Bulgaria, as an external border of the EU, began to play a key role in accepting refugees from Ukraine after the start of the full-scale escalation of the conflict, according to a UN report published today, BTA reported.
So far, Bulgaria has accepted a total of over 2.3 million refugees from Ukraine. As of the end of February 2025. The Bulgarian government has granted temporary protection to more than 204,000 refugees from Ukraine, the majority of whom are women and children, the report by the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) says.
Although many Ukrainians who fled the war in Bulgaria subsequently head to other countries, as of February 2025, Bulgarian authorities have granted temporary protection to around 75,250 refugees. This number represents a slight increase compared to 2022, when 67,000 Ukrainian refugees admitted to Bulgaria were registered, and compared to February 2024, when their number was 72,000.
In 2024, over 2,579 Ukrainians who had previously received temporary protection in Bulgaria acquired Bulgarian citizenship. Many Ukrainian refugees choose other forms of legal stay, move to other EU countries or return to safer areas of Ukraine.
Bulgaria continues to be a major entry point for asylum seekers from other conflict-affected regions, the UNHCR report also says. In 2024, the Bulgarian State Agency for Refugees (SAR) registered 12,250 asylum seekers, mainly from Syria and Afghanistan. This represents a significant decrease compared to the previous year, when around 22,500 people with such status were registered.
A significant part of people seeking asylum in Bulgaria come from Syria since civil war broke out in the Middle Eastern country in 2011. Over the past decade, 55,385 Syrians have sought protection in Bulgaria, 34,260 of whom have been granted international protection.
The data show that the number of Syrian refugees in Bulgaria is volatile, mainly due to the lack of integration prospects, persistent obstacles to socio-economic inclusion and livelihood opportunities. However, the continued presence of Syrian and Afghan nationals in Bulgaria underlines that the country has an indispensable role to play in the broader refugee protection efforts in Europe, the report added.