Syrian citizens protest in Sofia, demand humanitarian visas for their families

Syrian citizens protested in Sofia demanding that the issuance of humanitarian visas for their families be expedited. The protest was held in front of the building of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, reporter Dobromir Videv reported.

The consulates of Bulgaria in Turkey, Lebanon and Jordan are delaying their response on whether they would issue visas for family reunions of Syrian citizens who legally reside in Bulgaria, and often the visa is refused for unfounded reasons, said Ehsan Moazen, whose family has been waiting for approval for over half a year. According to him, the reason for the refusal is that the institutions believe that the visa will be used by the Syrians to pass through Bulgaria to another EU country, BTA reported.

"Most of us have employment contracts, Bulgarian friends. This is enough proof for us that we have chosen to remain permanently in Bulgaria. At least until the situation in Syria calms down," Moazen pointed out. According to him, these are families of Syrians with humanitarian status in Bulgaria.

Edited by Miglena Ivanova
English: R. Petkova