The UK, Ireland, Sweden and Malta allowed Poles to work freely without any limitations from the start.

[7][8] The percentage of young people attending university has also increased dramatically since 1989 resulting in a 'brain overflow' by the time Poland joined the European Union in 2004.

[10] It has remained relatively stable at that level for a short period, following the uncertainty of Global Recession of 2007–08,[12] By December 2015, 12% of Polish labor population left for UK to work there.

Wages for many of these jobs were higher in countries like the United Kingdom, Republic of Ireland, France, Germany, and the Netherlands.

Young Poles then had the opportunity to seek out higher wages while simultaneously traveling for the sake of adventure and exploration.

[2] According to a survey conducted in 2011, 33% of those questioned pointed to higher wages as motivation for emigration and 31% to unemployment, with 3% stating professional development and 16% declaring family reasons.

[24] The migration has also been associated with lowering of unemployment in Poland and remittances of approximately 41 billion euros in the Polish economy.

Since the EU accession, large numbers of Polish citizens have lived in another European country at one time.

[26] During their stay abroad, they are for example confronted with different gender roles in a majority of cases, which can lead to a reflection on their own, possibly more traditional, values.

[27] Women are also said to feel more empowered when they emigrate alone, are financially independent abroad, and can make their own decisions about their lives.

These Poles were optimistic that those who emigrated to countries such as Ireland would gain entrepreneurial skills that could help Poland when and if they decided to return.

[31] In Poland, conservative voices are fuelling the debate about the extent to which the emigration of one or possibly both parents has a psychological impact on the children left behind, the so-called Euro-Orphans.

[37] Reasons cited for this phenomenon include improved economic conditions in Poland, a perceived equal/higher standard of living at a more affordable cost, desire to be closer to family, sense of xenophobia in host countries, uncertainty surrounding the COVID-19 pandemic, and individual political events such as Brexit.