PLN 6.8 billion annually. Foreign students are a powerful injection for the Polish economy

Foreigners studying in Poland are long-term investors for the Polish economy, says a report prepared at the University of Economics in Katowice. Its authors estimated that the revenues from the presence of foreign students amount to PLN 6.8 billion annually.

The report “Foreign students in Poland in the context of new regulations. Scale, trends and economic significance” was presented on Thursday in Krakow at the “Foreign students in Poland 2026” conference, organized jointly by the Conference of Rectors of Polish Academic Schools, the Jagiellonian University and the “Perspektywy” Educational Foundation.

“People from abroad studying in Poland are not only participants of the education system influencing the internationalization of Polish universities, but also long-term investors for the Polish economy,” we read in the report.

Its authors examined the impact that a more restrictive migration policy may have on the number of foreign students in Poland. Scientists from Katowice started by calculating that the current number of 108,000. foreigners at Polish universities “over PLN 5.3 billion in annual revenues on average” (not including tuition fees).

In turn, scientists estimated the annual revenue from tuition fees paid by foreign students (including medical fields) at PLN 1.52 billion.

“In total, this is over PLN 6.8 billion that foreign students 'invest' annually in Poland,” the authors of the study calculated.

“Foreign students are not a cost to the system – they are an economic catalyst,” the researchers emphasized. In their opinion, the presence of foreign students generates annual revenues of several hundred million PLN and several dozen million PLN in taxes in the largest academic centers, and in Warsaw – almost PLN 2 billion annually and almost PLN 200 million in taxes.

They also assessed the cost of student living and rental market datahow much Poland is losing due to the decreasing number of foreigners admitted to the first year of studies at Polish universities. Thus, an average foreign student who lives in Poland for at least 9-12 months a year spends approximately PLN 3,980-6,000 per month, or approximately PLN 35,800-75,000 per year.

The announcement stated that in the academic year 2024/2025, over 32.4 thousand students started their studies in Poland. foreign students, i.e. by approx. 3.8 thousand less than in the previous year. And this means, according to Katowice scientists, a reduction in annual revenues by PLN 133 to 285 million.

The authors of the report summarized: “The currently observed slowdown is not solely of a demographic or demand nature, but is, to a certain extent, a result of regulatory and administrative factors. Visa and residence regulations have direct economic consequences on future event scenarios. Each percentage of fewer foreign students (1,086 people) means a loss of PLN 39 to 81 million per year, and a 5% decrease in the number of students (5,430 people) means lower expenses from PLN 194 to more than PLN 407 million per year.

The conference “Foreign students in Poland 2026” is held under the slogan “Internationalization in the face of new challenges”. The meeting is organized under the patronage of the Minister of Science and Higher Education, Marcin Kulasek.

The Polish Press Agency took media patronage over the event. (PAP)

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