Over 223,000 people have been registered in Bulgaria with temporary protection since the beginning of the full-scale war in Ukraine. However, as of December 31, 2025, 87,451 people had valid registration cards. The difference shows why the number of all registered cannot be taken as the current number of Ukrainians living permanently in the country.
The data of the State Agency for Refugees includes people who have received temporary protection, but does not show whether each of them continues to reside in Bulgaria. Some of those registered have left the country, moved to another country or returned to Ukraine.
Millions have entered, but not all have stayed
From the beginning of the war to the end of 2024, over 3.5 million displaced persons from Ukraine have entered Bulgaria. As of December 31, 2024, 204,868 Ukrainian citizens were registered with temporary protection.
These numbers do not mean that all those who entered have remained in the country. According to data cited by the UN High Commissioner for Refugees, Bulgaria was mainly a transit country for a large part of Ukrainians who continued on to Romania, Germany, Poland and other European Union countries. However, a public official report with the exact number of those who only transited has not been published.
The same applies to returns to Ukraine. Bulgarian institutions do not maintain publicly available statistics showing how many of the registered Ukrainians have returned to their homeland, temporarily or permanently. Therefore, an accurate answer to this question cannot be given without the risk of mixing up different administrative registers.
Burgas, Varna, Dobrich and Sofia are the main centers
The largest concentration of Ukrainians is reported along the Black Sea coast and in the capital. Among the leading districts are Burgas, Varna and Dobrich, and there is also a significant community in Sofia. In 2025, in UNHCR surveys, the largest share of respondents were in Burgas, Varna and Dobrich, with the coastal districts attracting people with housing, services and jobs.
The geographical distribution changes according to the season and accommodation programs. On the Black Sea coast, the presence increases around the summer tourist season, while Sofia remains an important center for administration, education, services and skilled employment.
Tourism is among the main areas of work
Ukrainian citizens with temporary protection are entitled to work in Bulgaria without a work permit. They find a living most often in tourism, hotels and restaurants, trade, manufacturing, construction and administrative services. Other opportunities include education, professional services and information technology.
The Employment Agency does not publish separate up-to-date statistics showing the exact number of Ukrainians in each sector. According to available labor market data, tourism and agriculture are the areas in which employers most often seek foreign workers, but these data refer to third-country nationals in general, not just Ukrainians.
“Employers in Bulgaria still have the opportunity to easily hire Ukrainian nationals“, the General Labor Inspectorate states.Thousands have obtained Bulgarian citizenship
For the period from January 1, 2020 to November 24, 2023, Ukrainian citizens submitted 12,668 applications for acquiring Bulgarian citizenship. The data does not only refer to people who arrived after the start of the war, as it also includes Ukrainian citizens with Bulgarian origin, family ties or long-term residence in the country.
In 2021-2023, 4,362 Ukrainian citizens acquired citizenship on the grounds of Bulgarian origin or a parent who is a Bulgarian citizen. In 2022, their number was 1,639, and in 2023 – 1269. In 2024, 2,436 citizens of Ukraine received Bulgarian citizenship, which puts Ukraine in first place among the countries in terms of the number of new Bulgarian citizens for the year.
The latest published national statistics on citizenship do not provide a total of all Ukrainians who applied and received a Bulgarian passport after February 24, 2022. Therefore, the available numbers should be considered as data by year and procedure, and not as a final number of Ukrainian refugees who have settled permanently in Bulgaria.
Temporary protection in Bulgaria has been extended until March 4, 2027. Until then, Ukrainians who have not received another status or right of residence can continue to live and work in the country under the terms of the regime.
Sources: BTA, BNR