If you are lodging an application for asylum in Bulgaria for the first time, you have the right to be accommodated in a camp with the Agency for Refugees.
Families have the right to request that they are accommodated together.
Brothers and sisters also have the right to be accommodated together, irrespective of whether they are children or adults.
Unaccompanied children who are in Bulgaria without their parents or other relatives have the right to ask for accommodation in separate rooms which are only for children or families, as well as the right not to be accommodated with unknown adults in the same room.
If, however, you already have an application which was examined and a decision was made by the Bulgarian authorities, and you lodged a second or another repeated application, you will not be entitled to accommodation by the Agency for Refugees and will have to ensure accommodation by yourself. If, however, you are a person belonging to a vulnerable group or with special needs, you may receive accommodation and food even if you lodged a repeated application. The law defines as vulnerable persons children, persons with disabilities, pregnant women, single parents with children aged under 18, victims of human trafficking, persons with serious health problems, mental disorders or survivors of torture, rape or other forms of mental, physical or sexual violence.
Bulgaria has several refugee camps on its territory:
PASTROGOR CAMP
Address: the village of Pastrogor 6519,
Svilengrad municipality,
Haskovo region
HARMANLI CAMP
Address: Harmanli 6450,
23,Droujba neighbourhood
Haskovo region
BANYA CAMP
Address: the village of Banya 8914,
Nova Zagora municipality,
21, Mineralni bani area
Stara Zagora region
OVCHA KUPEL CAMP
Address: Sofia 1618,
Ovcha Kupel neighbourhood,
21A, Montevideo str.
VRAJDEBNA CAMP
Address: Sofia,
Vrajdebna neighbourhood,
270, Botevgradsko shosse blvd.
VOENNA RAMPA CAMP
Address: Sofia,
Voenna rampa-iztok neighbourhood,
11, Lokomotiv str.
If you want to have accommodation outside the refugee camp, you need to have enough money to cover your rental costs for the duration of the asylum procedure. You should bear in mind that the procedure may take longer – from several months up to one year or more. In addition, you have to find accommodation by yourself and sign a rental contract with the owner who has to show the documents for the ownership of the lodging to the Agency for Refugees. This is a requirement to be met in order for the Agency to indicate the new address on your registration card.
After you have once chosen accommodation outside the refugee camp, it will be extremely difficult to get permission to go back to the refugee camp, in case you run short of money or have another reason.
This is why whenever you decide to change your address or your telephone number, you must inform the Agency for Refugees by filing a written application in order for your new address to be entered in your registration card. Otherwise the Agency will not be aware of the address to which they can send you the invitation for the interview as a result of which your procedure may be terminated and you may lose your rights in Bulgaria.
This must be done whenever you change your address. Otherwise, in addition to the procedure, you may also have trouble with the police.
The Agency also has a closed-type refugee camp. This camp differs from the detention centres run by the immigration police in Busmantzi and Lyubimetz. The Agency for Refugees usually accommodates there persons who have committed serious or repeated violations of the internal rules in the refugee camps or other serious violations of the public order or even crimes, for example, repeated attempts to illegally leave Bulgaria. Such closed-type refugee camps may also be used for detaining persons in respect of whom attempts are made to establish their real identity. In these cases the asylum procedure for such persons may be completed while they are accommodated in the closed-type refugee camp. The accommodation in a closed-type refugee camp may be appealed before the court.
