The Opolskie Voivodeship is one of the most important regions Polish nationals are emigrating from - mainly due to numbers involved in migration practices. The following article attempts to present the research that has been conducted or is currently under way on international migration from Opole and the area. It also dwells on the issue of applying these findings into local social policy and economic practices. Existing statistics however present us with a problem, since the data; especially with respect to settlement migration cannot be treated as reliable. Researchers then need to find ways to get their own sources of data. However, research among emigrants or their social environment are marked by methodological problems of various natures. Comparing to other Polish regions our knowledge on migration processes in the Opolskie Voivodeship is particularly rich. It is also being applied at the level of local government policy. At the same it is far inadequate in the face of new, post-EU accession migration phenomena, its scale, character and factors shaping it. In this new context further research and analysis in the region is needed.