An increased number of foreigners want to live and work in Warsaw and its surroundings, according to a local government official.

“In 2009 we received 15,000 applications for work permits from foreigners, in 2010 the number increased to 20,000 and in the first three months of this year we already received 4,500 applications,” says Agnieszka Luszczynska from the Mazovia Regional Office.

Most of foreigners who want to take a job in Warsaw and the Mazovia region in general are Ukrainians, Chinese, Vietnamese, Belarusians and Nepalese. One third of work permits in 2010 were issued for qualified workers such as plasterers or turners and one fifth for seasonal workers.

“It’s a paradox. On one hand, unemployment in Poland is rising, on the other hand there aren’t enough people willing to work,” Jacek Calus from the Polish Confederation of Private Employers Lewiatan told the Gazeta Wyborcza daily.(mg)