Settlement Intentions of Ukrainian Pre-War and Forced Migrants in Poland: Challenges for Migrant Integration Policy at the Local Level

The paper examines the relationship between the settlement intentions of Ukrainian immigrants and structural integration measures implemented at the local level in Poland. For this purpose, the example of Lodz, a large city in central Poland where large immigration has recently taken place, is analysed. The study was based on a survey of the settlement plans of two Ukrainian immigrant groups: those who moved to Lodz for work or educational purposes (pre-war migrants) and those who found refuge there after Russia’s attack on Ukraine in 2022 (forced migrants). It showed that many Ukrainians were undecided about settling in Lodz, although the pre-war migrants were more willing to stay there than the refugees. Even though both groups have followed different paths of integration into Polish society due to the dissimilar periods of arrival, legal statuses and resources resulting from the distinct polices addressed to labour migrants and refugees, two hypotheses were formulated to verify the assumption that receiving public support and being employed positively impacted their settlement intentions. The analysis demonstrated a statistical correlation only between settlement plans and public support received by the pre-war migrants. Since they received less assistance than the refugees, their expectations in this regard were higher. In turn, the relationship between having a job and further settlement was statistically significant only for the refugees. The majority of pre-war migrants had a job and this factor did not determine their willingness to remain in Lodz so much. The research findings emphasised the importance of tailoring local policies to the needs of different immigrant groups, mainly in job placement, professional retraining, learning Polish or providing housing.