Bulgaria’s government approves changes to Foreigners Act regulations
Bulgaria’s Cabinet approved on November 6 changes to the rules on the implementation of the Foreigners Act, the goverment information service said.
The changes stem from amendments to the Foreigners Act and the Child Protection Act, the statement said, as well as the need to ease the procedures for applications for residence by foreigners of Bulgarian origin who are nationals of non-EU countries.
The changes include regulations on the procedure for family reunificiation and set out the documents necessary for the category of foreigners who have been granted international protection, asylum and temporary protection.
A procedure for granting the right of long-term residence in Bulgaria to foreigners who have been granted stateless status and who do not qualify for permanent or long-term residence is introduced.
Flowing from the amendments to the Child Protection Act that envisage providing social and integrated health and social services for residential care of unaccompanied foreign children, it is envisaged that such children may be granted long-term residence status in Bulgaria until the age of 18.
The changes streamline the procedure for granting residence to foreigners of Bulgarian origin to researchers and students undergoing higher education. The statement said that in this connection, it is proposed to provide bilingual application forms for foreigners seeking the right of residence.
In order to reduce the administrative burden for foreigners applying for residence in Bulgaria, the changes will make it possible to not require a document of proof of payment of the state fee if this information can be obtained electronically, the statement said.
