National Program "I Choose Bulgaria" for Return

The cabinet approved a national program for the return of Bulgarian citizens from abroad, Minister of Labor and Social Policy Borislav Gutzanov announced after today"s meeting of the Council of Ministers.

The initiative, called "I Choose Bulgaria", has a budget of over 26 million BGN and is mainly aimed at Bulgarian communities abroad.

"We want to realistically help address the problems of the demographic crisis in our country, which also affects the country"s economy. We see that there is a lack of workforce and people to work in certain sectors."

said Gutzanov, emphasizing the need for urgent measures to overcome the shortage of skilled labor in a number of sectors of the Bulgarian economy.

The Ministry of Labor and Social Policy hopes that the program will attract a significant number of Bulgarians living abroad to return to their homeland and contribute to economic development.

The official launch of the program is planned for Thursday, when the Employment Agency will begin accepting online applications.

Applications are open to Bulgarians who have spent at least one year abroad in the last 18 months, as well as those who have completed their education abroad during the same period.

"We are targeting Bulgarian communities abroad. The interest is huge."

added Minister Gutzanov.

This suggests that expectations are for massive interest in the program and for potentially significant inflow of skilled labor in Bulgaria.

The decision of the Council of Ministers is an important step in the fight against the demographic problems that Bulgaria has been struggling with for years.

The "I Choose Bulgaria" program is an ambitious attempt to stimulate the return of Bulgarian citizens from abroad, giving them concrete support and the opportunity to work in the domestic labor market.

Its success will depend on a number of factors, including the adequacy of the measures provided, the opportunities for employment and integration of returning emigrants into Bulgarian society.

It remains to be seen whether the announced huge interest will translate into real applications and the successful return of a significant number of Bulgarian citizens.

The Employment Agency is expected to publish additional information on the conditions and application procedure in the coming days.