Ukraine Response

IOM PRESENCE IN BULGARIA

Situation Overview in Bulgaria

Since the start of the war in Ukraine, over 3.39 million refugees from Ukraine have entered Bulgaria, with more than 197,580 registering for Temporary Protection. The majority of arrivals are women and children, heightening risks of family separation and vulnerability to exploitation.

Globally, over 6.75 million refugees from Ukraine have been recorded. While Bulgaria serves as a transit country for many, a substantial number of Ukrainians have chosen to stay for extended periods. Through the EU’s Temporary Protection Directive, those registered in Bulgaria can access healthcare, social services, education, and the labor market.

IOM Bulgaria’s protection teams provide essential, frontline support, offering information, direct assistance, and access to specialised services, strengthening Bulgaria’s reception system for displaced populations.

IOM Bulgaria's Activities

• IOM Bulgaria's mobile protection teams (consisting of legal counsellors, social workers and psychologists) and rapid response unit (RRU) provide support and direct assistance to refugees and migrants in vulnerable situations, together with interpreters, with a focus on vulnerable persons, such as children, (accompanied and unaccompanied), single women, female-headed households, persons at risk or victims of trafficking, persons with disabilities, persons with serious illnesses, persons of diverse sex, sexual orientation and gender identity, and survivors of GBV.  
   
• IOM's pool of interpreters from Ukrainian and Russian languages are available also to national partners at requests on-the-spot and by phone, to facilitate communication and cultural mediation to TCNs.
   
• IOM Bulgaria carries out gender, age and diversity-sensitive needs assessments, and provide support in the following:
   
  • access to healthcare services (e.g., payment for interventions and medication and accompaniment)
  • shelter (e.g., financial support for in transit accommodation) 
  • cash-based interventions (CBI) *based on a set of vulnerability criteria 
  • Mental Health and Psychosocial Support
     
• Early adaption support provided by the mobile protection teams and Migrant Information center in Sofia, with a focus on vulnerable persons and those declaring their intention to remain in Bulgaria, including: 
  • social counselling and support in accessing social services;  
  • administrative support in accessing education services - kindergarten, childcare services and schools; 
  • information sessions, individual and group counselling; 
  • support in accessing employment - job search and facilitation of access to the labour market in Bulgaria; 
  • Bulgarian language courses – as per declared interest and needs. 

Cash-based Interventions and accommodation support  – vulnerability criteria 

Persons eligible for CBI or emergency accommodation assistance must meet one or more of the following criteria:  

• Household (HH) with three (3) or more children  
• Household (HH) with one (1) or more children with disabilities* 
• HH with one (1) or more persons with disabilities* or with serious and/or chronic illness* or elderly person (above 65) 
• Single person with one (1) or more of the following: disability*, serious and/or chronic illness* or who is elderly (above 65) or who has been widowed by the war 
• Unaccompanied minor (with no accommodation and/or support) 
• Pregnant single woman 
• Victim of human trafficking 
• Person who has been subjected to torture 
• Survivor of gender-based violence (e.g., sexual violence, physical violence, etc.) 

Distribution of food vouchers

Families (one or two parents) with children up to 17 years old who have not received financial assistance from IOM: 

• Family with 1 child: BGN 100 
• Family with 2 children: 150 BGN 
• Family with 3 or more children: 200 BGN. 

*People who have previously received financial assistance from IOM Bulgaria are not eligible for food vouchers.

 

Bulgarian language training

In order to facilitate the integration of people displaced by the war in Ukraine, IOM Bulgaria provides free Bulgarian language training (levels A1 and A2)

For more information about the language courses, please contacts us at iombglearn@iom.int

IOM Bulgaria response units in Burgas and Varna 

As a large number of people displaced by the war in Ukraine are currently residing in the Black Sea coast regions of Burgas and Varna, IOM Bulgaria has operational response units in the two regions. 

Contact details for the IOM teams in Burgas and Varna

• Burgas +359 886 177 295 / +359 888 565 722
• Varna +359 886 177 329
   

Donors: