Free housing in Bulgaria: the country continued to support Ukrainians under new conditions
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Bulgaria will continue to accept Ukrainian refugees, transferring them from hotels to state institutions. This was stated by the Minister of Internal Affairs of the country, Ivan Demerjiev.
He noted that 15 days will be allocated for resettlement, until mid-November.
"Only Bulgaria and two other countries - Cyprus and Ireland - provide such protection (to Ukrainian refugees - ed.) for an unlimited period. On the other hand, we want to make sure that in winter these people will be accommodated in proper places, and they will not have to move to harsh climatic conditions", - said Demerjiev.
As you know, the program for accommodating refugees from Ukraine was put into effect by the former Petkov government at the beginning of 2022, when numerous of Ukrainians, fleeing the war, sought refuge in Bulgaria.
The first stage of the scheme involved paying hoteliers 40 leva per person per day for hosting Ukrainian refugees. The second stage included 10 or 15 leva per day excluding VAT, depending on whether food was provided. This phase was extended until the end of October by the interim government that came to power in early August.
Demerjiev emphasized that the interim government "provided the necessary places and opportunities" to change the scheme.
In addition, Acting Minister of Tourism Ilyin Dimitrov stated that the money allocated by Bulgaria for the maintenance of refugees from Ukraine is significant, even compared to other EU member states.
So far, about 523 million leva (about 267 million euros) have been paid, of which 200 million leva came from the national budget and about 300 million from the programs and funds of the European Union.
How many refugees from Ukraine are currently in Bulgaria?
According to a special government portal, as of October 31, 852,998 Ukrainians arrived in Bulgaria. In total, 54,968 people remain in Bulgaria, and there are 51,496 children in the country. Currently, 16,130 people are accommodated.
Bulgaria granted temporary protection status to 143,670 Ukrainians.
We will remind you! The Dutch government introduced changes for refugees from Ukraine. From November 1, you need to have a special sticker-mark in your passport or O-document confirming the status of temporary protection. More details at the link.
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