Listening

'When someone uses the welfare state, the State gains a citizen.'

7 March 2016

'The Government is conflating welfare deservingness, through taxes, with motivations to migrate', says Dorata when we meet in London over coffee on 2 March. 'Polish workers do not come to the UK for benefits. We know, from plenty of research, that they come looking for better opportunities in the labour market as a way to...

'The reason to come here [to the UK] wasn't benefits because in Spain I could have more benefits if I wanted.'

1 March 2016

I phoned my Mum and said "I have two jobs, but no house". In Spain it's the opposite. You have a lot of house but no job.

1 March 2016

Everyone says the easy [way to get benefits] is to have a baby. But I know a family with a baby and I asked her 'Why are you not taking benefits?' And she said 'I came to England to work. I didn't come to take the benefits from the Government.

Applying for British citizenship to reinforce place in the UK and voicelessness of 'blended' migrants

24 February 2016

'I stay away from politics. I don't think about it because it could make me get stressed, I could worry unnecessarily about the future. I think whichever way it goes, and if the UK comes out of the EU and there are repercussions for workers in the UK. I will find a way to be here anyway and do what I want to do.' Jakub has...

A fun adventure for self-development but returning to Poland for a better quality of life

19 February 2016

'I came to the UK to learn English, get some experience and try something new', said Maryla. Maryla comes from a small town near Warsaw. She came to the UK a couple of years ago with her husband and children. She has struggled to get her 'dream' job in the UK and works 'just to pay the bills'. 'It's been hard to get the...

'We respect others, so why not respect us?’

16 February 2016

‘I just feel like they treat foreigners differently now. [British institutions] have the public agreement, let’s say acceptance, to discriminate', says Roza. Roza is a Polish national and has lived in the UK with her two children since 2007, after her husband was head hunted to come and work for a British firm. There are...

Supply teachers forced to join umbrella companies

6 February 2016

Kosmy* arrived in London in the summer of last year. He had worked as a teacher in Poland and teaching in the UK was, for him, a stepping stone to his long term goal of teaching in New Zealand. He hoped that working in the UK would give him experience of working to a UK curriculum. For his first nine days in the UK, Kosmy...

Ambitious nurse from Poland seeks opportunity in the UK

6 February 2016

What made you come to the UK, I asked Kathie*? ‘In Poland if you come from a small town and you are lucky enough to get a job you stay in it for life. There’s not much opportunity to keep developing yourself. You have to wait until someone retires before a post comes up.’ Kathie qualified as a nurse in Poland and decided...

Interdisciplinary insights into the experiences of Polish nationals who migrate to the UK: meeting with Professor Anne White, UCL, 25 January 2016

28 January 2016

Anne is an expert in Polish migration and social change in Poland, based at UCL’s School of Slavonic and Eastern European Studies. She has designed and manages the Polish Migration website, an excellent resource for anyone interested in contemporary Polish migration ( http://www.ucl.ac.uk/ssees/research/polish-migration...

Connecting with the Cambridge Polish community: meeting Dr Stanley Bill, Cambridge University, 22 January 2016

28 January 2016

‘Why do Polish nationals come to work in the UK?’, we asked Stan. ‘Because it is close, fairly easy to get here from Poland, and fairly low risk for many people to give living and working in England a try. There are still opportunities for work where you don’t need to speak much English. Through these sorts of jobs people...

'When someone uses the welfare state, the State gains a citizen.'

'The reason to come here [to the UK] wasn't benefits because in Spain I could have more benefits if I wanted.'

I phoned my Mum and said "I have two jobs, but no house". In Spain it's the opposite. You have a lot of house but no job.

Applying for British citizenship to reinforce place in the UK and voicelessness of 'blended' migrants

A fun adventure for self-development but returning to Poland for a better quality of life

'We respect others, so why not respect us?’

Supply teachers forced to join umbrella companies

Ambitious nurse from Poland seeks opportunity in the UK

Interdisciplinary insights into the experiences of Polish nationals who migrate to the UK: meeting with Professor Anne White, UCL, 25 January 2016

Connecting with the Cambridge Polish community: meeting Dr Stanley Bill, Cambridge University, 22 January 2016

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