Starting August 1, 2018, Bulgaria will no longer allow third world country passport holders for whom the Schengen Information System has issued an alert with a “denial of entry / residence” measure, to enter its territory, the Bulgarian Ministry of Interior informs.

The measure has been taken as part of a decision adopted by the EU Council, which gives directives to Bulgaria and Romania on the implementation of the remaining provisions of the Schengen acquis.

According to the Ministry, the refusal of entry into Bulgaria will be applied to third country nationals in cases when one or more EU members have entered a SIS ban in their entry or residence in the Schengen Area.

On the other hand, the ministry also warns that if found residing in Bulgaria, foreign nationals who have been banned from entry in any of the member states, will be deported by the competent Bulgarian authorities.

“Third-country nationals staying in the country without a duly authorized residence permit who are found to have a “refusal of entry” will be taken out of our national territory by the competent Bulgarian authorities,” the press release announces.

The SIS is the largest information system established by the Schengen member states with the sole purpose of contributing to maintaining security and fighting cross border crime and irregular migration following the removal of Schengen internal border controls.

Bulgaria’s accession to Schengen Area

Bulgaria became a member of the European Union in 2007. The European Parliament, on the other hand, cleared the way for Romania and Bulgaria to join the Schengen Area in 2011. However, since the Schengen rules say that new members must unanimously be approved by the current members, Bulgaria has had it impossible to join the area after countries as Germany, France, Finland, Denmark and the Netherlands have been blocking its accession.

Recently the Bulgarian Foreign Minister has accused the Netherlands and France for hindering the accession of Bulgaria in the Schengen Zone, “without having real arguments for their refusal.”

According to her Bulgaria has met the technical requirements in 2011, “and now in a mass influx of the refugees in the EU, it has proven its ability to protect EU’s external border.”

On the meantime, on May 30, the European Parliament once again urged the European Union council to admit both Bulgaria and Romania to the Schengen Zone.