Arrival from Ukraine

Temporary protection is an exceptional measure introduced by the European Union for people fleeing the conflict in Ukraine. It allows eligible individuals in exceptional situations of mass displacement to receive immediate protection in an EU Member State, such as Bulgaria, without applying for international protection through the standard procedure. Temporary Protection allows access to shelter, social welfare assistance, medical care, education, and the ability to work without a permit.

You can receive temporary protection if you are:

• Ukrainian citizens residing in Ukraine before February 24, 2022
• Stateless persons or third-country nationals other than Ukraine who were granted international protection or other equivalent protection in Ukraine before 24 February 2022.
• Family members* of the above categories of persons.
• Stateless persons or third-country nationals other than Ukraine who can prove that they were legally residing in Ukraine before February 24, 2022, based on a valid permanent residence permit issued in accordance with Ukrainian law, and are unable to return permanently to their country or region of origin under safe conditions.

*Family Members include spouses, partners, minor unmarried children, and other close relatives, for example parents, dependent on you.

Temporary protection is granted until 4 March 2026. Temporary protection shall be terminated on expiry of the period for which it was granted or by an explicit decision of the Council of the European Union.

In Bulgaria, persons under temporary protection have the following rights:

• Right to remain on the territory of the Republic of Bulgaria;
• Right to written information in an understandable for you language about the rules and conditions of temporary protection;
• Right to a temporary protection registration card for the period of the protection;
• Right to reuniting with your family;
• Right to work and the right to receive professional education;
• Right to education, including pre-school, school and higher education;
• Right to appropriate accommodation or to funds for accommodation if needed;
• Right to social aid;
• Right to health insurance.

As opposed to the individual application for international protection, managed by the State Agency for Refugees (SAR), you can submit your the application for temporary protection both at SAR registration-reception centers, and also to officials of the Ministry of Interior at the border police or regional departments of the Ministry of Interior on the territory of Bulgaria. The state employees will take your personal and biometric data, then generate a Personal Foreigner’s Number (PFN/ЛНЧ) and issue you a temporary registration document with your photo.

For more information on where you can register your application for temporary protection, see List of registration offices for temporary protection.

Address card

When you first register for temporary protection, and also to exercise your rights as a person with temporary protection, you might be asked to provide an address where you will live in Bulgaria and to fill in an address card.
You need to fill in this card at the police station in the place where you want to settle. They will give you a sample address card at the desk, and you will need to fill in 2 identical address cards.

In addition to the address card, you will need the following documents:

• Your passport*
• A rent agreement for the place where you will live or a notarised declaration from the landlord that he agrees you to live in their apartment. You can download a sample declaration at this link.

Important! If you are accommodated under the State Humanitarian Aid Programme for Refugees from Ukraine, the address card is completed by the managers of the place where you are accommodated. Similarly, if you are staying in a hotel, this hotel will also automatically submit data to the police with a completed address card and information about your name as it is written in your passport, date and year of birth, citizenship, passport number.

*In cases where a passport is not available, please visit the nearest SAR registration-reception center.

If you already have temporary protection in Bulgaria and your registration card expires, you can re-register and obtain a new registration card that will be valid until 4 March 2026.

Your old card will be considered valid until 30 April 2025, but if, for essential reasons, you miss this deadline, you will have the option to re-register even after it. You can re-register both before and after 30 April 2025.
Re-registration does not happen automatically, but only at your own initiative.

The new card will look as follows:

You should submit:

• An application form for renewal of your registration card. The application form will be provided to you on-site.
• You might also be asked to provide proof of address
• National ID document
• Your old registration card.

Until April 30, 2025, you can re-register either at a territorial division of the State Agency for Refugees or at the nearest regional directorates of the Ministry of Internal Affairs in the country. Follow the State Agency for Refugees website for a complete list of re-registration locations.

The territorial divisions of the State Agency for Refugees where you can re-register are as follows:

• the Ovcha Kupel registration and reception center (Address: 1618 Sofia; Ovcha Kupel residential district, 21-A Montevideo Str.)
• Banya registration and reception center (8914 Banya village, Nova Zagora Municipality, 17 Mineralni bani)
• Pastrogor transit center (6519 Pastrogor village, Svilengrad Municipality)
• Harmanli registration and reception center (6450 Harmanli, 23 “Druzhba” St.)

After April 30, 2025, re-registration can only be carried out in the territorial divisions of the State Agency for Refugees.

The extension of the validity of your Temporary Protection residence permit until 4 March 2026 is based on Decision No. 79 of 20 February 2025 by the Council of Ministers, which amends Decision No. 144 of 10 March 2022 on granting temporary protection to displaced persons from Ukraine. Additionally, by Decision No. 78 of 20 February 2025, which amends Decision No. 642 of 2016, the validity period of the registration cards already issued to persons with temporary protection was extended until 30 April 2025.

Ukraine Is Home – UNHCR website dedicated to opportunities regarding voluntary return

Returning home is a personal decision that should be fully informed, voluntary and take place in conditions of safety and dignity. UNHCR continues to call on countries to allow civilians fleeing Ukraine to access to their territories, and to refrain from returning anyone against their wishes. At UNHCR’s Ukraine is Home website you can find vital information for people forcibly displaced from their homes and communities — within Ukraine or abroad. The platform contains the latest information on access to rights, government services, programmes and entitlements, as well as resources on voluntary return to Ukraine or continued stay & protection in host communities.

Do you have a temporary protection status in Bulgaria?

On the Ukraine is Home website you can also find information about your right to continued stay and access to services in Bulgaria and how short or extended stay in Ukraine may affect your temporary protection status and assistance in Bulgaria. If you consider returning to Ukraine permanently, you can also find information about administrative procedures that you need to complete in Bulgaria before your departure.”

You can also make toll-free calls from any European country — you only need a smartphone or a laptop, and a stable internet connection to connect to an operator who can answer your questions directly or refer you to required resources.

How to call?

• Go to Ukraine is Home platform
• Click on the phone icon
• Choose the country where you need assistance and wait to be connected to the operator

“Ukraine is Home” is UNHCR’s project that aims to support forcibly displaced Ukrainians and promote access to the support needed to recover and rebuild.