a set of ad-hoc measures dedicated to certain groups, it is not a coherent doctrine. Practically the measures address recognized refugees and repatriates and their families. The limited experience with long-term immigrants requires integration programmes. Despite the state’s generally passive attitude to the integration of foreigners, a more active approach is noticeable in the NGO sector. However, according to Magdalena Lesińska, the NGO sector is a partial substitute for the state administration when it comes to the implementation of integration.
Some conclusions of the “Corridor Report on Poland”
The situation of the two major immigrant groups in Poland - Ukrainians and Russians - is different. While most Ukrainians in Poland have work visas, the Russians' purposes of stay are much more diverse (family reunification, labour, humanitarian etc.). The report analyses data from 2010-2012, but numbers have changed significantly after the burst of the conflict between Ukraine and Russia. Thus by the end of October 2014 more than 1,800 asylum claims by Ukrainian citizens had been filed, and more than 707,000 visas had been issued, as compared to 46 asylum claims and 720,000 visas issued in 2013.
The research included a survey component in which 24 Polish organisations working with migrants took part. We selected below some of the conclusions from the survey data processing:
• The Ukrainian and Polish migrant organisations focus on providing information on the institutional and legal framework in Poland, as well as on the labour market conditions;
• The organisations believe that their impact upon migrants’ positions and skills on the Polish labour market is very limited;
• The representatives of organisations working with Ukrainian immigrants believe that associations in Ukraine are much more important when searching for a job on the Polish labour market than the governmental pre-departure programmes or other initiatives. In the case or organisations working with Russian immigrants, the belief in the importance of both origin country organisations and the Russian government is low.
• According to migrant organisations' representatives, the Russian and Ukrainian governments do not offer any facilities for programmes in the destination country, such as schools, cultural centres, religious establishments, organisations etc.
• Immigrants' civic and political participation in Poland is low. Migrants’ participation in the political and public life of their country of origin does not influence social relations, school performance, religious practices or the integration of migrants in their country of residence.
The general conclusion of the report is that non-governmental organizations working with migrants have an insignificant role in Ukrainian and Russian migrants’ integration in Poland. Most services provided by these organisations are focused on the labour market and less on other areas, such as education or social integration.
The full report can be consulted at the link below.
Source:
http://cadmus.eui.eu/bitstream/handle/1814/34601/Interact_KF_2015_02.pdf?sequence=1
Although Poland has been and still remains an emigration country, its migration status is changing slowly but steadily, and its transformation into an immigration country is becoming noticeable. The size of the foreign population in Poland is still relatively small in comparison with other countries in Europe, representing less than two percent of the resident population. Moreover, immigration has had a predominantly temporary and circular character. Ukrainians dominate in all statistics related to entry, stay and work of foreigners in Poland. They represent an immigrant group that is perceived to be the closest to Polish society due to geographic, cultural and linguistic proximity and past and present ties.
In contrast with Ukrainian migrants, who have been intensively studied by researchers over the last two decades, the migration strategies and structural features of Russian nationals
in Poland are far less recognized and studied. Ukrainian citizens in Poland are mostly short-term labour migrants. The majority of Ukrainian migrants who reside in Poland come from Western Ukraine (which has historic connections with the Polish state as well as a large Polish minority). As a result, cross-border contacts and mobility across the Polish-Ukrainian border have been ongoing for decades. Most of them circulate between the two countries without any intention to settle in Poland. However considering the recent conflict between Ukraine and Russia, this trend could change in the very near future.
Legal and political framework related to immigration in Poland
In recent years Poland's migration policy has changed towards a wider openness to immigration. The evolution was slow and there are still serious limitations, according to the report. For example on 31 December 2013, the number of valid residence permits issued for Ukrainian citizens was 37,600, as compared to 12,600 in the case of Russians. Moreover, Russians are among the top nationalities registered in asylum seeker statistics. The vast majority of asylum seekers from Russia declare Chechen ethnicity.
As regards the migration policy, Poland has shifted to incentives addressed mainly to EU citizens and nationals from eastern neighbouring countries, and are focused on the legal and economic fields. The most important changes of migration legislation and policies in Poland are related to the liberalization of labour-market entry rules for foreigners (a simplification of legislation on work permits and the introduction of the employers’ declaration system). The legal framework has been developed in response to EU legislation alignment requirements.
According to the report, the integration policy in Poland is actually a set of ad-hoc measures dedicated to certain groups, it is not a coherent doctrine. Practically the measures address recognized refugees and repatriates and their families. The limited experience with long-term immigrants requires integration programmes. Despite the state’s generally passive attitude to the integration of foreigners, a more active approach is noticeable in the NGO sector. However, according to Magdalena Lesińska, the NGO sector is a partial substitute for the state administration when it comes to the implementation of integration.
Some conclusions of the “Corridor Report on Poland”
The situation of the two major immigrant groups in Poland - Ukrainians and Russians - is different. While most Ukrainians in Poland have work visas, the Russians' purposes of stay are much more diverse (family reunification, labour, humanitarian etc.). The report analyses data from 2010-2012, but numbers have changed significantly after the burst of the conflict between Ukraine and Russia. Thus by the end of October 2014 more than 1,800 asylum claims by Ukrainian citizens had been filed, and more than 707,000 visas had been issued, as compared to 46 asylum claims and 720,000 visas issued in 2013.
The research included a survey component in which 24 Polish organisations working with migrants took part. We selected below some of the conclusions from the survey data processing:
• The Ukrainian and Polish migrant organisations focus on providing information on the institutional and legal framework in Poland, as well as on the labour market conditions;
• The organisations believe that their impact upon migrants’ positions and skills on the Polish labour market is very limited;
• The representatives of organisations working with Ukrainian immigrants believe that associations in Ukraine are much more important when searching for a job on the Polish labour market than the governmental pre-departure programmes or other initiatives. In the case or organisations working with Russian immigrants, the belief in the importance of both origin country organisations and the Russian government is low.
• According to migrant organisations' representatives, the Russian and Ukrainian governments do not offer any facilities for programmes in the destination country, such as schools, cultural centres, religious establishments, organisations etc.
• Immigrants' civic and political participation in Poland is low. Migrants’ participation in the political and public life of their country of origin does not influence social relations, school performance, religious practices or the integration of migrants in their country of residence.
The general conclusion of the report is that non-governmental organizations working with migrants have an insignificant role in Ukrainian and Russian migrants’ integration in Poland. Most services provided by these organisations are focused on the labour market and less on other areas, such as education or social integration.
The full report can be consulted at the link below.
Source:
http://cadmus.eui.eu/bitstream/handle/1814/34601/Interact_KF_2015_02.pdf?sequence=1
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