Poland employed around 1.1 million migrant workers as of August 31, 2025, highlighting the growing importance of foreign labour to the country’s economy, according to an experimental study by Statistics Poland cited in a recent European Commission overview.
The report, published by the European Commission’s Directorate-General for Migration and Home Affairs, examined Poland’s latest migration integration policies and found that migrant workers accounted for 6.7 percent of the country’s workforce, representing a 5.6 percent increase over the previous two years.
The findings come as Poland continues to face labour shortages across key sectors while balancing political debates over immigration and integration.
Ukrainian nationals remain the largest group of foreign workers in Poland, accounting for 67 percent of all migrant employees. The workforce also includes migrants from Belarus, Georgia, India, Colombia and the Philippines.
Men make up the majority of migrant workers, representing nearly 60 percent of those employed. The study also found that about 38.5 percent of migrant workers were employed under civil-law mandate contracts rather than standard employment contracts, offering greater flexibility but fewer employment protections such as paid leave, sick pay and guaranteed notice periods.
Although the number of migrant workers rose compared with the previous year, employment dipped slightly between July and August 2025, a trend that researchers say may reflect seasonal work, particularly in agriculture.
The European Commission said the figures demonstrate the increasingly important role migrant workers play in supporting Poland’s economy as demographic pressures and labour shortages continue to grow.
Previous research by the International Organization for Migration (IOM) has shown that while most migrant workers in Poland come from neighbouring countries such as Ukraine and Belarus, increasing numbers are also arriving from Asian countries including India, Nepal, Bangladesh, Vietnam and China.
Indian migrants have become particularly prominent in sectors such as information technology, manufacturing, construction, retail, hospitality and education. Poland has also become an attractive destination for Indian students due to the availability of English-language university programmes and flexible rules allowing part-time employment.
Many migrants, however, view Poland as a stepping stone to higher-paying jobs elsewhere in Western Europe, particularly Germany, the Netherlands and the United Kingdom, reducing long-term settlement and integration.
The IOM has identified persistent labour shortages in construction, healthcare, manufacturing, transport and social care, with employers increasingly relying on migrant workers to fill vacancies left by Polish workers who have moved to other European countries.
To improve labour migration management, Poland introduced new legislation aimed at simplifying work permit procedures while strengthening oversight of foreign employment. The reforms introduced fully electronic processing of work permits, increased penalties for illegal employment practices and measures designed to protect migrant workers from exploitation.
The government says the reforms are intended to reduce fraudulent work permits, improve administrative efficiency and encourage more stable employment relationships that benefit both workers and the country’s tax and social security systems.
Poland has also strengthened international cooperation on labour mobility. In 2024, India and Poland signed a bilateral social security agreement allowing workers to transfer pension and social security benefits between the two countries. The agreement complements a broader strategic partnership covering trade, investment and labour mobility through 2028.
The Indian community in Poland is estimated at around 30,000 people, including IT professionals, business owners and students, with approximately 5,000 Indian students currently enrolled in Polish universities.
Meanwhile, authorities and researchers continue to warn that some foreign workers remain vulnerable to exploitation, particularly those recruited through unregulated agencies. Reports involving Filipino workers have documented cases of confiscated passports, poor working conditions and misleading recruitment practices that left some migrants without proper documentation.
Despite these challenges, the European Commission said migrant labour continues to play an increasingly significant role in Poland’s economic development, particularly as employers seek workers to address persistent shortages across multiple industries.