09-06-2010
In Poland a group of citizens of Ukraine initiated a collection of signatures among illegal migrants for legalization of their status in the country. Collected signatures will be handed to Polish authority in September-October.
29-year-old Ukrainian woman marked that according to the experts’ evaluations about 500 thousand foreigners work in Poland, 80% of them are citizens of Ukraine. She called the problem of legalization to be extremely important for the foreigners who stayed in Poland illegally expressing hope that polish authority would meet their interests. According to her words, these signatures will also be handed to the President of Poland, head of the state and heads of both chambers of Polish Parliament. She reported that Ukrainians enlisted NGOs and polish politicians’ support that declared intentions to help in obtaining the efficient legalization.
In particular, the initiators of the action try to obtain an opportunity for everybody coming to Poland until the year 2009 to be legalized, but not those arriving in 2004 as some authorities suggest. The signatures are collected not only by Ukrainians but also by citizens of other states.
According to data of Polish Administration on Foreigners’ Affairs, Ukrainians comprise the most numerous group among the citizens of other states having permission for legal stay in Poland. About 26.5 thousand Ukrainians out of 92.5 thousand of all foreigners have such permissions. The second place is set by Russians (about 13 000), then Byelorussians and Vietnamese citizens – about 8 000 each.
As to experts’ estimates, from 4 to 6 million citizens of Ukraine work abroad, the majority of them are in the states of European Union and more often they stay there illegally.
As it was reported, on July 27 Border Service of Poland detained 30 citizens of Ukraine who worked without registration of corresponding permissions on employment. In the first half-year of 2010 Polish border guards obliged 1.7 thousand citizens of Ukraine to leave the territory of Poland and forbid them to enter the country.