site.btaInterior Ministry: Third-Country Nationals Detained in February Up by 46.6% on January

The Interior Ministry's monthly report on the migrant situation said that 1,240 third-country nationals were detained in February, up by 46.6 per cent from January. In the first two months of the year, 2,086 third-country nationals were detained, up by 4.2 per cent year on year.

In February, 1,009 third-country nationals were found to be staying illegally in Bulgaria, 43.9 per cent more than in January. The respective figure for January and February 2022 is 1,710, 7.2 per cent more than a year earlier.

The persons detained while entering Bulgarian territory in January and February are 69 per cent Syrians (138 persons) and 25 Afghanis. Those detained while leaving the country were 339 Afghanis and 93 Syrians.

As at the end of February, 2,015 people were accommodated in the centres of the State Agency for Refugees, which is 39.1 per cent of their capacity, said the Interior Ministry. The facilities of the Ministry's Migration Directorate were housing 945 persons (89.2 per cent of their capacity), mostly Afghanis and Syrians.

So far this year, 1,947 persons have applied for protection, of whom 928 in February alone. Ninety-one third-country nationals were sent back in January and February, of whom 38.5 per cent were from Turkey.