What are the penalties that may be imposed on a returning Bulgarian who has stayed out of the country beyond the stipulated visit or who has visited a country not specified in his exit visa?
| Publisher | Canada: Immigration and Refugee Board of Canada |
| Author | Research Directorate, Immigration and Refugee Board, Canada |
| Publication Date | 1 February 1990 |
| Citation / Document Symbol | BGR4288 |
| Cite as | Canada: Immigration and Refugee Board of Canada, What are the penalties that may be imposed on a returning Bulgarian who has stayed out of the country beyond the stipulated visit or who has visited a country not specified in his exit visa?, 1 February 1990, BGR4288, available at: https://www.refworld.org/docid/3ae6ac3d2c.html [accessed 17 September 2023] |
| Disclaimer | This is not a UNHCR publication. UNHCR is not responsible for, nor does it necessarily endorse, its content. Any views expressed are solely those of the author or publisher and do not necessarily reflect those of UNHCR, the United Nations or its Member States. |
The U.S. Department of State Country Reports 1988 states that "legal penalties may be imposed" for either overstaying the stipulated period abroad or visiting a country other than the one for which an exit visa was given. [ U.S. Department of State, Country Reports on Human Rights Practices for 1988 (Washington: Government Printing Office, 1989), pp. 999-1000.] Under Article 280 of the Criminal Code, the penalties for Bulgarians who overstayed their visits abroad could have been sentences of up to three years imprisonment, heavy fines, or possible confiscation of private property. [ Radio Free Europe, "Liberalization of Legislation on Citizenship and Passports", Research, 29 June 1989, p. 9.]
According to the Embassy of Bulgaria in Ottawa, changes of a democratic nature were made to the citizenship law in December 1989. The source states that several thousand (more than 90,000) ethnic Turks have returned to Bulgaria under the new legislation and have the right to recover their Bulgarian citizenship. The Embassy has provided the IRBDC with a translation of the 1989 changes to the citizenship law which is attached. The changes include acceptance of dual citizenship, the possibility for foreign citizens to obtain Bulgarian citizenship, and the recovery of lost citizenship. [ Chargé d'Affaires, Embassy of Bulgaria, 25 January 1990.]
Under the amendment to the Bulgarian Nationality Act, [Embassy of Bulgaria, Changes and Amendments to the Bulgarian Nationality Act and the Foreign Travel Passport Act; changes to the Criminal Code; an Amnesty Act. Received by the IRBDC 25 January 1990.] a Bulgarian can be deprived of his citizenship only "if he has committed a severe crime against the People's Republic that damages the country's security or its interests. Only someone outside Bulgaria's borders can be deprived of their Bulgarian citizenship." [ As quoted in Radio Free Europe, "Liberalization", p. 9.] As yet there is no definition of what constitutes a "severe crime against the People's Republic".
The government also issued an amnesty on charges against those who left the country illegally since 9 September 1944 (non-returners) and decriminalized Articles 230 and 231 of the Criminal Code. [ Embassy of Bulgaria, Act of Changing the Criminal Code.] The IRBDC has no information at the present time as to whether the amendments are being fully enforced in practice.
ATTACHMENTS:
Radio Free Europe, "Liberalization of Legislation on Citizenship and Passports", Research, 29 June 1989.
Embassy of Bulgaria, Changes and Amendments to the Bulgarian Nationality Act and the Foreign Travel Passport Act; changes to the Criminal Code; an Amnesty Act.