🇧🇬 Bulgaria

Do you need to do anything?

In Bulgaria protection does not roll over by itself: to keep the status you must appear in person for re-registration and get a new registration card, at a territorial unit of the State Agency for Refugees (SAR/ДАБ) or at a regional directorate of the Ministry of Interior, bringing your international passport and your old card. As of 3 September 2026 Bulgaria has NOT yet announced the dates for the round covering the period after 04.03.2027: in previous years the Council of Ministers decision came in February and the re-registration window closed on 30 April, but that is a pattern, not an announced fact — watch the SAR website in early 2027. Where: A territorial unit of the State Agency for Refugees with the Council of Ministers (SAR / ДАБ, aref.government.bg) OR the nearest regional directorate of the Ministry of Interior ("Migration" directorate). There is no online portal for this — you must appear in person. You need your national international passport and your valid registration card. Important: The dates of the next window have not been announced — do not assume "by 30.04.2027" by analogy with previous years. The mechanism, however, has been stable for four years running (2023, 2024, 2025, 2026): the Council of Ministers extends, by a separate decision, both the protection itself and the validity of cards already issued, after which a re-registration window with in-person attendance opens. The key risk: if you do not complete re-registration within the set period, the card is declared invalid and the person stops enjoying the rights of a temporary protection holder (access to work, healthcare, social support), even though the EU decision has extended protection to 04.03.2028 — the EU decision applies in law, but the national card "lapses" without re-registration. Source: https://aref.government.bg/%D0%BD%D0%BE%D0%B2%D0%B8%D0%BD%D0%B8/%D1%81%D1%80%D0%BE%D0%BA%D1%8A%D1%82-%D0%B4%D0%B5%D0%B9%D1%81%D1%82%D0%B2%D0%B8%D0%B5-%D0%B2%D1%80%D0%B5%D0%BC%D0%B5%D0%BD%D0%BD%D0%B0%D1%82%D0%B0-%D0%B7%D0%B0%D0%BA%D1%80%D0%B8%D0%BB%D0%B0-%D1%80%D0%B0%D0%B7%D1%81%D0%B5%D0%BB%D0%B5%D0%BD%D0%B8-%D0%BB%D0%B8%D1%86%D0%B0-%D0%BE%D1%82-%D1%83%D0%BA%D1%80%D0%B0%D0%B9%D0%BD%D0%B0-%D1%80%D0%B5%D0%BF%D1%83%D0%B1%D0%BB%D0%B8%D0%BA%D0%B0-%D0%B1%D1%8A%D0%BB%D0%B3%D0%B0%D1%80%D0%B8%D1%8F-%D1%81%D0%B5-%D1%83%D0%B4%D1%8A%D0%BB%D0%B6%D0%B8 (checked 03.09.2026).