Bulgaria has expelled 472 non-EU nationals since the beginning of 2017 – Interior Ministry

Between January 1 and March 9 2017, Bulgaria sent a total of 472 third-country nationals – meaning non-EU citizens – out of the country, according to Interior Ministry figures.

A total of 113 were returned forcibly, 125 were ordered to leave and left using their own funds, 179 were returned though Migration Directorate assisted voluntary return programmes, and 47 were handed over to other EU member countries under the Dublin Regulation.

Between March 2 and 9, a total of 115 non-EU nationals had been detained, a drop from 130 the week before.

In the past week, a total of 58 foreigners illegally in the country had been detained, the Interior Ministry said. The figure for the week before was 55.

From January 1 to March 9, the total number of third-country nationals found at the border and inside the country without the required formal legal registration was 446, according to the Interior Ministry.

Three people had been arrested for people-trafficking.

Two foreigners had been given refugee and humanitarian status during this time.

In all, 221 people had voluntarily left State Agency for Refugees accommodation, the records showed.

/Politics

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