The National Bank of Ukraine has pointed out a risk of increasing migration processes in coming years, including labor migration from Ukraine, according to an inflation report for January published on the institution’s official website, Interfax-Ukraine reports.
“Migration processes may intensify in the coming years, in particular, to Poland. The additional risk of increasing labor migration from Ukraine is the increase in the number of students studying overseas,” the National Bank said.
At the same time, the National Bank said that in the recent years the flows of Ukrainian migrants to Poland have significantly increased due to a slowdown in Ukraine’s economic growth, simplified employment regulations, the provision of multiple advantages and opportunities to Ukrainians with a Polish Card, as well as the simplification of border crossing following the introduction of the visa-free regime with the European Union.
The National Bank also cited Eurostat data, which indicates that 87% of the residence permits that Ukrainians received in the European Union member states in 2016 were handed out by Polish authorities. Also, the Ministry of Family, Labor and Social Policy of Poland, 95% of all work permits issued by the country in the first six months of 2017, were handed out to citizens of Ukraine.
In addition to Poland, Ukrainians frequently get employed in Russia, Italy and the Czech Republic. At the same time, emigration of Ukrainian citizens has declined, including due to the complication of interstate relations.
Among the domestic factors contributing to the increase in labor migration is the military aggression, the macroeconomic crisis, the deteriorated conditions of households and a high level of unemployment among the young.
