Announcement of the results of a study on “Housing options for migrants facing alternatives to detention and the establishment of an advocacy base”. Екип ЦПП November 25, 2021

Announcement of the results of a study on “Housing options for migrants facing alternatives to detention and the establishment of an advocacy base”.

The research was carried out in the framework of the project “Implementing Alternatives to Community Detention and Reducing Irregularity in the Migration System”, funded by the Network of European Foundations (NEF) through the European Programme on Integration and Migration (EPIM) (01.05.2019-30.04.2021).

The study of the possibilities for accommodation of irregular migrants in Bulgaria reveals a gradually shrinking space. Access to social services, reception centres of the State Agency for Refugees (SAR) and municipal housing is becoming increasingly difficult for beneficiaries of international protection, adversely affecting the chances of the undocumented. Service accommodation, on the other hand, does not qualify as a formal alternative to detention. Therefore, private housing remains the most affordable housing option and the only one that is provided as an alternative in the law. “

This study consists of two elements, the first of which systematises approaches in other EU member states and proposes a new theoretical framework for analysing the housing problem of the undocumented. The second part of the study presents current practice in Bulgaria and suggests possible next steps in the short and long term.

This project is supported by the European Programme for Integration and Migration (EPIM), a collaborative initiative of the Network of European Foundations. The sole responsibility for the content of the research to be presented lies with Voice in Bulgaria and the content does not necessarily reflect the positions of NEF, EPIM or the partner foundations.

The two documents of the study in English and Bulgarian can be read here:

Рамков документ с насоки за застъпничество: Настаняването като предпоставка за прилагане на алтернативи на задържането

Advocacy Paper: Accommodation as ATD Prerequisite

Рамков документ: Карта на възможностите за жилищно настаняване като предпоставка за прилагане на алтернативи на задържането

Mapping Paper: Accommodation as ATD Prerequisite

Watch a video of the report presentation here.