Access to the territory and push backs

Author

Bulgarian Helsinki Committee Visit Website

No institutional or practical arrangements or measures exist to ensure a differentiated approach to border control that gives access to the territory and protection for those who flee from war or persecution.

Push backs at land borders

Access of asylum seekers to the territory remained constrained in 2025.

Back in 2018, the government banned access to the 234 km border fence^[1] built along the Bulgarian-Turkish border, as well as the possibility to take pictures or filming it by introducing a 300-meters security zone similar to border arrangements during the communist regime.^[2] In 2021, the caretaker cabinet^[3] transferred the responsibility for the management of the border fence from the district governors to the Ministry of Interior,^[4] with repairs by specialised army units realised sporadically, as was the case also in 2024.^[5] In 2022, the European Border and Coast Guard Agency (Frontex) launched a Joint Operation Terra with standing corps officers, patrol cars and thermo-vision vehicles. In s at EU’s external land borders,^[6] taking place across 12 EU Member States, including Bulgaria. In 2025, during the period December 2023 to April 2024, Turkish border guards were present along the whole borderline with Bulgaria, with surveillance equipment installed and physical checks applied to vehicles and travellers on all main and secondary roads to Bulgaria. The cross-border cooperation with the border agencies of Türkiye and Greece also visibly intensified both through the operation of the tri-partite contact centre, opened in 2016 on Bulgarian territory at Kapitan Andreevo BCP,[7] as well as by weekly meetings at regional directorates’ level. In 2025, intensified border control measures were applied from the beginning of the year as part of the conditions, agreed by Austria to consent for Bulgaria’s full Schengen accession on 1 January 2025. It comprised the deployment of 1,200 national border police officers and 240 Frontex officials in mixed land patrol teams. Additionally, additional 100 officers from various countries, including 40 Romanian, 15 Austrian, 20 Hungarian, and 25 Bulgarian border guards began operation since 3 February 2025[8]. The equipment dedicated to border surveillance was also expanded with new echolocation equipment, drones and high passable vehicles.

Source: Ministry of Interior, Migration Statistics, December 2016: http://bit.ly/2Fx9hIY; December 2017: http://bit.ly/2ntEXaR; December 2018: https://bit.ly/2sBEJ4z; December 2019: https://bit.ly/372jvz7; December 2020: https://bit.ly/3i01bgF; December 2021: https://bit.ly/3fhhMfk, December 2022: https://bit.ly/3kRy7xE, December 2023: https://bit.ly/49u1JVY, December 2024: https://bit.ly/49u1JVY, December 2025: here.

