Polska polityka migracyjna wobec cudzoziemców, 1918–2012

Abstract

The paper examines how policy towards foreign immigrants evolved under the three different incarnations of the Polish state in the twentieth century. The author shows that the Second Polish Republic pursued a policy of limiting immigration mostly to protect its labour market, which already suffered from high unemployment. A similarly closed policy under communism was informed by political and security measures. Poland opened up towards for- eigners after 1989, with a strong role played by the process of Europeanization. Apart from the EU-informed immigration and refugee policy, Polish authorities also took a more liberal stance in relation to seasonal labour from its Eastern neighbours.