Number of Migrants Seeking Protection Increased in October

The number of migrants seeking protection from Bulgaria is 2526 for October 2016, according to data from the State Agency for Refugees.

The applicants were from 15 different countries.

The number from the beginning of the year (January - October, 2016) is 16 806.

Humanitarian status was given to 49 people from two countries in October and the total number of people with this status from January to October, 2016 is 411.

The number of migrants who were denied status in October alone is 190. Since the beginning of the year the total figure is 1019.

Within the first 9 months of the year the number of arrivals in Bulgaria from Afghanistan is 7961, second come Iraq nationals (4708), followed by Syrian nationals (2122), applicants from Pakistan (1370) and Iran (378).

For October the Agency has granted 70 refugee status requests from nationals from three countries and 560 refugee status requests since the beginning of the  year.

Bulgaria is strategically located in the South Eastern corner of the European Union, being one of the gates into Europe along the Balkan and the East Mediterranean migration routes. Since June 2013, the situation in Bulgaria has dynamically changed with regard to the number of undocumented migrants.

Most undocumented migrants who are detected by the Border Police initiate a procedure for seeking international protection, according to the the International Organization for Migration (IOM).

In recent years there has been a constant increase in the number of migrants seeking international protection.

For 2015 and 2016 the top five countries are Iraq, Afghanistan, Syria, Pakistan and Iran. Worthy of note is the increase in 2015 and 2016 of the number of...