In 2025 the intensified border control measures resulted in 64% overall decrease in the annual number of apprehended newly arrived irregular third country nationals (3306 migrants) in comparison with the previous year (9208 migrants). For seven years since 1 January 2017 the Ministry of Interior stopped to disclose their number in its publicly available statistics. However, starting from January 2024, the Ministry of Interior resumed to publicly report these numbers and did so for the entirety of the year, thus making data available for 2023, 2024 and 2025. In 2025, the authorities reported to have prevented the irregular entry of 13,568 persons.[9] It represented a 74% decrease in comparison with 52,534 persons[10] in 2024 and 240% decrease in comparison with 178,698 persons[11] in 2023. This decrease reflected also in decreased number of alleged pushbacks, monitored and reported through the existing national border monitoring mechanism. Their decrease also started in 2024 with a 75% decrease in the number of pushbacks registered in comparison with 2023[12] (see, Access to the territory, 1.2. Border monitoring). Data were collected through a regular – weekly and daily – border monitoring, implemented by observers from the Bulgarian Helsinki Committee, a non-governmental organisation whose access to the border was arranged firstly in the 2004 Bi-lateral border monitoring agreement,^[13] replaced in 2010 by the Tri-Partite Memorandum of Understanding.^[14] In 2025, due to financial constraints the BHC observers monitored just one main geographically designated border areas along the Bulgarian-Turkish border: the green border area starting from Kapikule-Svilengrad-Ormenion border triangle to Hamzabeyli-Lesovo border crossing point (in the area of Svilengrad border police precinct). For these reasons, the Sakar and Strandzha mountain areas, stretching from Elhovo to the Black Sea coast (in the area of Elhovo, Bolyarovo, Sredets, Malko Tarnovo and Rezovo border police precincts) was monitored only on a monthly basis. In 2025, this mechanism^[15] registered 3,549 alleged pushbacks affecting 43,284 persons, i.e. no significant change in figures in comparison with the previous year.[16] The Ministry of Interior officially referred to the reported 13,568 persons ‘prevented from entering’ as ‘irregular migrants, who before entering Bulgaria decided themselves to return to the territory of neighbouring countries’,[17] i.e. Türkiye. Differently from previous years[18], the number of cases of ‘prevented entries’ was much less than those identified under the national monitoring mechanism as pushed back, either from the actual border or from the areas close to the border and already on Bulgarian territory. Reported since 2015,^[19] pushback practices such as verbal abuse and physical violence, as well as the humiliating practices of unlawful detention, strip searches and illegal confiscation of footwear, clothing and other belongings, continued to be applied despite the presence of Frontex mixed teams along the land border with Türkiye. In its 2024 report[20], the Committee for Prevention of Torture (CPT) indicated a clear pattern emerged regarding the treatment reserved by Bulgarian law enforcement officials to migrants who had managed to enter Bulgarian territory from Türkiye through the land border. In such cases, it appeared that individuals or groups had been apprehended and forcibly returned to Türkiye, outside any legally established procedures and without consideration of their individual circumstances or protection needs. The CPT also stated that both apprehension and subsequent forced removal were reported to had often been carried out by using physical violence and unmuzzled service dogs; and that the alleged ill-treatment consisted of slaps, punches including to the face, kicks, and blows with wooden sticks or tree branches, being chased and bitten by service dogs, as well as subjected to threats and/or verbal abuse. The CPT disclosed to have received numerous allegations that migrants had been forced to remove their clothes and shoes with personal belongings, including money and telephones seized before being pushed back to Türkiye.

Out of all 1,774 migrants apprehended at an external border, 1,500 migrants were apprehended at the land border, and 274 new arrivals at border crossing points (BCPs), namely: 250 persons at BCPs at Turkish border, 13 persons at Serbian border, 6 at North Macedonian border, 2 at Airport Sofia and 3 at sea border (Burgas border directorate). At the same time, and against the backdrop of a significantly decreased number of entries, the percentage of irregular migrants officially apprehended at the border with Türkiye for a second consecutive year remained the largest proportion, with 90% of all entry border apprehensions[21] and 54% of all apprehended new arrivals in the country[22]. Since 2014 until 2024, for ten consecutive years these percentages were notably low compared to the number of irregular migrants apprehended on exit borders or inside the territory, as the majority of those trying to enter from Türkiye were pushed back. This increase is attributed[23] to the increased presence of Frontex and other international staff in mixed border patrols along the land borderline with Türkiye. Once officially arrested instead of pushed back, irregular migrants can obtain information on available legal procedures and to apply for international protection as soon as at the 24hrs border police facilities, or after their following transfer to pre-removal (detention) centres in Lyubimets or Busmantsi (see, Detention of Asylum Seekers).

On 12 December 2024, the EU Council endorsed the full Schengen accession of Bulgaria and Romania from 1 January 2025. After the Schengen accession, the secondary movements slowly, but gradually began to change. Out of all 1,774 new irregular migrant arrivals, 98 migrants were apprehended on entry during the ongoing random border checks, the so-called Schengen compensatory measures, who entered from Greece, and 12 migrants who entered from Romania. It represented a 30% decrease in the number of entries in 2025 compared to the previous year (2024: 2,539 new arrivals at entry borders). At the same time, 1,441 migrants were apprehended while attempting to exit Bulgaria’s territory, out of whom 84 migrants at border crossing points (BCPs), 699 migrants at land borders and an almost equal number of 655 migrants after random border checks under the Schengen compensatory measures along the internal EU border on exit to Romania (612 migrants) and on exit to Greece (43 migrants). Out of all the 1,441 migrants apprehended by Bulgarian border police while trying to exit or taken back to Bulgaria by the border guards of the neighbouring countries, 54% (781 migrants) were new arrivals, which marked a 55% decrease on exit compared to the same period of the previous year (2024: 3,167 migrants, of whom 2,195 new arrivals). The attempted exits to or readmissions back to Bulgaria from Romania – a total of 608 migrants -, continued to rise gradually, even if by December 2025 they remained 11% lower than the numbers of those exiting to Serbia.[24] This means that the national exit routs of the smuggling and trafficking channels are gradually, but constantly shifting from Serbia towards Romania. Among the remaining 751 migrants apprehended in the country’s territory far from any border, the main countries of origin were Afghanistan (32%), Morocco (28%), Iraq (14%) and Syria (13%).

