In 2020 the Interior Ministry registered double the number of refugees detained. The highest number of people detained - entering the country illicitly and passing in transit - was in the interior of the country. The increase on an annual basis is by 71 % - in 2019 their number was 1,201 and in 2020 – 2,053.

1,447 is the number of migrants detained while attempting to enter the country illegally. 1,500 people, most of them from Afghanistan, were detained while attempting to leave the country’s territory and enter Serbia, which is an increase of 80%. The migration pressure mounted during the summer, most of all along the border with Greece, statistics show.

716 foreigners were granted refugee status in Bulgaria in 2020 out of over 3,500 applications submitted. 1,374 have been denied refugee status, 452 cases have been dismissed.