The influx of direct foreign investment and the willingness to employ foreign candidates by Polish companies are directly related to the arrival of foreign residents in Wrocław, including both professionals and their families. The local expat community, gathering top class professionals working in the city, is constantly on the rise, which is why you now increasingly likely to hear a number of different languages in Wrocław.
“Over the last few years, Wrocław has become increasingly attractive for investment. New foreign companies, which provide service to customers both in Poland and elsewhere in Europe and the world, tend to move in to Wrocław’s office buildings. The manufacturing sector in Lower Silesia is also thriving. New manufacturing sites are emerging in automotive and household appliances sectors. We are also witnessing a growing volume of reinvestment: the existing sites are being expanded or are launching additional production lines or often set up R&D sectors, which brings an added value to the local economy,” says Łukasz Czajkowski, Director at the Business Support Centre, Wrocław Metropolitan Area Development Agency.
How many foreign residents in Wrocław?
This remains an open question because the data change on a monthly basis. In 2014, over 4,000 foreign residents and 3,670 overseas students attending Wrocław universities were registered in Wrocław (data provided by the Central Statistical Office of Poland). The above numbers are much higher at the moment. In 2015, Wrocław’s District Employment Agency alone received 36 thousand applications from employers (99% of which concerned Ukrainian nationals) who sought to employ foreign professional using the simplified procedure (applicable to the citizens of 6 countries: Armenia, Belarus, Georgia, Moldova, Russia and Ukraine, who are legally eligible to work in Poland for 6 months over a period of 12 consecutive months without the necessity to obtain a work permit).
Wrocław attractive for expat communities
Lower Silesia was Poland’s third attractive region for foreign students and professional behind Mazovia and Lesser Poland. It is worth noting that the Global Cities of Future 2014/2015 ranking by fDi Intelligence (part of the Financial Times group) listed Wrocław in the sixth position in the emerging cities category and in the ninth position in the investment opportunities category. Last year’s ranking by Poland Sotheby’s International Realty listed Wroclaw as Poland’s third most attractive city for prospective residents. Wrocław also attracts freelancers who choose to stop in the city as they travel around the world. Read more about The Top 10 Cities for Digital Nomads, Wrocław being the only Polish city in the top 10.
Guide for foreign employees
The majority of foreign nationals in Wrocław come from Ukraine, South Korea, Russia, India and Belarus. Wrocław has also witnessed a growing influx of people from the South of Europe, Italy and Spain in particular. Since being a foreign resident in Wrocław, and a foreign professional in particular, requires that you go through certain formalities, separate features will be published every second Thursday to cover the following topics:
- the employer’s angle on relocating overseas personnel
- relocation from the family perspective
- the initial costs of relocating to Wrocław
- registering a company in Poland by foreign nationals (with legal advice)
- a mini expat guide on how to find your way around in Wrocław
The materials will be interspersed with comments from local entrepreneurs or officials representing the District Employment Agency and the Lower Silesia Province Office.
Source: City of Wrocław
Photo © Francesco Carovillano