Human migration

According to the General Directorate Border Police from the beginning of the year until January 31, nearly 1980 citizens from third countries attempted to cross the Bulgarian-Turkish border illegally. This number is 69% lower compared to January last year when it was around 6380, as reported by the Ministry of Interior.

Bulgaria is making noteworthy progress in its pursuit of visa-free travel to the United States, according to Michael J. Greer, the US Consul General in Bulgaria. Greer shared this optimistic outlook during a recent visa ceremony, celebrating the approval of the first students for the summer work-and-travel brigade.

Nearly 100 migrants have died or disappeared in the central and eastern Mediterranean, including Greek seas, since the beginning of 2024, more than double the toll recorded last year during the same period, the UN migration agency said on Monday.

While applying for a visa to Germany after being offered a job, an engineer learns that he was deported from the country despite never having set foot in the country.

Bulgarian authorities apprehended 18,554 third-country nationals as illegal migrants in 2023, reflecting a significant 10.7% surge compared to the previous year, according to data released by the Interior Ministry.

Bulgaria is poised to actively participate in the distribution of a minimum of 30,000 illegal migrants across the EU annually, according to the newly proposed pact on migration and asylum. As a crucial border country, Bulgaria stands to benefit from the pact's mandatory solidarity mechanism, reshaping how the EU accepts, assesses, and manages illegal migrants.

"We have a duty to continue our fight against human trafficking and to ensure legal avenues for migration," stated Migration and Asylum Minister Dimitris Kairidis on Wednesday, at a ceremony for the handover of the presidency of the International centre for Migration Policy Development (ICMPD) to Greece from Turkey.

A significant development unfolded in Silistra, northwestern Bulgaria, where authorities successfully detained a group of eight illegal migrants, marking a crucial step in addressing the ongoing challenges related to illegal migration. The detainees, hailing from Syria and Iraq, included minors and were part of a larger group attempting unauthorized entry into Bulgaria.

Interior Minister Ali Yerlikaya has engaged in a series of bilateral discussions with Greek Shipping and Island Policy Minister Christos Stylianidis, focusing primarily on addressing irregular migration in the Aegean Sea.

Bulgarian border police successfully prevented approximately 180,000 attempts by migrants to enter the country illegally in 2023, according to recent data released by the Interior Ministry on Wednesday.