Refugees - a small but important part of job seekers in Bulgaria

There is a Directive according to which third-country nationals who have been ‎granted humanitarian or refugee status in Bulgaria (or in the EU territory) ‎can be employed without any other permits. Only with this status document ‎obtained from the Ministry of the Interior, can these persons start working on ‎equal terms with Bulgarian citizens. The statistics for last year provide us with telling ‎data - the number of Ukrainian citizens granted temporary protection in Bulgaria alone was 176,000. By the end of February 2024, only 63,000 of ‎them will have remained permanently on the territory of Bulgaria because ‎with their temporary protection document they can live in any EU Member ‎State. ‎

Is Bulgaria attractive to people forced to leave their homes and who bring ‎valuable skills, talents and experience to the foreign communities where they ‎have found refuge? In search of an answer, Bulgaria has recently launched ‎the first-of-its-kind platform for mediation between refugees, job ‎seekers and employers in Bulgaria. Information there is provided in English, French, ‎Ukrainian, Russian, Arabic and other rarer languages, and assistance is ‎provided by the Foundation for Access to Rights (FAR), in partnership with ‎the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees. ‎

The platform has been operational for almost two months now and for this period ‎‎429 people have registered to find a job in Bulgaria. However, the number of ‎job offers is not large yet. Only 18 new employers have advertised their ‎vacancies - 32 in number. However, the number of signed contracts is close to ‎‎10, and for each the process is long and with various administrative hurdles.‎

The main areas for which migrants are sought for staff are construction, hotels, ‎restaurants and various types of manufacturing. There are recruitment ads for ‎humanitarian work, security, and fast food. ‎It appears that it is also difficult to find workers for low-skilled jobs among ‎migrants. Of those registered on the platform, the largest share of candidates is of those with higher education - 54%. Those with secondary or vocational education ‎account for 31% of job seekers. "Those who stated that they are looking for a job with a ‎lower degree are 9%, but these are people who studied in their home country, ‎failed to graduate and had to move to our country," explains Maria Netsova ‎from the Foundation for Access to Rights and coordinator of the platform.‎

‎"The countries of origin of those seeking work through us are mainly Ukraine, ‎Syria and Afghanistan," she explains in an interview with Radio Bulgaria. "30% are from Ukraine, 22% from Syria, 17% from Afghanistan, or 70% of all ‎applications received on the platform so far are from these countries. From ‎other countries there are citizens of Iran, Gaza, Egypt, Pakistan, Russia, India, ‎Nepal, Sudan, Uzbekistan, Tunisia, etc. 81% of job seekers are between 18 ‎and 50 years old, i.e. of working age, and half of them are between 18 and 29 ‎years old. Many of them are students who wish to continue their education in ‎Bulgaria in order to find a job after graduation. Few of them are economic ‎migrants, most of them declared that they have permanent resident status in ‎Bulgaria or that they are asylum seekers. With us they have declared their ‎intention to settle in Bulgaria and want to find a job. ‎

Many of them say that it does not even matter in which city they will live, and ‎that they would work for anything - their only wish is to be helped to find a ‎job and settle in the country. Recently, even one of the applications explicitly ‎said, "I love Bulgaria and I want to stay in this country!"‎

Work permits for foreigners in Bulgaria outside the Blue Card

It is noteworthy that most of the migrants arriving here speak several languages ‎‎- English, Turkish, besides other rarer languages. This would help them to find ‎jobs more easily in more economic activities. "For now, however, there ‎appears to be an imbalance between job seekers and employers' offers," says ‎Maria Netsova.‎

‎"The main questions employers are interested in are what are the ways to ‎employ migrants, whether these people know Bulgarian, what professional ‎experience they have. Otherwise, at least those who have contacted us want to ‎hire foreigners and are trying to indicate assistance. But the process of signing a ‎contract is long, it is necessary to issue documents, medical certificates, as ‎well as a medical book for starting a job in catering establishments. ‎NGOs, which act as mediators, help a lot in this respect", explains Maria Nestova.

Apart from the ‎language barrier, the lack of permanent housing and the issuance of an identity ‎card and the opening of a bank account is also a major problem for employers, she explains.

"We also come across people who are Bessarabian Bulgarians or people from mixed ‎marriages who are able to speak our language but cannot write or read in ‎Bulgarian. At the moment, we are organising courses aimed only at people ‎with a temporary protection status who have been granted international protection and ‎asylum seekers", the expert from FAR concludes.

Share

Refugees - a small but important part of job seekers in Bulgaria

New electronic platform connects asylum seekers in Bulgaria with ‎their future employers

More from category

Bulgarian cultural centre opens in Accra, Ghana

Plovdiv invites lovers of ancient crafts to visit the city’s Ethnographic Museum

Bulgarian cuisine 14th in TasteAtlas European national cuisines rating

Climate change raises costs and puts many Bulgarians at risk of poverty