Ukrainians in Poland named the main factors of returning home

Future EU membership, family reunification, and opportunities for a decent standard of living are the main incentives for Ukrainians living and working in Poland to return home.

According to Yevropeiska Pravda, this is evidenced by the results of a survey conducted by the EWL Migration Platform, the EWL Foundation, and the Center for East European Studies at the University of Warsaw.

Thus, the expected membership of Ukraine in the EU is an important motive for 57% of respondents, and the expected membership in NATO - for 47% of respondents.

On a par with EU membership is the desire to be close to family members who remain in Ukraine: this factor was also mentioned by 57% of those who left for Poland because of the war. Among the entire sample, this factor was named important by 48%.

For 54%, an increase in salaries and better working conditions is an important factor, and among Ukrainians who went to Poland specifically for employment, 57% named it (among those who left to escape the war - 48%).

Due to poor knowledge of the Polish language, 25% of Ukrainians with temporary protection and 10% of pre-war migrants may leave Poland.

The study showed that despite the fact that the majority of able-bodied Ukrainians who found themselves in Poland because of the war have found work (78%), almost 2/3 of them plan to return to Ukraine in the near future (62%). Of these, one in four (24%) expressed their intention to return to Ukraine without waiting for the end of the hot phase of the war.

Author - Olena Madiak, 20/06/2023