site.btaBorder Police Prevents 180,000 Migrants' Attempts to Enter Bulgaria Illegally in 2023

Border police officers in Bulgaria have prevented nearly 180,000 attempts by migrants to enter Bulgaria illegally in 2023, according to data released by the Interior Ministry here on Wednesday.

The border with Turkiye was the busiest in 2023. There was a 10% increase in migrants' attempts to enter Bulgaria illegally through the Turkish border compared to 2022. Border guards apprehended 1,729 illegal migrants. Most migrants were Syrian nationals with 920, followed by Morocco with 270, Afghanistan with 249 and Iraq with 105.

More than 178,200 migrants were prevented from trying to cross illegally from Turkiye to Bulgaria. They turned back of their own accord after detecting the presence of Bulgarian patrols and posts along the border. Some of them may have made more than one attempt to cross into Bulgaria.

Last year, 86% fewer third-country nationals attempted to cross illegally from Greece into Bulgaria compared to 2022. Bulgarian border guards detained 39 illegal migrants.

After noticing the presence of Bulgarian patrols and posts along the border, about 500 people returned to Greece of their own accord.

In 2023, 2,528 third-country nationals were apprehended attempting to cross the border illegally while trying to leave Bulgaria. Most of them were from Syria, Afghanistan, Morocco or Iraq. The Bulgarian-Serbian border saw the highest number of attempts with 88% of the persons attempting to cross illegally apprehended there.

In 2023, 256 third-country nationals were apprehended at the Bulgarian-Romanian border. Most of them were Syrians with 172 and Iraqis with 28.