This book has discussed migration from Poland since EU accession in 2004, with a special focus on migration by working-class families to England. It has explored the causes of migration, looking at why some people migrate but others do not. It has also investigated more specifically why parents choose to migrate with their children. The second part of the book has considered factors shaping migrants’ decisions about how long to stay abroad, whether Polish families were likely to remain in the UK for an extended period and what they understood by ‘return’. In addition, the book has contributed to discussions on various aspects of migration theory, particularly theories about why individuals and families migrate, networks, migration culture, integration and transnationalism. Along the way, the book has illustrated aspects of life in contemporary Poland, particularly life in small towns and villages. Society in Poland, as in other post-communist countries, is changing rapidly, partly in response to migration, and this book has attempted to chart some of those changes. This concluding chapter summarises the book's empirical findings before presenting its main theoretical contributions, using two case studies to illustrate why it is useful to apply a livelihood strategy approach to migration.

Research findings

The opening of the UK labour market to citizens of new EU member states was a necessary precondition for mass migration to the UK by Polish families, as by Poles in general. However, the new immigration regulations do not explain why some people chose to leave Poland while others remained behind. Nor do they explain why some locations in Poland have much higher rates of migration than others. The causes of mass migration lie largely in the economic situations of specific geographical areas and social groups. In early 2004, about one fifth of the Polish workforce was unemployed, with some locations having unemployment rates much higher than 20%. By 2007-08, unemployment was less significant for Poland as a whole, but still a common experience among some groups of people, particularly women over the age of 40, and in certain locations, such as Grajewo.