Polish Professionals Leaving Germany: Bureaucracy and Costs Drive Return

Polish professionals working in Germany are moving back to Poland because of bureaucratic hurdles, lack of digitalization, high tax burdens, and rising living costs. For German companies that relied on this workforce, the exodus results in hard-to-fill vacancies.

The decision for a Polish professional to stay in Germany or return home is no longer determined solely by wage differences. Bureaucracy, digital infrastructure, and taxation increasingly weigh in the balance, creating a return flow that German businesses are beginning to feel as unfilled positions.

## A student who no longer plans to stay

Philip Panek chose the European University Viadrina in Frankfurt an der Oder, on the German-Polish border, with a clear idea: to stay in Germany and build his career there. That was the plan when he started studying.

Today, he intends to do his internship in Poland. Not only are his family and friends there, but he also sees new economic prospects. His case summarizes a shift in expectations: Germany is no longer the natural destination for education and settlement.

## The company losing truck drivers

Michael Sünkler runs a transport company employing many Polish workers. In recent years, several have resigned. For him, the return of skilled labor to Poland is not an abstract political debate, but a very concrete economic problem.

Tomasz, one of his employees, has worked as a truck driver in Berlin for over ten years. Rising living costs are squeezing him: rents and food prices have increased significantly. As soon as his daughter finishes school, he plans to move back to Poland with his family.

## From Berlin to Szczecin in six months

Kamila Gierko and her husband Zbyszek Perzyna have already taken the step. Six months ago, they moved from Berlin to Szczecin. For a long time, Germany offered them excellent conditions for self-employment.

Bureaucracy, lack of digitalization, and high tax burdens became an increasing obstacle. In Poland, they found a different reality: administrative procedures are digital and taxes are lower. For them, Germany has lost its dynamism.

## What statistics reveal

More Poles are leaving Germany while fewer settle there. Behind this trend are individual decisions that German companies count as unfilled jobs.

The **DW** documentary trinc a law student who wants to combine career and family life in Poland, an entrepreneur struggling to retain each Polish employee, a truck driver reassessing the cost-benefit ratio of his life in Germany, and a couple who has already made the big move. These are specific cases of an economic phenomenon with measurable consequences for the German labor market.