- summary
- On 18 June 2025 parliament amended the Foreigners in the Republic of Bulgaria Act, removing non-profit activity as grounds for non-EU citizens to obtain long-term residence, while keeping it for religious activity, self-employment or work. The government cited low numbers (486 applications since 2002), but a GERB MP said the aim was to stop foreigners using non-profits as a route to residence — echoing the narrative that CSOs are abused for illegal stay, without evidence.
- country
- Bulgaria
- date text
- 18/06/2025
- entities
- National Assembly majority (GERB MPs)
- entity type
- Parliament
- id
- 1185
- name
- National Assembly majority (GERB MPs)
- role
- actor
- Non-EU citizens working in or leading civil society organisations
- entity type
- Individual; Sector
- id
- 1186
- name
- Non-EU citizens working in or leading civil society organisations
- role
- target
- National Assembly majority (GERB MPs)
- sources
- tactics
- Legislative Operationalization
- label
- Legislative Operationalization
- code
- TC-18
- needs review
- false
- role
- primary
- Administrative CSO Burdening
- label
- Administrative CSO Burdening
- code
- TC-24
- needs review
- false
- role
- secondary
- Legislative Operationalization
- channels
- Amendment to the Foreigners Act
- consequence category
- Legal/Administrative
- created at
- 2026-09-25T12:58:53.946367+00:00
- date precision
- day
- escalation
- 5
- harm track
- Track 1 — Legal/Administrative
- id
- BGR-006
- institutional consequence
- Legislation adopted; Discriminatory restriction on association
- notes
- Coded Sep 25 2026 from Civic Space Watch. Escalation 5 per the scale's 'legislation adopted' indicator.
- occurred on
- 2025-06-18
- trigger type
- TR-06: Legislative Milestone
- updated at
- 2026-09-25T12:58:53.946367+00:00
- version
- 1
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