Bulgaria ranks 43rd out of 52 countries in the new edition of the Migrant Integration Policy Index (MIPEX 2020), falling into the group characterised as providing migrants 'equality only on paper'. The research in Bulgaria was published by Open Society Institute – Sofia on 15 December 2020.

The top places in MIPEX 2020 are taken by Canada, Finland, New Zealand, Portugal and Sweden, all with a score between 80 and 86 (out of a maximum of 100). The average score of all 52 countries included in the index is 50 points.

The overall average score for European Union countries is 49, but individual results within the EU are not homogeneous. In older EU member states the average score is relatively high at 58, while in the new Central and Eastern European member states the average score is 41. Bulgaria scores similarly with 40 points, and ranks 43rd overall (together with Poland).

Immediately above Bulgaria on the scale are Cyprus, Northern Macedonia, Turkey, Hungary and Albania. Immediately below Bulgaria fall Croatia, Slovakia, Lithuania and Latvia. Bulgaria - and most countries in the region - have been classified as offering 'equality only on paper'.

Bulgaria's results by policy areas:

• Labour market mobility: halfway favourable: General access to the labour market continues to be favourable for long-term residents and open to immigrant entrepreneurs. As of 2018 family members are equal to Bulgarian citizens, with access to social security and assistance.

• Family reunification: slightly unfavourable: Sponsors can be joined by their spouse or their stable long-term partner since 2013. Only basic legal income and standard housing are required for migrants to reunite with their families. However, authorities can deny or withdraw their legal status through discretionary procedures on wide grounds (e.g. family breakup, economic resources, public security), without considering personal circumstances (e.g. violence, existing links with the country of origin).

• Education: slightly unfavourable: The school system creates barriers to access for certain categories of immigrant pupils and largely ignores the specific needs and benefits they bring to the classroom. Immigrants and their children now face no impediments in their access to compulsory education and receive language support at school. Intercultural education in schools is part of state educational standards but remains critically unfavourable because of the lack of targeted measures in practice.

• Health: slightly unfavourable: In Bulgaria, as in most countries, legal migrants and asylum-seekers have basic entitlements to healthcare that may be undermined in practice. Migrants may find it harder to access healthcare in Bulgaria than in most countries in Europe or the region. Healthcare services are not at all adapted to migrants' specific health needs.

• Political participation: critically unfavourable: Political participation is still missing from Bulgaria’s integration strategy and remains a challenge for migrants in Bulgaria. Non-EU residents do not have the local right to vote or stand in elections, excluding them from the democratic process. Consultative bodies to inform and improve the policies that affect migrants daily are not yet part of integration governance at local and national levels in Bulgaria.

• Permanent residence: slightly favourable: Non-EU residents must wait five years before they can apply for equal opportunities to integrate into the economic and social life of most EU countries. Applicants and long-term residents in Bulgaria are uncertain about their futures as, like in other Central European countries, authorities retain wide discretion.

• Access to nationality: unfavourable: Most non-EU residents in Bulgaria are ineligible for citizenship, under some of Europe's most restrictive eligibility criteria. Applicants must also pass demanding income/job requirements compared to other countries.

• Anti-discrimination: favourable: The 2004 Protection Against Discrimination Act created favourable definitions protecting residents from all discrimination. Victims can also look for support from one of the strongest equality bodies in Europe: the Protection Against Discrimination Commission.

MIPEX is the most reliable and cited index for measuring and comparing integration policies towards migrants, widely used in qualitative and quantitative research. MIPEX 2020 compares 52 countries on five continents - Europe (including all EU countries), Asia (including China, India and Japan), North America (the USA, Canada and Mexico), South America (Argentina, Brazil and Chile), Australia and New Zealand. The first edition of the index was published in 2004, and the current edition is its fifth. MIPEX 2020 measures according to 58 indicators, grouped into eight areas - labour market mobility, family reunification, education, political participation, permanent residence, access to citizenship, anti-discrimination and health.

See the Bulgarian results in full here.