Bulgarian Centre for Social Integration in London: Many Bulgarians in the UK will Return Home because they Could not Meet the Requirements

Many of the Bulgarians living in the UK will return home because they will not be able to meet the requirements. This is what Nishan Dzhingozyan, founder of Bulgarian Centre for Social Integration and Culture in London, said in Focus Radio's Red Line broadcast.

He explained that next year EU citizens living in the UK, including Bulgarians, will have to apply for a new legal status because of Brexit. Nishan Dzhingozyan commented that the return of Bulgarians implied consequences for both the UK and Bulgaria. "Over 60% of Bulgarians in the UK work in the services sector - hotels, restaurants. Their potential return to Bulgaria will have an impact on the UK, but also on Bulgaria. Imagine a wave of 10, 20 or 50 thousand Bulgarians returning to Bulgaria because they cannot stay in the UK. First, this means a significant reduction in the remittances from the UK to Bulgaria. On the other hand, this means burden for the social system of Bulgaria. For example, if 10,000 citizens return to Sofia, they will apply for job, GP, home. I predict that a large wave of people will return because they will not be able to meet the requirements," said Dzhingozyan.

According to him, there are several problems for Bulgarian citizens in the UK: lack of language skills, lack of or insufficient digital skills, inability to present the required documents, as well as lack of information about the very procedure. In his words, those who could not meet the criteria are mainly seasonal or low-paid workers, people with low education or those working without a contract, Bulgarian citizens who cannot prove their stay because they are not registered, as well as pensioners who live with their children in the UK but are not registered and could not prove having lived...