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Operational Context
By a decision of the European Council on 4 December 2024, Bulgaria fully acceded to the Schengen zone as an EU Member State positioned on its external borders, lifting internal land borders with Romania. The evolving political and socio-economic landscape in Bulgaria, with a coalition government established in in January 2025, poses challenges for asylum seekers and refugees from Syria, Afghanistan and from countries in the Middle East and North Africa. In 2024, Bulgaria received 12,250 applications for asylum compared to 22,518 in 2023, representing a 45.6% decrease. The largest group of asylum-seekers were Syrian nationals (7,646 or 62.42%) followed by Afghanistan and Morocco. Pushback practices, which involve forcing asylum-seekers to return to another country without considering their protection needs, remain an important concern. While Bulgaria reported almost 180,000 instances of prevented entry through its borders in 2023, this was slightly more than 55,000 in 2024, representing 69.35% decrease. This coincides with a 78% decrease in the number of persons involved in mixed movements in the Western Balkan route, primarily through Greece.
In this context, to better understand the profiles, needs and experiences of refugees, asylum seekers and others involved in mixed movements, UNHCR Bulgaria and its partner Bulgarian Helsinki Committee (BHC) have participated in the Regional Protection Monitoring through 2024.2 From February to December 2024, 1,756 interviews were conducted in Bulgaria, mainly in reception and detention centres.. This brief presents the main findings of these interviews.