The flow of foreigners from Afghanistan and Syria who entered Bulgaria and were detained increased in the first three months of 2022, four times more than in the same period last year.

This is shown by the migration statistics of the Ministry of Interior for the first three months of 2022. The total number of detained refugees since January is 3663 compared to 888 for the same period in 2021.

Most are detained while trying to leave the country - on the border with Serbia, as well as inland – i.e., after they managed to cross the border with Turkey illegally.

Statistics show that Bulgaria is flooded on two sides by a wave of refugees, which is a test for the Ministry of Interior, as well as for the State Agency for Refugees (SAR), which is responsible for protection and status, as well as providing social and health benefits and services.

Experts told Bulgarian media “Dnevnik” that the explanation for the growth was lowered control by the Bulgarian and Turkish authorities, as well as the fact that after February most police officers were moved north to the border with Romania. Another reason is that there are no investigations into corruption among law enforcement officers at the border.

The capacity of the accommodation centers of some of the centers is also almost full - 91% in the homes under the leadership of the Ministry of Interior - these are the so-called reception centers where people are accommodated after their detention. The places in the other homes - under the leadership of the State Agency for Refugees - are half full - with 41% occupied capacity. It usually accommodates people who have applied for humanitarian or refugee status.

Most of them were detained in March - over 1,500 people, and the number has been increasing every month since January. The statutes granted since the beginning of the year are almost 800 (refugee and humanitarian) with over 4,000 applications. Most are people from Afghanistan and Syria, there are also citizens of Morocco, Iran, Iraq and Turkey.

Refugees fleeing the war in Ukraine continue to arrive in Bulgaria, with more than 200,000 Ukrainians entering Bulgaria by the end of April, 90,000 remaining, and more than 87,000 seeking temporary protection, according to the government's website.

Number of refugees from Afghanistan and Syria detained in the country since the beginning of 2022

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