In Bulgaria, asylum can be claimed either on the territory, at the borders, or in detention centers and must be referred to the State Agency for Refugees (SAR) within six working days. Upon arrival, individuals who claim asylum can choose to stay in one of the state facilities or in private accommodation on Bulgarian territory.

While staying in one of the state camps gives the asylum seeker access to healthcare in the form of on-site medical staff and a regular meal - the drawbacks of staying in the badly maintained buildings put people under a lot of stress.

Map of Bulgaria with the government asylum seeker facilities Red numbers (open-type accommodations): 1: PASTROGOR CAMP 2: HARMANLI CAMP 3: BANYA CAMP 4: OVCHA KUPEL CAMP 5: VOENNA RAMPA CAMP 6: VRAJDEBNA CAMP // Black numbers (closed-type accommodations): 1: LYUBIMETS 2: BUSMANTSI

Ovcha Kupel near Sofia. Capacity: 560. Current population: 568 (end of 2023, data provided from the ECRE report). Open camp.

During our latest observations on the ground we managed to speak to residents of the Ovcha Kupel camp located on the outskirts of Sofia. A Congolese woman described the conditions in the camp being “very bad” and highlighted the inadequate quality of the food served. Moreover, she reported that new arrivals are transferred to the Ovcha Kupel camp on a regular basis - even though the conditions are severely underpar.

According to one of the social workers of the Red Cross the Ovcha Kupel camp is “finished” and will be closing soon though it currently remains open for registration for Ukrainian citizens and other third country individuals. It also provides accommodation for minors and unaccompanied minors even while being in severe disrepair.

Other NGOs reported that the private security company working at the gates of the camp is not very reliable and people inside the camps feel unsafe because of the lax security - especially in the camps where the family quarters and single men’s are not in separate buildings.

Voenna Rampa near Sofia. Capacity: 380. Current population: 300 (as of July 2024, data provided by Red Cross). Open camp.

According to information gathered through informal interviews with residents and social workers inside the Voenna Rampa camp, the population is predominantly made up of single men from Afghanistan, as well as some Arabic-speaking families and families from Iran. The Voenna Rampa camp's capacity is reported to be between 350 and 380 individuals, with the current population estimated at around 300 people, including 80 unaccompanied minors.

Residents at Voenna Rampa reported living in extremely poor conditions. There are only four functioning bathrooms and two showers available for the entire camp population. This inadequate number of facilities has led to significant hygiene issues, with residents reporting widespread cases of scabies. There are general concerns about sanitation, with reports of pest infestations further exacerbating the living conditions.

“There are many problems here. There is a problem with everything about food. There is a shortage of bathrooms. There are bed problems and pests. There’s a lot of trouble here” [via google translate]

Complaints have been raised regarding the quality and quantity of food provided. The residents have expressed that the food situation is highly problematic, contributing to the overall dissatisfaction with their living conditions.

The Voenna Rampa facility has a paramedic on site, however, the provision of healthcare is severely limited due to medication shortages and lack of prescription authority. The paramedic has reported a shortage of essential medications, including antibiotics, which is a significant concern given the health issues prevalent in the camp. The on-site paramedic does not have the authority to prescribe medication, further complicating access to necessary treatments for the residents.

Vrazhdebna near Sofia. Capacity: 300. Current population: 150 (as of July 2024, data estimated by residents). Open camp.

Vrazhdebna camp. Photo provided by Collective Aid volunteers.

In 2023, the Vrazhdebna camp experienced a fire that significantly worsened the living conditions in what had previously been an adequately managed facility. Like other camps, Vrazhdebna is now grappling with serious pest infestations. Residents who spoke with the Collective Aid team identified mosquitoes and other pests, likely including scabies and bed bugs, as their primary concerns. Some of the residents spoken to had visibly infected bug bites.

“[...] insects and mosquitos have completely eaten away our bodies” (via google translate).

Harmanli near TUR-BG border. Capacity: 1676. Current population: 272 (as of July 2024, data provided by MSF in Harmanli). Open camp.

Harmanli camp. Picture provided by Nathan Akehrust.

Similar to other state facilities, in Harmanli camp complaints were also raised by residents about the sub-standard living conditions. A Syrian resident shared his experience with our team of being returned to Bulgaria under the Dublin regulation after staying in Germany for 11 months. He was denied access to the camp upon his return and only let in three days after.

“They told us to go to the hotel for the start of work on Monday. We sat in the hotel and did not have money, then we went to the park for two days”.
“Here when we were returned to Bulgaria we were not given any salary, any money, or any aid”.

The man further described that the lack of any financial support from the Bulgarian state is hard to manage after being deported from another country. Similar accounts of the mistreatment of those returned to Bulgaria under the Dublin regulation have been shared to local NGO Mission Wings who are active in Harmanli. They reported an instance in April where a group of 4-5 people were returned but could not enter the reception facility until their asylum procedure was reopened. In the meantime they were forced to sleep rough for a week.

In 2023 Bulgaria received 590 incoming transfers under the Dublin regulation which is almost a 200% increase on 2022. By March 2024, Austria alone had reportedly returned over 200 people between the 21st and 22nd of March. Considering these stats, 2024 is forecast to again show a significant increase in the number of people returned to Bulgaria. This could well be a result of greater impetus being placed upon returns under the Dublin regulation after the passing of the new EU pact on migration & asylum. Another example of how EU policy can instigate and perpetuate the mistreatment and suffering for people seeking asylum.

Two other individuals who were staying in the Harmanli camp, one of which was a minor, shared their experiences of abuse from police within the facility. The police had used excessive violence in the form of beating and electroshocks on them inside of the Harmanli camp. They told us that such instances - which likely constitute as torture - were not a rare occurrence. Other cases of police brutality inside the Harmanli camp include questioning residents about supposed drug dealers in the area.

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Asylum claims do not have to be handed to authorities in a written or any other special manner. A verbal request for protection is enough for authorities to have to refer the person to the appropriate facilities - in the case of Bulgaria it being the State Agency for Refugee. Nevertheless, in multiple instances in the past a verbal claim has not been accepted even in front of the reception facilities in Harmanli. In answer to this Mission Wings - a Bulgarian NGO working in Harmanli - started handing out written asylum claims in Bulgarian, where individuals only have to fill out their personal information and hand it to the staff in the Harmanli camp.

Once the asylum procedure is completed the individuals must leave the facilities and have to accommodate themselves from this point on. A further obligation, apart from providing for food and basic necessities, is that they must pay for their own health insurance. In Bulgaria, the healthcare system offers a range of medical services, funded by the National Health Insurance Fund (NHIF). To access these services for free, adults must pay a monthly health insurance fee, which is 8% of their salary or, if unemployed, 8% of the national minimum wage—about BGN 28.40 per month in 2023. For children under 18, retirees, and certain other groups like military personnel, the state covers these monthly health fees.

While on the ground, we met several individuals who had successfully navigated the asylum process in Bulgaria and received their asylum status. Although asylum holders are granted the right to work, they face significant challenges in securing employment. A major obstacle is the lack of proficiency in Bulgarian, as the government does not provide language lessons during or after the asylum process, leaving many with huge obstacles to navigate the labor market by themselves or at all. After receiving asylum, individuals must quickly transition to self-sufficiency without adequate support, facing challenges like finding housing and paying for health insurance.

Words by: Kate Juszczak, Field Coordinator MVI Bulgaria and Dan Schoolar, Border Violence Monitoring Coordinator CA.

Bulgaria's Hidden Struggle: The Asylum Seekers’ Journey