Poland in the UK

Anglo-Polish relations date back as far as the 11th century, when the first tentative contacts were made during the reigns of King Ethelred II the Unready and Bolesław I the Brave. 

For many centuries commerce and trade remained the mainstay of relations between the two kingdoms. It was not until the 15th century that greater political considerations began to play an important role. Monarchs on both sides would send their envoys to each other, usually to deal with specific ad hoc matters rather than to maintain constant bilateral relations.

From the 17th century onwards there was an increase in continuous diplomatic contacts, especially from the English and then British side, with semi-permanent and permanent representatives being appointed, while envoys with the rank of ambassador would be sent in the event of special missions. Despite the lack of a permanent resident envoy in London, diplomatic contacts were also maintained on the Polish side.
In 1769, the first permanent diplomatic presence of the Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth – once the largest and one of the most populous and ethnically-diverse states in Europe – was set up in London. The beginnings of the mission coincided with partitions of Poland by three absolutist monarchies of Russia, Prussia and Austria, which lasted for 123 years. The close Polish-British relations maintained by the last King of the Commonwealth, Stanisław August Poniatowski, saw Britain react fast to the founding of Poland’s Constitution of 3rd May 1791 – Europe’s first and world’s second democratic constitution – with the document being translated into English almost immediately after proclamation, owing to the then ambassador of Poland to Britain, Franciszek Bukaty, while British newspapers broke the news on 20 May. The Polish constitutional act was also praised by British thinker and Whig politician Edmund Burke. 

After the restoration of Poland’s independence on 11 November 1918 Polish-British relations began to flourish. Britain acknowledged the restoration of Poland’s independence on 26 February 1919. On that day, Sir Esme Howard, Civil Delegate on the International Commission to Poland, wrote to Józef Piłsudski, Chief of the Polish State: “His Britannic Majesty’s Government acknowledged Poland’s restoration to independence”, adding, “this was the most honourable and agreeable message I had ever had to give in my life.” On 15 July 1919, diplomatic relations between the United Kingdom and Poland were officially renewed, with Prince Eustachy Sapieha becoming the first official envoy of independent Poland in London, while Percy Wyndham became the UK’s Minister Plenipotentiary in Poland.

The spirit of camaraderie formed between Poland and Britain was evident before and during the Second World War. On 31 March 1939, in response to Nazi Germany's defiance of the Munich Agreement and occupation of Czechoslovakia, the United Kingdom pledged the support of itself and France to assure Polish independence. When some of the Polish Armed Forces arrived in the UK from their occupied homeland after the outbreak of the war, Poles and Brits found themselves fighting together in the Battle of Britain, which turned the tide of the war. The Polish 303 Squadron, serving under British command, became the most effective unit in the battle, and almost 20,000 Polish airmen and airwomen served in 16 Polish Air Force squadrons in Britain. Air Chief Marshal Sir Hugh Dowding, who led Fighter Command, wrote: "Had it not been for the magnificent material contributed by the Polish squadrons and their unsurpassed gallantry, I hesitate to say that the outcome of the Battle would have been the same." 

The shared Polish-British war achievements extend to working together on breaking the Enigma code. Polish mathematicians deciphered it first in 1932 and passed on their work to Alan Turing and the British intelligence, which laid the foundations for the mass-scale codebreaking effort of Bletchley Park, which helped shorten the war by approximately 2 years. Turing's nephew, Sir Dermot Turing, has said that without the accomplishments of the Polish codebreakers, the work of his uncle would have been considerably slowed down – if not impossible.

During the war, London was the home of the legitimate Polish state representation, including the Polish Government-in-Exile. Though it suffered from a lack of recognition when the communist regime was imposed, it survived the aftermath of the war. Many Polish émigrés also remained in the country after the war.

On 22 December 1990, Poland's last President-in-Exile Ryszard Kaczorowski passed on the presidential insignia kept safe since the outbreak of the Second World War to the first post-war, democratically elected President of Poland, Lech Wałęsa. After 45 years of Soviet control, Poland, for the second time in 72 years, fully regained its independence and sovereignty, ushering in a new era for Polish-British relations.

