Poland is one of the European Union countries that has become a popular destination for foreigners seeking new job opportunities, among others, with the country issuing thousands of national visas last in 2022 and in the first half of this year.
Data show that Poland issued the highest number of work visas to citizens of Ukraine, Belarus, and Türkiye last year and in the first six months of this year.
According to a list provided by Konkret24, Poland issued a total of 138,789 work visas to Ukrainians, 120,914 national visas to Belarusians, and 10,946 national visas to Turks in 2022.
The top 15 list further includes India, with 9,786 work visas granted in 2022, Georgia (8,413), Moldova (7,222), Uzbekistan (5,326), the Philippines (5,284), Nepal (3,325), Russia (3,206), Indonesia (2,716), Kazakhstan (2,662), Azerbaijan (2,309), Turkmenistan (2,277), and Armenia (1,997).
During last year, data show that Poland issued regular visas to nationals of the countries mentioned above too, however, they were lower in number.
In addition to the above-mentioned, Konkret24 also shared a table of work visas issued in the first six months of 2023.
Similar to last year, in the first half of this year, Poland issued the highest number of work visas to citizens of Ukraine, Belarus, and Türkiye too, with citizens of these countries receiving 62,994, 62,236, and 5,429 national visas, respectively.
The list further includes India (3,398), Nepal (3,345), the Philippines (3,210), Georgia (2,320), Uzbekistan (2,147), Bangladesh (1,772), Moldova (1,751), Kazakhstan (1,632), Vietnam (1,507), Azerbaijan (1,236), Armenia (1,128), and Indonesia (1,093).
As Konkret24 explains, the topic of foreign nationals coming to work in Poland has particularly gained attention after the leader of the Law and Justice Party, Jarosław Kaczyński, announced plans regarding the relocation of migrants.
Earlier in June, Kaczyński announced a referendum on the matter. Nonetheless, the Polish parliament voted against the EU relocation mechanism.
Fast forward to July, some discussed visa outsourcing and criticised the regulation proposal of the Minister of Foreign Affairs about the countries from which foreigners are permitted to apply for visas.
Later on, it was explained that there were more work visa applications, and the purpose of the regulation was to speed up the decisions as Poland is in need of workers in certain sectors.
