The Ministry of Foreign Affairs asked UK questions regarding the difficulties of Bulgarian citizens in the process of applying for Settlement Status
15 June 2021 News
The Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Republic of Bulgaria is making efforts to solve the problems of Bulgarian citizens in the United Kingdom related to the submission of documents for acquiring status under the Settlement Scheme. In this regard, the Permanent Secretary of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs Ivan Kondov met with the UK Ambassador to Bulgaria Rob Dixon and asked questions related to the difficulties faced by Bulgarian citizens in the process of applying and acquiring the settlement status, through which to preserve their rights to reside on the territory of the country.
The Bulgarian side stressed that due to the coronavirus pandemic and the restrictive measures, many people have delayed submitting the necessary documents. In this regard, a request was made to the United Kingdom for flexibility after June 30, 2021, when the deadline for applying for the Settlement Scheme expires, as well as for clear rules on what Bulgarian citizens could do after that date.
According to the UK, currently 301,000 Bulgarian citizens have applied for settlement status - 264,000 of them have been approved and 10,104 have been rejected due to inability to meet the requirements for proving their status.
The Ministry of Foreign Affairs and our embassy in London are in constant contact with the UK authorities. The UK was also asked for information on the rejected applications, so that, if necessary, consular assistance could be provided to our compatriots in the UK. During the meeting, the Bulgarian side again raised the issue of higher visa prices for certain categories of workers.
Given the short remaining period until June 30, 2021 for applying for status under the Settlement Scheme, we call on Bulgarian citizens to submit their documents to the relevant UK authorities.
Detailed information on the rules for applying for the Settlement Scheme can be found on the UK Government's website: https://www.gov.uk/guidance/settled-status-for-eu-citizens-and-their-families-translations.bg