What is the path of everyone fleeing the war so that he can quickly and easily take advantage of the opportunity for help and services from the state?

In order to alleviate the situation in Bulgaria, a procedure for obtaining immediately the status of temporary protection has been approved, which is granted to citizens of Ukraine at the border, after a proper check by the border services.

Registration for temporary protection does not restrict people fleeing the war in Ukraine from leaving the territory of Bulgaria at any time, nor does it deprive them of their previous citizenship (Ukrainian or otherwise).

Thus, everyone who enters Bulgaria must decide whether they want to choose one of the following options:

1. 1. To reside on the territory of Bulgaria under a visa-free regime with a Ukrainian document as follows: Ukrainian identity document, passport, birth certificate, others;
   2. For applying for and registering for temporary protection the following points
   3. To apply for international protection – this is done with the mobile teams at the State Agency for Refugees (SAR)

Temporary protection

Temporary protection is granted for a period of 1 year. From the moment of its receipt, citizens have the following rights:

• access to healthcare – Emergency care; right to vaccination according to a specially prepared immunization schedule for children, consistent with that of Ukraine (vaccinations are done in each RHI); equal rights with Bulgarian citizens to access medical care if they are from vulnerable groups; health control and prevention;
• Access to education – all children have access to school and kindergartens at the end of the vaccination cycle according to the Bulgarian calendar. Registration is done in the relevant REI of the Ministry of Education and Science. An individual assessment of the educational needs is carried out when enrolling in the respective school/kindergarten;
• access to the labour market – without additional permits, except for licensed professions that require adaptation to national requirements; access to the services of the Employment Offices – information about work, referral, etc.;
• the opportunity to open your own bank account;
• access to legal aid;
• once social assistance in the amount of BGN 375, which is given to each person from the risk group;
• personal number of a foreigner;

Places of registration for temporary protection

• the nearest regional directorate of the Ministry of Interior ;
• Sofia Directorate of the Interior – for the town of Smolyan. Sofia;
• the regional departments where employees of the Ministry of Interior register.
  

Address registration in the Ministry of Interior

By law, every foreigner entering Bulgaria must register with the Police Department of residence within 3 days. However, the law does not impose any restrictions on address registration even after the expiration of these 3 days.

If a person is staying at the hotel, their address is done by the hotel administration and the person does not have to do anything extra.

If a person lives in a private house – for rent, or with friends / relatives – the landlord must make an address registration. For this purpose, the owner of the dwelling, together with the persons accommodated by him, must submit an application to the police and hold a document of ownership of real estate (notary deed). If the owner cannot contact the police, he can sign and notarize the declaration (the declaration form can be downloaded from here ). With this declaration and a copy of the document of ownership of real estate, the persons living in his house can contact the police and make their address registration.

The police issue an address card to a foreigner. The address registration can be changed by the same procedure an unlimited number of times when changing the place of residence. When changing the address, it is advisable to take the old address card to the police.

Important contacts

Hotline: 02 90 55 555

Crisis line of the Ministry of Foreign Affairsphone:+35929482404
crisis@mfa.bg

Embassy of Ukraine in Bulgaria

Hotline of the Embassy of Ukraine in Bulgaria – +359 878 015 102
Working hours: EVERY DAY FROM 9 AM TO 9 PM

What is the difference between temporary protection and international protection?

Temporary protection is group protection. It is granted on a collective basis – for all persons who come from a particular country, if there is a mass flight of people from that country as a result of civil or international war.

The EU Temporary Protection Directive (Article 19) authorises each Member State to provide in its national law whether, if the refugee is already under temporary protection, he or she may also apply for an individual case assessment in order to obtain international protection in the form of individual protection – refugee or humanitarian status.

From March 14, 2022, the date of publication of  Decision No 144 of the Council of Ministers of the Republic of Bulgaria on granting temporary protection to persons displaced by the war in Ukraine, it enters into force and automatically covers all Ukrainian refugees arriving or remaining in Bulgaria.

In order to benefit from this protection, refugees from Ukraine must apply for registration with the Bulgarian authorities and obtain a document (registration card) confirming that they are persons with temporary protection. With the help of this document, they will be able to identify themselves as persons under temporary protection before all state bodies, individuals and legal entities and to exercise the rights recognized by law.

To help refugees from Ukraine, the government has set up an organization for registering and issuing documents to Ukrainian refugees so that this can be done not only in the territorial offices of the State Agency for Refugees, but also before the police authorities at the place of residence.

By Decision No 95 of 1 February 2023, the Council of Ministers extended the temporary protection of Ukrainian citizens until 4 March 2024.

By Decision No 96 concerning the approval of the model registration cards issued by the State Agency for Refugees with the Council of Ministers, the validity of the registration cards of foreigners granted temporary protection expiring by 24 February 2023 is extended until 31 March 2023.