The Evolution of the Approach to the Integration of Immigrants in Poland

Abstract

The aim of the paper is to present issues related to the approach to the integration of immigrants in Poland in the last three decades. The article is seeking an answer to the question of how the approach to immigrant integration has evolved? Does the evolving approach reflect the rising tide of change taking place in Europe? First, the article discusses the issues of migration to Poland. It is essential to consider cultural conditions related to the national identity and migration history of a given country in an attempt to explain the evolution of the integration policy. The subsequent parts analyze the Polish integration policy until 2015 and the integration policy after 2015. The results of the research show that in Poland, the approach to the integration of immigrants has evolved in a short time: from the “strategy of abandonment” to “integration” understood as a two-way process of adaptation to the concept of assimilation.