Between the Assumed Ends and the Required Means: How Did Brexit Impact on the Life Strategies of Poles in the UK?
Between the Assumed Ends and the Required Means: How Did Brexit Impact on the Life Strategies of Poles in the UK?

Summary/Abstract: The life strategies of Polish post-accession migrants built after 2004 were based on the specific conditionsthen prevailing in Poland and the UK. However, conditions have changed over the years and recent events– particularly Brexit and the Covid-19 pandemic – rapidly revalued migrants’ accumulated resources andchanged the context of their migration. They have introduced uncertainty about the adopted life strategies,mobilised to once again rethink the future and to make decisions that had often been postponed for manyyears. The 2018–2021 demographic statistics clearly show an exodus of Poles from the UK from over 1 millionin 2017 to fewer than 700,000 by the end of 2021. Despite the correlation of dates, this is not necessarily a resultof Brexit or of the pandemic. This article seeks to answer the question of how Brexit impacted on the lifestrategies of Poles and how could it be a catalyst in their decisions to return to the home country. It is basedon qualitative research comprising 30 interviews with Polish migrants in the UK, conducted online in2020–2021 – thus just after Brexit – and during the coronavirus pandemic.

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