Research: How Belarusians Live and Earn in Poland
Well-educated, employed, Polish-speaking — the National Bank of Poland presented a study on the lives of migrants from Belarus in 2025.
Warsaw. Photo: lookby.media
The report "Life and Economic Situation of Migrants from Belarus in Poland" is based on data from a survey conducted by the National Bank of Poland from April 7 to June 20, 2025. 750 questionnaires were received from Belarusians over 18 years old. The study covers seven voivodeships of Poland, in which about 85% of the Belarusian community lives. What conclusions do the authors come to, writes DW.
More than half of the respondents fled from repression in Belarus
Belarusians are the second largest group of migrants in Poland after Ukrainian citizens. According to the Office for Foreigners (UdSC) of Poland, as of September 30, 2025, almost 146 thousand citizens of Belarus had a residence permit in the country. For comparison, in 2020 there were only 16 thousand.
As the National Bank found out, 62% of Belarusian migrants have a temporary residence permit in the country. About a third, mainly people with Polish roots, have received a permanent residence permit. 7% are in Poland on the basis of additional protection status.
Most Belarusians (about 56%) emigrated due to the political situation in Belarus and the fear of repression. Economic reasons were cited by 32% of the respondents.
There are more men than women among Belarusian migrants - 58% and 42%, respectively.
Almost half of the respondents live in Poland with their husband or wife, a quarter with children under 18.
Has the situation of migrants from Belarus on the Polish labor market improved?
The authors of the study claim that in 2025 the situation of migrants from Belarus on the Polish labor market has improved: the unemployment rate has decreased (87% of respondents are employed, most have permanent jobs), and the share of self-employed has increased (14%).
About 62% of respondents have higher education.
There are more women with higher education than men - 67% and 59%, respectively, however, they perform simple jobs more often than men (30% of women versus 20% of men).
Thanks to good or fluent knowledge of the Polish language (as reported by more than 63% of the respondents), workers from Belarus can be found in the fields of education, culture, finance, marketing, and healthcare. 17% of respondents work in IT.
More than half of the respondents receive 3-6 thousand zlotys (709-1418 euros) per month. 14% - more than 10 thousand zlotys (about 2365 euros). As a rule, these are IT specialists and doctors.
Almost 67% of respondents plan to stay in Poland
Another block of the National Bank of Poland's study is devoted to how migrants from Belarus see their future.
Almost 67% of respondents plan to stay in Poland forever or for more than a year. Those who came for political reasons and due to fear of repression are more likely to talk about such plans.
The age of the respondents also affects their plans regarding their further stay in the country. This is most often said by people aged 45-59 and 18-26 (those who came to get an education). Among people over 60, there is the largest percentage of those wishing to stay in Poland for permanent residence or longer than one year.
The most requested forms of assistance for migrants from Belarus are: simplification of legalization of stay, free access to the healthcare system, organization of Polish language courses and facilitation of the nostrification procedure for diplomas.
Economist: "Migration from Belarus has a positive effect for Poland"
DW asked economist, senior researcher at the BEROC Research Center Anastasia Luzgina to comment on the results of the study. According to her, Poland, like Belarus, is experiencing demographic problems, low birth rates, and a shortage of labor. One of the solutions is to support the labor market through migrants.
"Usually, people who decide to move are active, more flexible, and can, if necessary, retrain or requalify," the expert points out.
Luzgina also notes that people of working age came from Belarus, for the most part (those who are 60 years and older, according to the study, are only 2%). They pay taxes, support the pension system, while they themselves will not need pension payments for a long time.
"Migration from Belarus has a very positive effect for Poland in the net result," Anastasia Luzgina believes.
"High-quality diaspora"
"The new diaspora, no matter how cynical it may sound, is high-quality, with a high level of human potential, with a high educational and professional level," notes sociologist Gennady Korshunov, in turn.
He highlights two waves of emigration from Belarus. If the emigration of 2020-2021 was exclusively "political," then in 2022 an economic component was added. "People left who were not directly threatened with danger, but those who strategically looked at the prospects of their stay in Belarus," Korshunov says.
According to him, the beginning of a full-scale war in Ukraine changed both the attitude towards Belarusians and their self-perception. The interlocutor also notes that in recent years in Poland, as in other European countries, a certain fatigue has accumulated, not so much from Belarusians, but from migrants in general.
"Poland is returning from a regime of maximum favor to a more rigid system of control and interaction with the migrant community," the sociologist believes.