Bulgaria grants refugee status to 30-40 of each 800 illegal immigrants entering the country, says Chair of Refugee Agency.

All illegal immigrants entering Bulgaria are granted “humanitarian” status as persons who reside in the country on humanitarian grounds, but not all of them qualify for “refugee” status, says Chair of the Refugee Agency, Nikolay Chirpanliev for NOVA TV.

“Refugee status is granted to 30 – 40 of each 800 illegal immigrants entering Bulgaria, due to specifics of the current legislation on the matter”, explains Chirpanliev, as cited by NOVA TV.

Once a “refugee status” is granted to a person by the Bulgarian state, it allows him to leave Bulgaria for a period of three months, and to have the right to return to the country to renew the registration, explains the agency chair.

“No matter in which European country a refugee settles in, once authorities there verify that the person has entered the country from Bulgaria, that person will be send back to Bulgaria, therefore we have to deal with the processes of socialization and integration of the refugees”, stated Chirpanliev.

The State Agency for Refugees has the capacity to accommodate about 3060 refugees, currently there are 3680 refugees residing in Bulgaria, which means that the capacity is exceeded with 120%, pointed out the head of the agency.