In all, 504,000 foreigners were allowed to work in Poland in 2021, with 114,542 of them coming from a total of 40 Asian countries, Personnel Service said.
In 2019, workers from Asia obtained 69,000 work permits, followed by 64,000 in 2020.
Indian nationals led the way among Asian workers, with 15,300 permits obtained in Poland in 2021, an 87 percent rise compared with 2020, the company reported, citing data from Poland's Ministry of Family and Social Policy.
Uzbek nationals came second, with 15,000 permits, up from just 5,800 in 2020.
Meanwhile, Filipino workers received 13,200 permits, 80 percent more than in 2020, while job candidates from Nepal obtained 10,800 permits, a 90 percent rise on the previous year, Personnel Service reported.
Record figures
“These are record figures, not only in terms of permit numbers, but also in terms of year-on-year increases,” the company’s Krzysztof Inglot said in a comment.
“The 90-percent spikes recorded for people from Nepal and India are a source of enormous optimism because the Polish labour market needs foreigners who will keep up with its growth and fill staff shortages,” Inglot added.
The number of job candidates from Turkey, Indonesia and Bangladesh also rose sharply, with Laos and the United Arab Emirates joining the list of Asian countries whose nationals applied to work in Poland last year, according to Personnel Service.
Meanwhile, Ukrainians claimed the largest number of Polish work permits in 2021, at 325,000, up from 295,000 in 2020, Personnel Service reported.
(pm/gs)
Source: PAP