Compared to 2019, the number of visas issued by Poland to Ukrainian citizens decreased by 43.1% (899,605 visas in 2019). This decline was caused by the COVID-19 pandemic, during which Polish consulates in Ukraine were closed for nearly two and a half months—from mid-March to the end of May.

Upon resuming operations, consulates prioritized the issuance of work visas to individuals who had submitted applications for documentation related to future employment in Poland’s agricultural sector. Additionally, in 2020, Polish consulates denied visas to 15,765 Ukrainian citizens, which accounted for 2.9% of the total number of submitted visa applications.

According to the data from the Central Statistical Office of Poland, at the end of 2019, there were over 1.3 million Ukrainians in Poland. At the beginning of the lockdown, in the second half of March, more than 150,000 Ukrainian labor migrants left Poland. However, during the summer, Ukrainians began to return in large numbers to work in Poland.

The Polish authorities allowed labor migrants from outside the EU, including Ukrainian citizens who were legally residing in the country at the time of the lockdown, to remain in Poland after their visas expired for the duration of the pandemic and for 30 days following its conclusion. This provision is still in effect today.