Applying for asylum in Bulgaria

If you cannot go back to your country due to fear of persecution or other serious threats to your life or freedom, you may apply for international protection in Bulgaria.

An application for international protection can be lodged in Bulgaria by any person – a man, a woman, or a child. In Europe women have equal rights with men. When children have entered Bulgaria with either or both of their parents, it is the parents that will lodge an application for international protection on behalf of their children but only if the children are aged under 14. If any of the children has turned 14 years of age, the authorities may require that this child signs its own application, and one of the parents confirms the application by also signing it.

Children who have entered Bulgaria without a parent or other relatives are called “unaccompanied children”, and have special rights. These children can lodge an application for international protection before the Bulgarian authorities independently only by means of their signature For more information on what is asylum, please see: https://asylum.bg/content/#asylum

Before state authorities: You can express your wish to apply for international protection before any state body in Bulgaria. They are obliged to send your application to the State Agency for Refugees which should examine it.

With the Border Police: If you are apprehended by the Border Police, or by the National Police, it is essential that you immediately state your wish to apply for international protection.

If you do not, you will be treated by the Bulgarian authorities as an irregular migrant and placed in an immigration detention center (SCTAF).

At an immigration detention center (SCTAF): There are two such centers – Busmantsi and Lyubimets. You can apply for international protection from there as well. You can receive free of charge legal assistance from the Bulgarian Helsinki Committee, legal aid partner of UNHCR.

You can be detained at these centers for the purpose of initial identification or for up to 6 months ( that can be extended two more times for the same duration, or up to 18 months in total) for the purpose of the return. You have the right to appeal the detention decisions, as well as the return order. You can receive free of charge legal assistance from the Bulgarian Helsinki Committee, a legal aid partner of UNHCR, which visits the immigration detention centers every week.

If you apply for international protection according to the law, you should be released to an open center of the State Agency for Refugees after 6 working days (8 calendar days).

With the State Agency for Refugees: You can also apply for international protection directly before the State Agency for Refugees.

From the moment you ask for international protection, you are considered an asylum seeker. You cannot be removed (deported) to your country of origin except under very limited circumstances related to national security.

For more information on how to apply for international protection, please visit: https://asylum.bg/content/#asylum

Step 1: Registration

• • After the registration you will receive an invitation for an interview which you have to attend on the date and time specified.
    • You will be registered by the State Agency for Refugees and your fingerprints and photograph will be taken.

    Note that If you are younger than the age of 14 years-old your fingerprints will not be taken.

    Your fingerprints will be incorporated in the EURODAC system, which consists of fingerprints of all third country nationals or stateless persons who have applied for international protection in the EU. If you have ever been registered as an asylum-seeker in one of the member states this will be visible in the system and as per the Dublin regulation this country of first application will be considered the country competent of reviewing your request for international protection. You could be transferred to the EU country of your first application and vis a versa you could be returned to Bulgaria if you decide to leave the country and apply for international protection in another EU member state. There are certain hypothesizes where exceptions from this general rule are possible.

    • You will be asked to declare personal data. It is very important to tell the truth about your age, circumstances, and needs and to present any personal ID documents if available. The hard copies of the documentation you might have provided will be kept by the administration of the SAR until the end of your procedure for granting international protection and after its completion with a final decision the documents will be handed over back to you. The officer receiving your documents will give you a written record signed by him which precisely lists the documents which you submitted. Keep this record, as later on you will use it in order to get back your documents, unless the Bulgarian authorities have legal reasons to keep
    • At this stage of the registration procedure the registration staff will ask you certain number of questions and you will have to sign several documents/ registration During the registration a social worker of the SAR will be present and If you belong to a vulnerable group, such as single parents, pregnant women, unaccompanied children, elderly people or people with serious chronic diseases or disability, it is important to inform the registration staff and the social worker about that, so that your special needs be taken into consideration. You will receive information concerning the procedure, internal order of the centre and your rights and responsibilities. During the whole process of the registration interpretation is provided
    • You will undergo a medical screening and testing by the medical staff of the centre and if you have signs of contagious diseases, you might be placed in a separate premise (quarantine room) for several days.
    • In the end, you will be issued a note indicating the date and time when you will receive your “registration card” , (usually it takes up to 3 days) document authorizing you to remain in Bulgaria until the end of your procedure for granting international protection.

    Children under 14 years- old and accompanied by their parents usually do not receive a separate registration card and do not have to apply for international protection separately, but as all asylum seekers, they receive a unique personal number. The accompanied children are registered and are added to the card of the parent (usually the mother’s card).

    All children at the age of 14 and older are subject to fingerprinting at the registration.

    Unaccompanied children and children 14 and above receive their own registration card.

You can find out more about the registration process here: https://asylum.bg/content/#registration

Step 2: Accommodation

After the registration you have the right to accommodation at the centre where you were registered. If you have the means to secure a private accommodation and you don’t wish to reside at the reception centre of the SAR, you have the right to do so, but you have to provide to the SAR administration a rental contract or another document proving that you will reside at that address and your contacts ( telephone number) so that the SAR be able to contact you and inform you about your asylum application and what proceedings you need to do next.

Step 3: Interview

The interview is the most important part of your asylum procedure and you need to give as many details as possible regarding the reasons you have for leaving your country of origin and fears upon return and provide any proof and documentation you have to back up your claim if any.

It is important not to miss the appointment for your interview, as this may lead to termination of the procedure if you are unable to present a proof for a valid reason for missing up the appointment.

The person who will be asking you the questions is your interviewer and he/she will be responsible for reviewing your case (your asylum request) and prepare the draft decision of the SAR on your case. You have the right to request an interviewer from the same sex as yours.

During the interview you have the right to ask for clarifications if you don’t understand the question.

There are cases where there might be additional people present at the interview.  If you are an unaccompanied child the presence of a social worker from the Child Protection Department of the Agency for Social Assistance and a legal representative (a lawyer from the Legal Aid Bureau appointed to represent you) during your interview is mandatory.

If there are circumstances preventing, you from attending the interview as per the appointment given (such as medical physical issues or psychological condition) you should inform the administration of the SAR as soon as possible and your interview will be re-scheduled for a different date/time.

In the end of the interview everything that was written in the interview protocol should be read in a language that you understand, and agreed with you and if you have no objections, you will be asked to sign it.

You can find more information about the asylum procedure here: https://asylum.bg/content/#procedure

Step 4: Decision

You should receive a written decision within six months of the registration of your application under the general procedure (or within 14 working days if your application is assessed under the accelerated procedure). If your case is considered with complexity the procedure might take up to 21 months until you receive the SAR written decision on your application. However, shall the procedure take more than 6 months, the SAR should provide you with a written explanation about the reason for that.

You have the right to appeal the decision of the SAR.

There are some specifics regarding the appeal depending on the type of procedure for granting international protection under which your case was assessed by the SAR.

For cases assessed under the general procedure, you can appeal the decision in a 14-day period after you receive the decision. You have the right to appeal before two court instances, before the administrative court according to your registered address as a first instance and before the Supreme Administrative Court in Sofia as a second court instance.

If your case was assessed under the accelerated procedure, you have the right to appeal the SAR decision within a period of 7-days after you receive it, and you can do so only before one court- the administrative court according to your registered address, which decision will be considered a final decision on your case.  (https://asylum.bg/content/#enappeal)

Please note that, in Bulgaria, UNHCR has no formal role in the asylum procedure and UNHCR does, in general, not intervene in individual cases, nor provide individual legal representation or counseling. However, we do work with  NGO partners – the Bulgarian Helsinki Committee and the Foundation for Access to Rights – who offer free legal assistance and counselling.