Germany most popular destination for Poles seeking work

The UK was cited by 23 percent of those who are, or have been, working abroad, and the Netherlands by 20 percent.

The Netherlands has gained in popularity among Polish workers in recent years, up from eight percent in 2007.

Meanwhile Belgium and Ireland were both at six percent, while the US, Italy and the Czech Republic were each at five percent.

“Taking into account the frequency of trips abroad we can conclude that for Poles the UK is (or rather was until the Brexit referendum) primarily a country to which they travel in order to find a job and settle for a longer period of time,” CBOS wrote in a statement.

“People who came back from the UK [to Poland], whether due to a lack of success in the UK or other reasons, rarely go there a second time.”

The pollster contrasted this with the Netherlands and Germany, to which Poles tend to travel to multiple times, and Poles who have returned from work in one of these countries are relatively likely to go there again.

Exactly one in five adult Poles permanently living in the country has worked abroad at least once in the past, the majority having done so after Poland gained EU membership in 2004.

Differences in wages remain the most important motivation for seeking work abroad, with 62 percent of those planning to, or willing to, go abroad for work declaring this as their main reason. (sl/rg)

Source: PAP