WHEN Magdalena Szpilczynska came to live in Edinburgh three years ago, she had a part-time job in a restaurant.
Now she is running her own chain of delicatessens stocked with traditional food and drink from her native Poland.
The 34-year-old had struggled to even find work at home before deciding to move to Scotland. But she managed to set up her business f
rom scratch in only three months after spotting a gap in the market in the city.
She is not alone. Her Polski Smak chain has since been joined by a growing number of Polish businesses to have opened in Scotland.
And a new report has revealed she is a classic example of the kind of immigrant to have settled in Scotland in recent years.
The accession countries that joined the European Union in May 2004 – dubbed the EU8 – included the Czech Republic, Estonia, Latvia, Lithuania, Poland and Slovenia.
A new study on the influx of immigrant workers into Edinburgh since then has given an intriguing insight into what kind of people are flocking here from overseas.
According to research carried out on behalf of the Scottish Government, they are mostly aged 18 to 34, have left their home country for economic reasons and have almost certainly found employment of some kind. Almost half were employed in the hospitality or catering sectors.
More than half of those surveyed said they specifically came to live in Edinburgh, with one in three being inspired by having either friends or family living in the city.
About a quarter of migrants who took part in the research said they wanted to settle permanently. Two-thirds said they had managed to secure accommodation in Edinburgh in advance, and almost all were living in private rented accommodation.
It is thought up to 10,000 people have arrived in Edinburgh from EU8 countries in the past three years.
The report found 85 per cent of EU8 migrants in Edinburgh were Polish, with those from the Czech Republic making up the next highest proportion, at 3.8 per cent.
The report states: "The vast majority of EU8 migrants in Edinburgh have been successful in finding work and in securing their own accommodation. The city council has been quick to welcome new citizens as their economic and cultural contribution benefits the whole community."
Ms Szpilczynska, a mathematics graduate, said: "There's no doubt it was work which brought me here. It was difficult to find a job in Poland, but I had also been to Edinburgh before and knew what a beautiful city it was. I was very keen to come back.
"At the time I came here, it was relatively easy to find accommodation as well, although I know it is a lot more difficult now. I was working in an Italian restaurant when I had the idea for the shop and it was actually pretty easy to start it up."
A spokeswoman for the city council said: "All the evidence gathered so far suggests many EU8 migrants are single, young, healthy, well-educated, economically active and rely relatively less on public services than indigenous communities.
"The vast majority of migrants are in employment and are successful in finding accommodation in the city through the private sector. Only a very small minority have experienced homelessness and evidence indicates that they are no more likely to become homeless than Edinburgh's existing population."
Tom Buchanan, the council's economic development leader, said: "Edinburgh welcomes all its new citizens, wherever they come from, since their economic and cultural contribution benefits the whole community.
"In economic terms, the net contribution of migrant workers to the city is overwhelmingly positive.
"Migrant workers are generally low users of public services. As well as contributing to Edinburgh's continuing economic growth through filling key labour and skills shortages, they also pay council tax, national insurance and income tax."
The influx of Eastern European people into Scotland is said to have helped boost direct air links to cities such as Warsaw and Gdansk, while Catholic churches have witnessed a surge in visitors.
After English, Polish is now the main language spoken in almost a third of Scotland's council areas.
The full article contains 704 words and appears in The Scotsman newspaper.
