Deported from Bulgaria

You are to be deported or you have received an order to leave Bulgaria

Your residency rights in Bulgaria have been cancelled? And you have received a ban to return to Bulgaria and the EU?

What are your options? What are your legal rights? And do you have any?

Everybody should be deemed innocent until proven guilty. In the world of immigration however, things are a little bit upside down.

Deportation is the legal act of expelling a foreigner from the country. On top of the act of deportation, the deported is also banned from entering the country again. This ban is usually issued for a certain (long) period of time.

Deportation from Bulgaria is not a crime by itself. The deportation is merely the act of expelling a foreigner from the country. In most of the cases, the deportation is the result of non-compliance with the immigration laws, rather than the consequence of committed crime in Bulgaria.

The different types administrative sanctions in Bulgaria (deportation, order to leave, etc.)

Below we will try to shed some light on the most frequently utilized administrative sanctions in Bulgaria. Those that are applied towards foreigners who have violated the Bulgarian immigration laws.

Deportation

The deportation is foreseen (mainly) in art.42 of the Law for the Foreigners in the Republic of Bulgaria. Deportation from Bulgaria is ordered when:

• the presence of the foreigner in Bulgaria is deemed to be dangerous for the state security;
• with its actions, the foreigner may endanger the interest of the state;
• there are reasons to believe that the foreigner is engaged in any sort of terrorist activities;
• the foreigner has endangered the international reputation of Bulgaria;
• there is information that the foreigner is member of criminal group, or is intending to commit certain illegal activities;
• there are facts, pointing that the foreigner is engaged in human trafficking.

The above legal reasons for deportation are based on the broad interpretation of the Bulgarian law. For more detailed information on the matter, we urge you to contact our lawyers for assistance.

Alongside with the deportation, the foreigner is also banned from re-entering Bulgaria and all other EU member states.

Deportation is relatively rare administrative measure. Unfortunately, the legal grounds for deportation are quite subjective and it is often problematic to appeal the deportation order. Probably the best way to avoid deportation is the pro-active approach. A foreigner who has even the slightest suspicion that he might be subject of deportation, should contact us immediately for assistance.

Cancellation of the residency rights and/or returning the foreigner to the country of origin

This is the most common administrative measure in Bulgaria. Foreigners, who have violated the immigration (or other) laws, may be ordered to leave the country within a period of 7 to 30 days. This period can be extended by law, but the far better approach is to appeal the order through the relevant Court.

In some cases, the foreigner may be required to appear daily in the local police office. Failure to do so will result in an immediate arrest order.

Cancellation of the residency rights is most oftenly applied in cases, such as:

• if the foreigner has failed to leave the country after his visa has expired (or the visa-free stay term);
• in cases when a foreigner arrives with immigration visa D and then doesn’t succeed in obtaining residency permit;
• when the foreigner has failed to extend his residency permit after it has expired;
• if the foreigner has violated any immigration or other laws in Bulgaria.

Ban to visit Bulgaria

According to art.10, par.1, p.10, a foreigner who has violated the immigration laws, the currency laws or the customs regulations in the past 2 years, will be banned from entering the country. A ban will be also applied if a foreigner has violated the tax laws during his previous stay in Bulgaria. This sounds quite harsh and unfortunately it is.

There are literally countless number of (minor) violations that will ban a foreigner from entering Bulgaria. A simple overstay is a prime example. An incorrect customs declaration will also result in a ban. We urge everybody who has reasons to believe that he has violated some of the mentioned laws, to contact us immediately for professional support.

Our experience in assisting and appealing administrative acts in the Bulgarian Courts

Our lawyers have extensive knowledge and have bespoken reputation in the immigration legal field. We have won great number of important legal cases in Bulgaria and have succeeded to protect the rights of many foreigners in the country. We have assisted many families (Bulgarian-foreigner) to enable them to obtain residency permit for the foreign spouse and to overcome the mighty bureaucratic machine in Bulgaria. For more information, please visit Bglaw.eu.