Poland and United Kingdom maintain close economic and trade relations. United Kingdom is the third most important trade partner for Poland, with the trade turnover growing systematically since the 1990s. Polish economy was reclassified to a developed market status by the London Stock Exchange FTSE Russell indices in September 2018.  Polish and British political and economic partnership has historical roots. British economic model and experiences gained during the privatisation period were the points of reference for Poland while undergoing free market transformations in the 1990s. Throughout the years, Poland received great support from the British government. United Kingdom offered its help in the reduction of Polish foreign debt and advocated for Poland in the process of joining the European Union. The accession to the EU in 2004 opened a path for a closer cooperation between the two countries. Poland and United Kingdom share a common vision for the economic agenda – both countries have a similar perspective on the competitive internal EU market, regulations of labour market, European digital market and the global trade policies. With the increasing number of Polish citizens migrating to the United Kingdom, Britain was among the first few countries that opened its labour market to Polish citizens. After the global financial crisis of 2007-09, both Poland and Britain supported the efforts of strengthening the European economy.  Trade exchange is an important part of the UK-Polish cooperation. Close relations between the countries encouraged British companies to invest in Poland already in the early 1990s. An example of that is Tesco, which came to Poland in 1996, and currently it has an annual turnover of about 2 billion pounds, with 5 million customers visiting every week around 400 stores across the country.   Furthermore, United Kingdom became the second biggest foreign export market for Polish goods and services. Currently, there are about 60,000 businesses established by Poles and operating in the UK (e.g. Black red White, Kulczyk Investments SA, Inglot).  Poland is also an important receiver of British foreign direct investments. The value of British FDIs in Poland is more than 10 billion euros, which makes Britain the 6th largest investor in Poland.  Major British companies that have come to Poland include Imperial Tobacco Group PLC, GlaxoSmithKline, AVIVA and Shell Overseas Holding. It is worth noting that British exports to Poland doubled since 2006 and Polish export to Britain tripled. Poland and Britain cooperate in a number of areas, inter alia, innovation, digital economy, new technologies in finance, support of the service sector, scientific exchange between Polish and British universities, especially in the area of research and development, and the exchange of experiences in the support of small and medium entrepreneurships. Also, there is a strong cooperation in the area of energy, especially in terms of energy security, development of nuclear energy and unconventional hydrocarbons. There are many growing opportunities for British and Polish companies in renewable energy, including offshore wind.

Links: 
Poland - The Official Gateway
Ministry of Economy    
National Bank of Poland
Central Statistical Office    
Warsaw Stock Exchange
Foreign Investment and Trade Office in London                                               

An important institution responsible for promoting Polish-British collaboration is the Polish Cultural Institute in London. It promotes Polish Culture and supports such projects as the ‘Kinoteka’ Film Festival organised yearly and the ‘Shakespeare in Poland’ at Shakespeare’s Globe Theatre in London on the occasion of the 150th of the birthday of Stanisłaus Wyspiański and a Gala Piano Concert on the 100th anniversary of Poland regaining independence in 2018.   PCI supports many concerts, promotes Polish literature as well as history and modern art.   There are also events planned for 2020 and 2021, including the exhibition of the image of "Astronomer Copernicus, conversation with God" by Jan Matejko at the National Museum next year, and the exhibition "Painters of the Young Poland", which will take place in 2021 .

Links:
Polish Cultural Institute in London
             

The Polish Embassy in London works closely with the Ministry of Science and Higher Education in Poland to implement all of the most important aims of promoting Polish science in the United Kingdom and to encourage universties and research centres to work closely in all of the most important areas of research interest. It is to this aim that the Embassy supports and encourages conferences and science forums which aim to promote Polish science in the UK and to strenghthen the networks between Polish and British scientific and academic communities.

The system of primary and secondary education in Poland differs slightly from the one in the United Kingdom. The higher education system is very much similar to the ones in other EU Member States.

A general outline of the Polish educational system on primary, secondary, and higher level can be found in a report prepared by the Polish Ministry of National Education and the Ministry of Science and Higher Education for the EURYDICE network.

Studies in Poland

The Ministry of Science and Higher Education runs the Ready, Study, Go! Poland programme which provides all the necessary information for foreign nationals willing to study in Poland on the dedicated website. It contains information on studying both in Polish and in English as well as in other languages.

Websites of the relevant Polish universities provide extensive information on the specific requirements, timetables, contact details etc. concerning specific admissions procedures.

In order to begin studies in Poland, a candidate should have completed secondary education. In case of foreign nationals, it might be necessary to have the matriculation diploma formally recognised. More information on the matter can be found on the website of the Ministry of National Education.

Comprehensive information on recognition of foreign higher education diplomas (academic qualifications) in Poland can be found on the website of the Ministry of Science and Higher Education.

Recognition of foreign professional qualifications in Poland

Both Polish and foreign nationals who obtained professional qualifications abroad might be required to have the relevant diplomas and professional certificates recognised when working in Poland. Full information whether such a procedure is necessary and if yes, what the concrete steps are in order for a foreign professional to have their qualifications recognised, can be found on the website of the Polish Ministry of Science and Higher Education.
 

POSK – Polish Social and Cultural Association 
Ognisko Polskie - The Polish Hearth
Polish Cultural Institute in London 
Dom Polski im. gen Wł. Sikorskiego
Polish Institute and Sikorski Museum 
Piłsudski Institute of London
Library Poland - POSK
Polish University Abroad in London
Bedford – Polish-British Integration Centre
Oxford Polish Association