bordermonitoring.eu | 13.02.2017
According to the State Agency for Refugees (SAR), 19,418 asylum applications last year, were registered in Bulgaria (mainly by Afghan, Syrians and Iraqi nationals). From all Afghan asylum seekers, 2,5% of them got a positive decision. Currently, the SAR suggests that 3,728 asylum seekers are accommodated in the open centers and the Migration Directorate of the Ministry of Interior stated that 984 are living in “closed-type“ centers. Now, two reception centers, managed by the SAR, are existing as closed centers: One part of the center in the outskirt of Harmanli, which opened after the riot in November 2016 and another one opened already in the same center in August.