The latest data from Eurostat (European Statistical Office) concerns residence permits issued in the European Union in 2016. During this time, Poland was among the top countries issuing the absolute number of residence permits to foreigners, surpassed only by the United Kingdom. However, in terms of the number of documents issued to foreigners from outside the EU for work purposes, Poland topped the list.

According to Eurostat, in 2016, such documents in Poland were most often issued to Ukrainian citizens, who constituted the overwhelming majority. Ukrainians received a staggering 87.5% of all work permits issued (a total of 513,000 people). Citizens of Belarus came in second (4.8%), and citizens of Moldova came third (1.3%).