Citizens of migrant-receiving countries often ‘other’ migrants; consider that non-migration is the norm; and can be susceptible to manipulation by politicians hoping to drive wedges and destroy empathy between migrants and established residents. My paper considers the case of Poland, which is undergoing a migration transition. It has recently become a receiving country on a mass scale, with perhaps two million Ukrainians present in the country at any one time, as well as an increased number of nationals of other countries. Their labour is of central importance within the Polish economy. At the same time, many Polish people continue to be internationally mobile and their views about migration are shaped by personal experience. Poland’s dual identity as a receiving and sending country raises questions about how both Poles and foreign migrants in Poland are experiencing Poland’s migration transition. Widespread hostility to the prospect of accepting refugees from Muslim countries is well-documented, but attitudes towards labour and educational migrants actually present in the country are very mixed. My paper is based on research conducted with foreigners and return migrants in three medium-sized cities: 48 interviews in Płock (2019) and, I hope, around 100 interviews in Kalisz and Piła (2021-2).
