Bulgaria: Information for stateless people and those at risk of statelessness fleeing Ukraine including right to work; health insurance; travel documents apply for refugee status or humanitarian status For more information, see: • • • • • • • • Bulgarian State Agency for Refugees Bulgarian Government website with information for persons fleeing from Ukraine CMS, Bulgaria Immigration and Travel Requirements for Refugees from Ukraine Foundation for Access to Rights - FAR, Application for international protection and Temporary protection European Council on Refugees and Exiles (ECRE), Information Sheet EU Asylum Agency, Who is Who in International Protection, Temporary Protection overview KIND & Child Circle, Note on unaccompanied children fleeing Ukraine Right to Protection, Who are stateless persons who fled Ukraine after the Russian invasion on 24 of February, 2022 3. STATELESSNESS DETERMINATION AND PROTECTION STATUS For stateless people, it is important to determine both a claim for international protection and their statelessness. Each application should be assessed and both types of status should be explicitly recognised so that even if international protection ceases, the person remains entitled to protection as a stateless person. Statelessness determination should be conducted either in parallel with or following the refugee status determination, with due regard to the primacy of the asylum claim and the principle of confidentiality for refugees in statelessness determination procedures. For more information, see: ENS briefing on statelessness determination & protection in Europe. Bulgaria has a dedicated statelessness determination procedure established in law. The procedure is summarised in the table below. Foundation for Access to Rights (FAR) provides free legal aid to applicants for statelessness status under a partnership agreement with UNHCR. For more information, see FAR – Stateless Persons in Bulgaria and ENS – Statelessness Index Bulgaria. What is it? Can stateless and/or undocumented persons apply? Where to apply? Procedure & rights Statelessness Status Protection under the 1954 Convention Relating to the Status of Stateless Persons (although applications may be refused on certain grounds) Yes Before the Director of the Migration Directorate at the Ministry of Interior; or before the Regional Directorates of the Ministry of Interior Written application in Bulgarian (or translated into Bulgarian by a certified translator) on a specific form; application cannot be initiated ex-officio; no fee; no lawful stay requirement; no time limit to apply, but in practice access is limited by the risk of detention; free legal assistance is provided by NGOs (including by FAR); some State-funded legal aid provided for certain aspects of the process; right to an interview; right to an interpreter but costs borne by applicant; procedure lasts six to eight months; decision in writing and reasoned (but in practice there are cases of ‘silent rejection’); right to appeal before the court within 14 days of the notification; right to appeal to the Supreme Court; no automatic right to stay in Bulgaria during the procedure; no right to work and no support available unless the person has another form of authorised stay; detention possible for up to 18 months for removal purposes or for up to 30 days for identification purposes; no travel restrictions during the procedure if applicant has a valid travel document; SDP paused if application for