Polish immigrants sending less money home

Photo: glowimages

According to data released by the National Bank of Poland (NBP), Polish immigrants sent a little over 17.1 billion zloty (4 billion euro) back to their homeland in 2013, 300 million zloty (71.8 million euro) less than in 2012.

Compared to the peak in transfers in 2007, the level has fallen by as much as 3 billion zloty (718.4 million euro).

Last year's decrease came in spite of the development that about half a million Poles emigrated in 2013 alone, bringing the overall number of Poles abroad to 2.6 million people, according estimates by Professor Krystyna Iglicka from Warsaw's Lazarski University.

“Even if they sent some sort of sum, it was a small one,” Iglicka said of the new immigrants, stressing that the new arrivals “need to spend a lot of money on getting themselves set up in their new environment.”

However, Iglicka argues that a crucial factor in the overall decline is that many Poles in countries such as the UK are no longer thinking of returning to Poland in the near future.

On the contrary, although one member of a family often began working abroad following Poland's accession to the EU in 2004, remaining family members are now immigrating too so that the entire family can live together abroad.

In this regard, spending is focused on the adopted country, with families looking to take out mortgages and invest in the future.

Since 2004, Poles have transferred 166.8 billion zloty (39.9 billion euro) back to Poland. Currently, 2.2 million people are unemployed in Poland, a figure that could have doubled had it not been for the immigration. (nh)

Source: Dziennik Gazeta Prawna