Background information

People displaced from Ukraine can apply for registration of temporary protection, providing rights for settlement, education, employment or social assistance.

Temporary protection is granted by the Council of Ministers by decision of the Council of the European Union. Its duration shall be determined by the decision of the Council of the European Union.

Since 15 March 2022 the Bulgarian government started to rollout a new system for registration for temporary protection of people displaced from Ukraine. The government has opened regional locations to facilitate registration process. The prioritisation of the rollout is based on the number of displaced people from Ukraine who are currently accommodated in different places across the country, as well as on the statistics for the “hot spots” at border-crossing points and railway stations.

Content of measure

The Bulgarian government established a new nation-wide system for temporary protection status registration which ensures the right to:

• stay in the territory of the Republic of Bulgaria;
• receive a registration card of a foreigner who have temporary protection;
• participate in education (for students) and to access kindergarten for children under 6 years of age;
• receive accommodation or funding for accommodation if necessary;
• receive social assistance.

The temporary protection registration guarantee that citizens of Ukraine in Bulgaria have the ability to:

• register as jobseekers with the Directorate of the Labour Office at their address of residence;
• participate in free vocational training;
• receive accommodation in housing paid for by the State on a daily basis (hotels and rest stations, rest facilities of municipalities and other departments) for up to 3 months;

The Social Assistance Directorate at their address may grant them monthly financial assistance, as well as a one-off grant of BGN 375 to meet occasional needs.

They also can benefit from medical care similar to that received by Bulgarian citizens, free public and intercity transport on presentation of a Ukrainian identity document, and free kindergarten.

The Bulgarian State also granted the citizens of Ukraine the ability to not vignette and toll fees on the territory of Bulgaria for cars with Ukrainian registration. They also enacted a simplified procedure for opening bank accounts and obtaining credit and debit cards from Bulgarian banks.

The citizens of Ukraine who enter the territory of Bulgaria without registering for temporary protection are entitled to stay visa-free in the country for up to 90 days. They can apply for temporary protection status at any time until 24 February 2023.

Use of measure

Of the 218,000 Ukrainian refugees who have crossed through Bulgaria, 97,000 have remained in the country. Between 85% and 90% of them are registered with temporary protection according to Petya Karayaneva, Protection Adviser, UNHCR - Bulgaria (29 April 2022).

According to the Bulgaria for Ukraine portal (1 February 2023), there are currently 49,491 Ukrainian refugees in Bulgaria, 10,320 of them are accommodated under the assistance programme. A total of 151,346 have received temporary protection status.

As of 17 January 2023, there are 150,404 Ukrainian citizens with temporary protection in Bulgaria, of which 50,123 are in the country. According to the chairman of the refugee agency, nearly 45% of these 50 thousand Ukrainian refugees are children and nearly 10% are elderly.

Target groups

Workers	Businesses	Citizens
Does not apply to workers	Does not apply to businesses	Migrants or refugees

Actors and funding

Actors	Funding
National government Local / regional government EU (Council, EC, EP)	National funds

Social partners

Social partners' role in designing the measure and form of involvement:

	Trade unions	Employers' organisations
Role	No involvement	No involvement
Form	Not applicable	Not applicable

Social partners' role in the implementation, monitoring and assessment phase:

• No involvement
• Main level of involvement: N/A

Involvement

Social partners are not involved in designing and implementing this registration initiative. The government together with the European Commission initiated and organised the nationwide registration system.

Views and reactions

CITUB published the Resolution on Ukraine, approved at the meeting of the Executive Committee of the ECP on 16 and 17 March. There are no clear views expressed about the registration for temporary protection.

Sources

• 15 March 2022: Issuance of Temporary Protection (ukraine.gov.bg)
• 15 March 2022: Types of special protection (www.aref.government.bg)
• 21 March 2022: Registration for temporary protection – Ukrainian citizens and third country nationals coming from UkraineRegistration for temporary protection – Ukrainian citizens and third country nationals coming from Ukraine (refugee-integration.bg)
• 26 March 2022: EESC with a resolution on the economic and social impact of the war in Ukraine (knsb-bg.org)
• 29 April 2022: Bulgaria is among the countries with the largest share of Ukrainian refugees with temporary protection (www.investor.bg)
• 11 July 2022: Until when the state covers health insurance of persons with temporary protection (ukraine.gov.bg)
• 18 January 2023: Temporary Protection Extended (www.investor.bg)
• 11 February 2023: The re-registration of the persons who arrived from Ukraine and received temporary protection on the territory of the Republic of Bulgaria has started, the validity of which is extended until 04.03.2024. (ukraine.gov.bg)
• 11 February 2023: The re-registration started (ukraine.gov.bg)
• 10 February 2024: Extension of the period of temporary protection until 04.03.2025. (aref.government.bg)