ABSTRACT
The economic situation of Poland is not a factor conducive to immigration and its migration policy is relatively strict, mainly due to Polish preparations for EU accession and for entering the Schengen zone. The largest non-EU national groups of immigrants in Poland are related to movement from the country's eastern neighbours and from Asia: namely, Ukraine, Belarus, Vietnam and Armenia. Ukrainians represent the most significant nationality in terms of legal immigration and irregular foreign work in Poland. Poland's labour policy, which protects local labour forces, and its liberal visa policy for eastern neighbours were the principal factors which encouraged the circular type of mobility and temporariness of the migration process in the case of the eastern neighbours. Regularization programme requirements serve as a good example of the harsh features of Poland's immigration policy. The scale of regularization programs and their strict requirements made it clear that they were not good tools to legalize the mass of irregular immigrants.
