Bulgaria is a signatory to:

• the 1951 Convention Relating to the Status of Refugees, which provides the internationally recognised definition of a refugee and outlines the legal protection, rights and assistance a refugee is entitled to receive. 
• the 1967 Protocol Relating to the Status of Refugees, which expanded the Convention to apply universally and protect all persons fleeing conflict and persecution
• the 1954 Convention relating to the Status of Stateless People, which established a framework for the international protection of stateless persons, and 
• the 1961 Convention on the Reduction to Statelessness being one of only twenty-seven countries to introduce a stateless determination process in 2017 (UNHCR, 2024). This set rules for the conferral and non-withdrawal of citizenship to prevent cases of statelessness from arising.

As a regional member of the European Union (EU), Bulgaria is subject to EU frameworks on the protection of refugees and stateless people, including the 1997 European Convention on Nationality  which establishes principles and rules on nationality.

In addition to these international protection frameworks, and as part of the European Union (EU), Bulgaria is bound by the Common European Asylum System (CEAS) which aimed at introducing EU-wide standards for the equal treatment and protection of refugees, migrants, and asylum seekers entering the EU. The system is governed by five legislative instruments and one agency:

• Asylum Procedures Directive, aiming at setting out the conditions for fair, quick and quality asylum decisions; 
• Reception Conditions Directive, providing common standards for reception conditions across the EU;
• Qualification Directive, clarifying grounds for granting international protection;
• Dublin Regulation, establishing the State responsible for examining the application;
• EURODAC Directive, governing the EU database of asylum seekers fingerprints;
• European Union Agency for Asylum, providing operational and technical assistance to EU Member States in the assessment of applications for international protection.

The CEAS has been reformed by the New Pact on Migration and Asylum (the Pact), approved in 2024 and set to take effect in 2026. The Pact presents a complex package of ten legislative files intended to reform the EU’s migration and asylum system by establishing new EU-wide solutions to long-standing migration challenges. 

While the Pact has been presented by EU institutions as delivering the intended results while remaining grounded in European values, human rights organisations and migration experts have long opposed and criticised its reforms. Here you can find a point by point analysis of the Pact by the European Council on Refugees and Exiles.

In addition to the obligations under the international instruments, Bulgaria is obligated to respect the international customary legal principle of non-refoulement which prohibits any country from deporting individuals to any country where they face the threat of persecution.  

Bulgaria has several frameworks ensuring the protection of refugees. The Constitution (Article 27), ratifies the right to claiming asylum in accordance with international obligations such as the right to non-discrimination. The 2002 Asylum and Refugees Act outlines the implementation and fair procedures regarding refugee protection in Bulgaria. 

The State Agency for Refugees (SAR) is the state authority which oversees application for international protection in the Republic of Bulgaria. This is monitored by UNHCR at all stages. Following the regulations mandated within the Law on Asylum and Refugees (LAR) (Закон за убежището и бежанците), the SAR determines whether applications are eligible for refugee status or the subsidiary protection which is called humanitarian status, within a six-month time frame. 

Protection in the form of asylum can be granted by the President of the Republic of Bulgaria and is based on national legalisation addressing significant cases when individuals are perceived to be at risk from persecution by the state (Article 98). Temporary protection, which is determined on a group basis, is granted by the Council of Ministers when large-scale immigration due to mass violence or human right violations occurs (Bulgarian Government, 2019). In light of the Ukraine-Russia conflict, temporary protection has been extended to Ukrainian citizens until 4 March 2025 and over 66,000 refugees from Ukraine have been recorded in Bulgaria (Asylum Information Database, 2023).  

For further information on the main legislative acts and implementing decrees within Bulgaria for persons applying for international protection please consult the following sources:

•  The Asylum Information Database (AIDA) provides a summary of the relevant legislation and policy in Bulgaria, which you can find here. 
• The Bulgarian Council on Refugees and Migrants information page 
• The UNHCR Bulgarian asylum information page

You can apply for asylum in Bulgaria both from within its territory or at the border. The request can be made both orally, through speaking, or a written case.

If you are inside Bulgaria, you can apply for asylum: 

1. Before state authorities: this is any state body in Bulgaria who will send the application to the SAR. 
2. With the border police: you are apprehended by national or border police, you must state your intention of applying for international protection straight away to prevent being placed in an immigration detention centre. If you fail to declare you are claiming asylum if detained at the border, you will be treated as an illegal immigrant subject to deportation.
3. At an immigration detention centre (SCTAF): individuals can also request protection at one of the two immigration detention centres, Busmantsi and Lyubimets, where free legal assistance is provided by the Bulgarian Helsinki Committee (UNHCR, 2024).  

BG gives more information about the best practice when claiming asylum. For example, they suggest filling the application in your native language and also showing any identity documents you may hold. For further information on the asylum process, detention centres, and please click here.