From Uzbekistan to Nepal: Surge in foreign workers in Bulgaria

The Employment Agency (EA) has granted access to the labor market to a total of 24,279 third-country nationals, which is almost 70% of those admitted last year. This became clear from a response by Labor Minister Borislav Gutsanov to a question posed by MP Lyuben Ivanov (PP-DB).

Over the past five years, the number of people who have come to work in Bulgaria has exceeded 105,000. They have arrived from 65 third countries.

Seasonal workers

There are 11,955 seasonal workers with residence permits for up to 90 days. This is an increase compared to 2024, when 10,403 people came to work during the summer.

The largest number of workers come from:

• Uzbekistan – 5,696 – working as seasonal workers, construction workers, low-skilled workers, workers in trade and manufacturing;
• Turkey – 4,380 – posted specialists, engineering and technical staff, semi-skilled workers, mainly in construction, as well as seasonal workers;
• Kyrgyzstan – 3,120 – seasonal workers, low-skilled workers;
• Nepal – 2,272 – low-skilled workers in manufacturing and seasonal workers in agriculture and tourism;
• India – 1,508 – general workers, transport drivers, and experts in the ICT sector;
• Bangladesh – 1,350 – seasonal workers, construction workers, and general workers in the manufacturing industry;
• India – 830 – seasonal workers;
• Gutsanov specifies that foreigners work in almost all resorts on the Black Sea coast, as well as in Bansko, Borovets, and Pamporovo.

EU Blue Card

There are 430 foreigners who have been granted an EU Blue Card residence and work permit. These are highly qualified specialists in the fields of ICT, trade, construction, and manufacturing.

They mainly occupy expert, managerial, and engineering positions, with the largest number coming from Russia (177). Workers from Turkey (48), Ukraine (27), India (26), Cuba (21), Belarus (21), Egypt (17) and South Korea (15).

The number of workers arriving from outside the EU is still limited

According to Minister Gutsanov, steps are constantly being taken to amend the legislation in force in order to facilitate access to the labor market.

Bulgaria has transposed into its national legislation all the provisions of the special directives relating to labor migration," the minister said.

However, despite the increase in the number of work and residence permits, the number of third-country nationals coming to work in Bulgaria is still limited and concentrated in a few key sectors: hospitality, construction, manufacturing, transport, and agriculture.

Translated with DeepL.