Bulgaria repatriates 894 illegal immigrants in 2018

Bulgaria repatriated 894 illegal immigrants last year, less than half of the 2017 number which stood at 1,903, a report of the country's interior ministry revealed on Friday.

Among them, 332 foreigners were forcibly returned, 298 left within programs for assisted voluntary return, and 80 left voluntarily at their expense, the report said.

In terms of nationality, data of the report showed that the largest was the share of Iraqis, which accounted for 36.1 percent of the repatriated immigrants.

According to the report, 2,535 foreigners applied for protection in 2018, while 317 received refugee status and 413 received humanitarian status.