A Study of Local Incorporation of Migrant Professionals in Wroclaw

The aim of this article is to explore the patterns of local incorporation of migrant professionals in an urban context. It focuses on Wroc?aw, a Polish city that is not a traditional migration destination. Drawing on qualitative research, the article analyses migrant trajectories of local incorporation in the context of their reasons for relocation, experiences and perspectives. The article shows the irrelevance of ethnic networks for local incorporation. It demonstrates the role played by the workplace and the Internet, which allows forming sociabilities based on commonalities and shared interests, irrespective of cultural differences. It also shows the inconsistency of the city's policies and calls for policy revision. The article concludes that Wroclaw's policy seems not to correspond with the specificity of professional migration. It is argued that the city's policy is based on sedimentary and assimilationist logic that does not take into account migrants’ reasons for relocation and perspectives.