Proposals for amendments to the Asylum and Refugees Act related to Bulgaria's accession to Schengen have been published for public consultation

Proposals for amendments to the Asylum and Refugees Act related to Bulgaria's accession to Schengen have been published on the Public Consultation Portal of the Council of Ministers.

The proposals were tabled by Mariana Tosheva, Chairperson of the State Agency for Refugees. They are addressed to the government and are motivated by the need to refine texts in line with European legislation, as well as to streamline the procedure for granting international protection by removing imperfections in certain texts.

The main objective of this draft law is to implement the recommendations of the European Commission to overcome the obstacles to Bulgaria's accession to the Schengen area by streamlining the procedure for international protection, in particular by refining the grounds and rules of the accelerated procedure.

Another objective set out in the reasoning is to ensure the implementation of temporary protection in Bulgaria and the exercise of the rights guaranteed by law to citizens who benefit from it. It introduces the possibility for a foreigner to submit an application for the termination of the temporary protection granted.

The draft aims to strengthen the legal guarantees for the protection of the rights of unaccompanied children seeking or granted protection by supplementing and clarifying the powers of the special representatives of the National Legal Aid Bureau. The project also aims to "introduce the concept of 'separated child' and accompanying persons according to Bulgarian custom".

It also aims to regulate the possibility for displaced citizens to submit an individual application for humanitarian status under temporary protection, as well as simplified rules for the examination and coordination of these applications.

The draft proposes to introduce the possibility for the registration card to certify the identity of the alien in cases where it has been established beyond doubt on the basis of a valid national identity document issued by the official authorities in the country of origin. It also creates a legal prerequisite for the adoption by the Council of Ministers of a regulation on the assessment and establishment of age.

The draft also introduces an obligation for the SAR to establish and maintain a single register of foreigners seeking or granted protection on the territory of Bulgaria.

The closing date for the public consultation is 4 February.