More and more Bulgarians are leaving the UK. According to the data, our compatriots are the third largest group of European citizens leaving the Island.
The statistics covering the period up to June 2025 show that around 11,000 Bulgarian citizens have returned to Bulgaria, while less than 4,000 have arrived in the UK. Such a negative migration balance has not been observed on such a scale for years.
The main reasons for this trend are well known. First of all, the sharply increased cost of living. The prices of rent, food and energy on the Island continue to rise, while the incomes of many migrants remain without a significant increase. Added to this are the serious problems in the National Health Service - long waiting lists, staff shortages and difficult access to medical care.
There is also an unofficial factor leading to the outflow of Bulgarians from the country - discrimination, both in the workplace and in access to social services. Cases in which people on social benefits receive letters demanding the return of funds already received have increased sharply.
However, Bulgarians are not the only ones. The largest group leaving the UK are Romanians - about 37 thousand people per year. The reasons are similar, but there is also something else, the economy in Romania is experiencing serious growth - with significantly higher wages, low unemployment and more affordable housing.
After the Romanians, Poles and Bulgarians, among those leaving are also Italians, Spaniards, Portuguese and French. These data clearly show that Britain is gradually losing its attractiveness as a work and living center for many Europeans.
The question that remains is whether this trend will deepen and how Bulgaria will manage to keep those returning home.