When you are already in the camp of the Agency for Refugees, the Agency will officially register you as a foreigner seeking asylum and protection in Bulgaria.
Before being accommodated in a refugee camp, you will be searched for weapons or illegal items. This procedure is called a body search. You are entitled to have the body search carried out by an officer of the same sex, namely men are searched by male officers, and women by female officers.
After that all your documents will be taken from you and kept in custody at the Agency till the completion of your asylum procedure with a final decision. The officer receiving your documents will give you a written record signed by him which precisely lists the documents which you submitted. Keep this record, as later on you will use it in order to get back your documents, unless the Bulgarian authorities have legal reasons to keep them.
Afterwards you will have your photograph and fingerprints taken.
After that you will be asked, if you are literate, to write yourself, and, if you are illiterate, to orally tell your names and date of birth, as well as the names of your parents and brothers and sisters, husband, wife and children, if you have any. It is important that this data should be absolutely precise and complete. The incorrect writing of the names may cause problems after a status has been granted in relation to the issuance of the permanent documents or the issuance of permission for reuniting with family members residing outside Bulgaria.
Upon registration the Agency officers will interview you with the help of an interpreter. The data will be entered into a registration sheet which will be signed by the applicant, the interpreter and the officer.
Afterwards you will be referred to the medical doctor at the camp for medical screening and analyses. While awaiting the results from the various laboratory tests, the applicant may be placed under quarantine in an isolated room, if there are signs that he may be suffering from a contagious disease.
At the end you will be issued a note indicating the date and time when you will receive your temporary document for residence in Bulgaria, called “registration card”.
Such a note may be issued to you even if the registration cannot be done due the lack of an interpreter.
Please, observe strictly the date and time indicated on the note!
After all the registration actions have been completed, you will be accommodated at a refugee camp. Where possible, families are accommodated together in one room.
