Reasons and directions of temporary migration of Poles

Territorial mobility is an important component of society development and European integration. Free movements of persons was introduced by the Single European Act. Its aim was compensation of the situation in the European labour market and level of earnings. As a result of integration with European communities, the citizens of member states acquired citizenship of the European Union  (which is complementary to the citizenship of the country of origin). The right of free movement caused development of a migration phenomenon in the European Union. A well educated, young labour force could be a factor of social and economic development for European Union`s members.

One of the interesting research problems worth considering is scale and conditions of post-accession migration. The enlargement of the European Union in 2004 caused a significant increase in the number of labour temporary migrants from Poland.

The main objective of this paper is to present the structure of and tendencies for long-term and temporary migration in Poland. There will be shown the scale, directions and conditions of Poles' migration.The most important in Poland is temporary migration. Since 2004 significant directions of migration have been United Kingdom, Germany and Ireland.

The analyses are based on data from the Central Statistical Office of Poland and National Census 2002-2011.

On the basis of the research it was estimated that at the end of 2006, ca 1 950 thousand Polish citizens chose to move abroad. In the previous year (2005) the number amounted to 1450 thousand, whereas in 2004 ca one million Poles opted for a seasonal migration abroad. Out of nearly 2 million emigrants in the year 2006, over one million  six hundred thousand found a new residence in Europe (in the year 2005 the number amounted to one million two hundred thousand). The prevailing majority of emigrants (1 550 thousand) resided in the area of the European Union. In the years 2004-2006 the number of Polish emigrants residing in the area of the EU doubled. The highest scale of temporary migration from Poland was noticed in 2008 (it was 2210 thousand). Since then, Poles participating in migration decreased until 2011.

Key words: post-accession migration, UE enlargement, determinants of migration from Poland