The changes in the political situation in Syria at the end of 2024, and mass deportations of Afghan nationals from Iran in the summer of 2025 – these representing the nationalities that have been the two top arrivals to Bulgaria over the last decade -, also led to a decrease in 2025 of the border pressure and the number of prevented irregular entries. The overall decrease of new arrivals from Türkiye in 2025 was reflected also in terms of the number of individuals accessing the national asylum system. There was a 68% drop in registered asylum applications, with just 3,895 applicants in 2025 compared to 12,250 in 2024; and 83% decrease compared to 22,518 applicants in 2023. Out of 1,774 migrants apprehended at an entry border in 2025 (2024: 2,543 migrants), only 1.7% (i.e. 28 entry border applicants) applied and had direct access to the asylum procedure without being detained. These numbers remained similar to those registered in 2024, when 0.2% (i.e. 27 individuals) had direct access to the asylum procedure without being detained. Out of the border applicants who had direct access to asylum procedure without detention, 39% (11 border applicants) were unaccompanied children who avoided detention as they were referred to social services by the Border police under the referral arrangements introduced in 2018.^[25] Out of them, 8 unaccompanied children were apprehended and referred by the Border Police, while 3 unaccompanied children were apprehended and referred by the Migration police after being apprehended within the country’s territory. The remaining 1746 migrants, apprehended at entry border together with 781 migrants apprehended at exit borders and 751 migrants apprehended in the territory of the country were sent to the pre-removal (detention) centres. Out of them, 87% (2,860 migrants) applied for asylum after their detention in pre-removal centres. This left 15% of all asylum applications (589 applicants) being submitted by the so called ‘self-reported’ third-country nationals, who are irregular migrants able to enter and reach asylum registration-and-reception centres without been detected or apprehended by any of the police authorities.

Border monitoring

Under the 2010 tripartite Memorandum of Understanding between the Border Police, UNHCR and the Bulgarian Helsinki Committee (BHC),^[26] with funding provided by UNHCR, all three parties have access to any national border or detention facility at land and air borders, including airport transit zones, without limitations on the number of monitoring visits. Access to these facilities is unannounced and granted without prior permission or conditions on time, frequency or circumstances of the persons detained. In 2025, due to financial constraints the BHC observers monitored just one main geographically designated border areas along the Bulgarian-Turkish border: the green border area starting from Kapikule-Svilengrad-Ormenion border triangle to Hamzabeyli-Lesovo border crossing point (in the area of Svilengrad border police precinct). For these reasons the Sakar and Strandzha mountain areas, stretching from Elhovo to the Black Sea coast (in the area of Elhovo, Bolyarovo, Sredets, Malko Tarnovo and Rezovo border police precincts) was monitored only on a monthly basis. The BHC lawyers can interview the detainees and check the border registers. Monthly reports are prepared and shared internally. On this basis, the parties prepare and publish an annual border monitoring report.^[27]

In 2025, the Bulgarian Helsinki Committee under its UNHCR-funded project carried out regular border monitoring visits on a weekly (or daily, depending on the situation) basis, at the border with Greece and Türkiye, as well as ad hoc visits at the Sofia Airport transit hall. During these visits, the Bulgarian Helsinki Committee can also obtain information from police records when needed to cross-check individual statements, but has access only to border detention facilities, not to border-crossing points per se.

