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Colombians get priority over Belarusians and Ukrainians? ZhS Premium told the truth about Poland — but left out key details
The Telegram channel manipulated statistics on work permits issued to foreign nationals.
Using official data, the authors of the ZhS Premium channel tried to convince readers that Poland is more interested in hiring workers from distant countries than from Belarus or Ukraine. But they didn’t tell the whole truth.
The authors of ZhS Premium reported that, according to preliminary data from the Ministry of Family, Labor and Social Policy, Poland issued 103,200 work permits to foreign nationals in the first four months of 2025. Based on the recipients’ nationalities, they concluded: "While pretending to fight migration, Poland is in fact continuing a policy of attracting migrants."
"Think most of them are Ukrainians or Belarusians? Not even close. Turns out Colombians topped the list with 15,400 permits. They were followed by citizens of the Philippines, India, Nepal, and Uzbekistan. And by the way — Ukrainians got just 1,200," the channel wrote on July 11, 2025.
The number and national breakdown of work permit recipients in the ZhS Premium post matches reports from Polish media. But the authors of the Belarusian Telegram channel left out several key details.
First, in January and February 2025, Poland issued 12.5% fewer work permits to foreign nationals compared to the same period the year before. Experts cite stricter requirements for obtaining work permits and visas as one of the reasons for the decline.
Second, Belarusians, Ukrainians, and citizens of Armenia, Georgia, and Moldova are allowed to work in Poland witho The only exceptions are those coming on a work visa or for seasonal employment.
In 2024, more than a million foreign nationals were working in Poland. Ukrainians made up over 67% of that number, with Belarusians coming in second.
