The perception of Polish economic immigrants in Great Britain

Abstract

Great Britain is perceived as a traditional immigrant country. In relation to Poland, the process of immigration to the British Isles – especially for economic purposes – intensified after 2004, with the accession to the European Union. The perception of immigrants in the UK began to change in the first months after the referendum on Brexit, when there was an increase in hate crimes, mainly xenophobic crimes. The article presents the subject of Polish economic immigrants in the United Kingdom. Based on their own research conducted among Poles living in Leicester, the authors describe the perception of this group, taking into account positive and negative features of Poles, stereotypes associated therewith or the problem of discrimination (including language discrimination).