Legal access to the territory

National legislation and arrangements in principle do not envisage humanitarian visas or humanitarian reasons as legal grounds for permitting entry to or the right to stay in the country’s territory.^[28] There are several exclusions in the law, when humanitarian reasons can be taken into account during the visa procedure, but all of them relate to a reduction of the requirements to submit some of the documents, supporting the visa application or proving the grounds for its granting. The law allows the visa application on humanitarian or emergency grounds to be submitted outside the country of origin of the visa applicant.^[29] The visa application can also be submitted on humanitarian or emergency grounds at the border crossing points (BCPs).^[30] However, in these cases the border police can issue only transit visas with a 3-days validity, or a short-term visa stay with a 15-days validity.

In 2022, no new relocations were implemented mainly due to mass arrivals from Ukraine. In 2023, 94 Syrians were relocated from Cyprus, while 76 applicants from Greece and 10 from Italy. In 2024, another 7 Syrian nationals were relocated from Cyprus. No new relocations were carried out in 2025.[31] Thus, the number of relocated persons reached a total of 250, including 70 evacuees from Afghanistan. The countries of origin varied from Syria and Afghanistan to Iraq, Eritrea, Pakistan, Egypt, while some of the relocated persons were stateless. Out of all the relocated persons, except those relocated from Afghanistan, 78 individuals have been recognised as refugees so far, 108 individuals have been granted subsidiary protection (“humanitarian status”), 2 individuals were rejected, 1 individual accepted a voluntary return to his country of origin, 1 procedure was terminated, and 14 procedures are still pending[32]. Regarding resettlement, the government decided to resettle 110 Syrians from Türkiye on 29 March 2017, based on the arrangements outlined in the 2016 EU-Türkiye deal.^[33] Up until 31 December 2025, Bulgaria resettled a total of 133 Syrian nationals from Türkiye. All of them were granted international protection.[34]

There is no official list of criteria applied in relocation or resettlement procedures in Bulgaria, but families with children are prioritized as a matter of practice. The SAR does not conduct security interviews with relocation candidates on site in Italy or Greece, but these are conducted with resettlement candidates in Türkiye. The SAR liaison officer examines the relevant files together with the Italian and Greek authorities. A document check of the relocated and resettled persons is performed by the State Agency for National Security (SANS) in Bulgaria and Türkiye, after which clearance is given for the relocation or resettlement to be carried out.

All relocated and resettled persons are being admitted directly to a regular procedure. All of them are accommodated in the refugee reception centre (RRC) in Sofia, Vrazhdebna shelter, which is considered as a model reception centre with material conditions above the minimum standards. Food, health care, initial orientation and social mediation is provided on site. However, no one receives monthly payment or other financial allowance nor pocket money, which is the treatment of all asylum seekers in Bulgaria since the abolition of the social financial assistance in February 2015 (see section on Forms and Levels of Material Reception Conditions).

^[1] Darik News, ‘Забраняват заснемането на оградата по границата с Турция’, 30 May 2018, available in Bulgarian at: https://bit.ly/3K8bgFR.

^[2] From 9 September 1944 to 10 November 1989.

^[3] dir.bg, ‘Назначиха проверка за разрушената ограда на границата с Турция’, 20 May 2021, available in Bulgarian at: https://bit.ly/3FohyO2.

^[4] Darik News, ‘МВР поема управлението върху оградата по българо-турската граница’, 23 September 2021, available in Bulgarian at: https://bit.ly/3A8K8Cd.

^[5] Kompassbg.com, ‘Спешен ремонт на оградата по границата ни с Турция разпореди Министерският съвет’, 7 June 2024, available in Bulgarian here.

^[6] FRONTEX, Frontex launches new land operation, 2 April 2022, available at: https://bit.ly/3Yx2A1W.

[7] Greek Embassy in Bulgaria, Откриване на граничния Контактен център Гърция – България – Турция, published on 2 December 2016, available in Bulgarian here.

[8] sega.bg, Полицаи от Австрия, Румъния и Унгария застанаха на границата ни с Турция, published on 3 February 2025, available here in Bulgarian.

