site.bta5,768 Third-country Nationals Attempt to Illegally Enter Bulgaria In October

In October, 5,768 third-country nationals attempted to illegally cross the borders of the country, which is a decrease of 5.6% compared to October 2023 (12,174 persons), said the Ministry of Interior on Monday, presenting summarized data on the migration situation in the country.

A total of 841 third-country nationals were detained during the month, of which 168 upon entry, 200 upon exit without registration by the Ministry of Interior authorities and 473 for illegal stay within the country, mainly citizens from Syria and Afghanistan.

During the period January-October 2024, 50,755 persons attempted to cross the borders of the country, which is 70.2% less than in the same period in 2023. (170,214 people). For the same period, 8,545 migrants were detained, of which 2,200 trying to eneter Bulgaria, 2,088 upon exit without registration, and 4,257 for illegal stay in the country.

On Saturday, caretaker Minister of Interior Atanas Ilkov commented that the migration pressure for the year was 70% lower compared to 2023, and the migrants found in the interior of the country were 46% fewer.