The latest research conducted by employment agency Gremi Personal shows that the number of Ukrainians planning to stay in Poland has halved compared to last year. The research shows that 43 % of the surveyed Ukrainian citizens staying in Poland find it difficult to decide whether to return to the country.

The survey covered 1150 Ukrainians residing in Poland. Compared to the previous survey, the number of people planning to stay in Poland dropped from 38 % to 19 %. At the same time, the number of people planning to return to Ukraine increased from 55 % to 58 %.

“This is a huge number, considering the number of Ukrainians living in Poland, who constitute the largest group of foreigners”, says Gremi Personal’s CEO Evgeni Kirichenko. At the end of January 2024, the Social Insurance Institution (ZUS) recorded almost 756,000 Ukrainian citizens registered for insurance.

According to Kirichenko, the return of many people is good news for Ukraine. However, the question remains how the Polish government intends to motivate 43 % of the respondents to stay in Poland.

The survey also revealed that 36 % of respondents came to Poland less than a year ago, and 25 % have been in Poland for 2 years. When asked about their motivation for coming, 30 % answered that they were attracted by the higher level of salaries and 27 % did not feel safe in Ukraine.

Yuriy Grygorenko, chief analyst at Gremi Personal Analytical Centre, notes that 25 % of Ukrainians who came to Poland about two years ago were refugees who left the country just after the full-scale war broke out. Grygorenko points out the difference between refugees and economic migrants, stressing that the two groups have different priorities and plans for the future.

“The government’s ‘Migration Bible’ is currently being awaited in Poland, which will consider these differences and adapt migration policy to the changing situation”, said Grygorenko.

Arkadiusz Słomczyński