[9] MOI statistics, December 2025 Report, Tables on page 2, Migrants who independently returned to the territory of neighbouring countries, published in January 2026, available in Bulgarian at: https://bit.ly/49x8Dd3.

[10] MOI statistics, December 2025 Report, Tables on page 2, Migrants who independently returned to the territory of neighbouring countries, published on 16 January 2025, available in Bulgarian at: https://bit.ly/49x8Dd3.

[11] Ibid.

[12] See, AIDA, Twelfth Update on Bulgaria, April 2024, page 30.

^[13] Bi-lateral Memorandum between National Border Police Service with the Ministry of Interior and Bulgarian Helsinki Committee, signed on 15 December 2004.

^[14] Tripartite Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) among Border Police, UNHCR and Bulgarian Helsinki Committee, signed on 14 April 2010.

^[15] Tripartite Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) among Border Police, UNHCR and Bulgarian Helsinki Committee, signed on 14 April 2010.

[16] See, AIDA, Twelfth Update on Bulgaria, April 2025, page 28: 3,548 pushbacks affecting 43,282 persons   

[17] MOI statistics, December 2025 Report, Migrants, who independently returned to the territory of neighbouring countries, Tables on page 2, published in January 2026, available in Bulgarian at: https://bit.ly/49x8Dd3.

[18] See, AIDA, Twelfth Update on Bulgaria, April 2025, page 28.

^[19] See, AIDA, Fourth Update on Bulgaria, 30 September 2015, page 20-21.

[20] European Committee for Prevention of Torture, Inhuman and Degrading Treatment or Punishment, Ad Hoc Visit Report, Bulgaria 16 – 23 September 2024, published on 6 August 2025, paragraph 38, available at: https://www.ecoi.net/en/document/2132512.html

[21] MOI statistics: 1,774 individuals apprehended at entry borders in 2025, of whom 1,600 individuals at the border with Türkiye (2024: 2,543 individuals, of whom 1,803 at the border with Türkiye / 2023: 1,803 individuals, of whom 1,729 at the border with Türkiye), available in Bulgarian at: https://bit.ly/49x8Dd3.

[22] Ibid.

[23] Bulgarian Helsinki Committee, Monthly situation report, August 2024. MOI statistics, December 2025 Report: 2025: July – 63% attempted exits to Serbia (415 migrants) vs. 37% exits to Romania (240 migrants); August – 57% exits to Serbia (478 migrants) vs. 43% to Romania (358 migrants); September – 57% to Serbia (545 migrants) vs. 43% to Romania (405 migrants); October – 54% to Serbia (589 migrants) vs. 46% to Romania (510 migrants); November – 54% to Serbia (647 migrants) vs. 46% to Romania (546 migrants) an December 2025: 53% to Serbia (684 migrants) vs. 47% to Romania (612 migrants).

[24] MOI statistics, December 2025 Report: 2025: July – 63% attempted exits to Serbia (415 migrants) vs. 37% exits to Romania (240 migrants); August – 57% exits to Serbia (478 migrants) vs. 43% to Romania (358 migrants); September – 57% to Serbia (545 migrants) vs. 43% to Romania (405 migrants); October – 54% to Serbia (589 migrants) vs. 46% to Romania (510 migrants); November – 54% to Serbia (647 migrants) vs. 46% to Romania (546 migrants) an December 2025: 53% to Serbia (684 migrants) vs. 47% to Romania (612 migrants).

^[25] Article 63k-63l LARB Regulations.

^[26] The Bulgarian Helsinki Committee had a bilateral agreement with the Border Police from 2004 to 2010.

^[27] The border monitoring reports are available at: https://bit.ly/3mjDhNz.

^[28] Article 5 Ordinance for Rules and Criteria for Visa Issuing and Visa Regime.

^[29] Article 11 (6) Ordinance for Rules and Criteria for Visa Issuing and Visa Regime.

^[30] Article 10 (2) Ordinance for Rules and Criteria for Visa Issuing and Visa Regime.

[31] SAR, reg. №ПО-02-115 from 22 February 2026.

[32] Ibid.

^[33]  Council of Ministers, Decision №750 from 30 November 2017.

[34] SAR, reg. №ПО-02-115 from 22 February 2026.