Head of the State Migration Service: Labor migration has always existed, exists now, and will continue to exist—there is no reason to panic
There is no reason to panic about migration trends in Ukraine, said Natalia Naumenko, head of the State Migration Service, in an interview with Glavkom on May 22. According to her, labor migration existed before the full-scale war, continues now, and will remain after it ends. She also cited statistics showing that in the first four months of 2026, 1,733 temporary residence permits were issued to foreigners, which corresponds to the average level of the previous year.
Currently, the scale of labor migration has not even come close to pre-war levels. While over 21,000 work permits for foreigners were issued in Ukraine in 2021, only 9,574 were issued in 2025.
“In pre-war 2021, 21,786 people had work permits in Ukraine; by 2023, this figure had decreased nearly fivefold—to 4,529 people. And only starting in 2024 do we see a gradual recovery of this trend: 6,127 permits were issued in 2024, and 9,574 in 2025, though this still amounts to only 43.9% of the pre-war level,” she said.
Naumenko clarified that obtaining a permit does not yet mean that a person has actually arrived in Ukraine. A foreigner must go through several stages: obtain a work permit, apply for a visa, and obtain a temporary residence permit.
The head of the State Migration Service also noted that in the first four months of 2026, 1,733 temporary residence permits for foreigners were issued in Ukraine. This corresponds to the monthly average for 2025 and amounts to only 38.6% of the pre-war level.
“To understand the real picture: while employment centers issued 9,574 work permits for foreign nationals in 2025, only 4,975 people received temporary residence permits based on those permits. In other words, only about half of those for whom permits were issued actually arrived in Ukraine and were legalized. The rest are either permits issued ‘in reserve’ or those that were not utilized due to visa denials. In the first four months of 2026, the State Migration Service issued 1,733 temporary residence permits, which corresponds to the monthly average for 2025. “The current volume of permits issued is 38.6% of the pre-war level (in 2021, 12,883 such permits were issued),” the official said.
Separately, Naumenko emphasized that foreigners undergo strict screening even at the visa application stage. Consulates and the Security Service of Ukraine are involved in these checks. According to her, fears of a mass influx of migrants into Ukraine do not correspond to the actual situation.
It should be noted that asylum seekers whom the United Kingdom forcibly deported to France under a bilateral agreement are re-entering British territory via trucks.
Iranian citizens fleeing the regime due to U.S. strikes have arrived at the Calais Jungle camp in France with the intention of crossing the English Channel and staying in the UK. They warn that many more people are preparing to flee due to the escalation of the conflict.
Ukrainian immigrants in Poland work harder than Poles themselves and are playing an increasingly important role in the country’s economy. Nearly half of them are considering staying in Poland permanently, and the key factor in this decision is not income level, but a sense of belonging to society.
