status in Poland; out of those, the largest group were Chechens, who started applying for it at the start of the 21st century, following the Chechen Civil War. It is estimated there may be about 20,000 Chechens in Poland as of mid-2010s. The second largest group were the Ukrainians, who started applying for that status following the Ukrainian-Russian conflict; approximately 1 thousand to 2 thousand or more Ukrainians have been applying for the stay in Poland since the onset of that conflict. Third largest group from that region applying for stay in Poland are people from Georgia. Since the start of the Syrian Civil War, between a hundred and three hundred Syrians have been applying for refugee status in Poland each year. Attitude towards refugees Over the past few decades, many Poles emigrated abroad seeking better jobs. This has been cited as one of the reasons Poles in 2000s have held some of the most pro-immigration, pro-refugee and pro-asylum-seekers views in Europe. This attitude started to change around 2015, following the onset of the European migrant crisis. Polish governments have not been supportive of the EU plans to distribute refugees throughout Europe, including Poland. Attitudes towards refugees have worsened. A nationwide poll from December 2016 showed that 52% do not wish for any refugees to arrive in Poland, 40% approve only of temporary resettlement, and only 4% approve of permanent resettlement. More Polish people were favorable of refugees from Ukraine than from Middle East. Opinion polls conducted between February 28 and March 10, 2022, during a period of significant influx of refugees immediately after the start of the 2022 Russian invasion of Ukraine, showed that the Polish society overwhelmingly supported helping Ukrainian refugees who were fleeing from war. Later polls taken at the turn of March and April also confirmed this sentiment. See also References Further reading Integracja uchodźców w Polsce w liczbach, Polskie Forum Migracyjne, 2007 External links Office for Foreigners, Polish governmental agency dealing with foreigners in Poland Refugee.pl, English-language portal for refugees in Poland Immigration to Poland Society of Poland European migrant crisis