Despite widespread claims on social media about an alleged massive influx of labor migrants from Asian and African countries, the real figures indicate the opposite: the number of foreigners coming to work in Ukraine is currently significantly lower than it was before Russia’s full-scale invasion.
This was stated in a comment to Ukrinform by Andrii Haidutskyi, Doctor of Economics and an expert on migration policy and the development of financial and banking programs for migrants and diasporas.
According to him, before 2022 Ukraine attracted an average of 20,000–25,000 new immigrants annually through work visas. Overall, the expert noted, before the war Ukraine received between 60,000 and 80,000 foreigners each year, including those arriving for education or to start families with Ukrainian citizens.
“With the start of the war, this number dropped sharply: only 8,000 foreigners obtained work permits, while the total number of new arrivals fell to 17,000–18,000 per year,” the expert said.
He stressed that information about “mass migration” to Ukraine does not correspond to reality. According to statistics from the State Employment Service, Ukraine issued 21,800 work permits in 2021, while in 2025 only 9,500 foreigners received labor visas.
