Bulgaria does not fully comply with the minimum standards for the elimination of people trafficking but is making significant efforts to do so, according to the United States state department 2008 report to congress on people trafficking.

The report, released on June 8, classified Bulgaria as a "tier 2" country, ranking below tier 1 countries that fully comply but above countries classified as failing to make significant efforts.

"Bulgaria is a source, transit, and, to a lesser extent, a destination country for men, women, and children from Moldova, Romania, Russia, Ukraine, Armenia, Lebanon, and Uzbekistan trafficked to and through Bulgaria to Germany, Switzerland, Norway, Italy, the Netherlands, Greece, Turkey, Belgium, France, Spain, Austria, the Czech Republic, Poland, and Macedonia for the purposes of commercial sexual exploitation and forced labour," the report said.

About a third of the trafficking victims identified were Roma women and children. Roma children are trafficked within Bulgaria and to Austria, Italy, and other West European countries for purposes of forced begging and petty theft, according to the report

About 20 per cent of identified trafficking victims in Bulgaria were children, the report said.

"Officials reported an increase in the number of Bulgarian victims trafficked internally, primarily to resort areas along the Black Sea coast, and in border towns with Greece, for the purpose of commercial sexual exploitation."
The report said that the Government of Bulgaria had made "substantial progress" during the reporting period.

In June 2007, Bulgaria's Government had appointed a new secretariat to the National Anti-Trafficking Commission, boosting the ability of the country's anti-trafficking co-ordinating agency to develop and implement a transnational victim referral mechanism; to maintain and analyse victim data for use in policy development; and to implement the annual National Anti-Trafficking Strategy.
In early 2008, local commissions were established in three towns identified as "high-risk" for victims of trafficking.

The Commission also launched a public awareness campaign targeted at potential victims and customers of sex tourism.

The Minister of Interior and Prosecutor-General publicly rejected efforts to legalise prostitution in Bulgaria, a move that the report described as "a strong effort to reduce the domestic demand for commercial sex acts".

The report recommended that Bulgaria continue to improve data collection and methods for assessing trafficking law enforcement statistics; provide funding to service providers for victim assistance efforts; sustain efforts to investigate, prosecute, convict, and sentence trafficking offenders; and vigorously investigate, prosecute, convict, and sentence government officials complicit in trafficking.

The report said that the Bulgarian Government had demonstrated strong anti-trafficking law enforcement efforts over the past year.
Bulgaria prohibits trafficking for both sexual exploitation and forced labour through Section 159 of its criminal code, which prescribes penalties of between one and 15 years' imprisonment. "These penalties are sufficiently stringent and commensurate with those prescribed for other grave crimes, such as rape."

In 2007, police conducted 179 sex trafficking and 22 labour trafficking investigations, compared to 202 sex trafficking and six labour trafficking investigations in 2006. In 2007, authorities prosecuted 78 offenders on trafficking charges, a decrease from 129 in 2006. Courts convicted a total of 73 trafficking offenders in 2007 — 71 convicted for sex trafficking offences and two for labour trafficking offences — compared to 71 convictions obtained in 2006.

In 2007, five traffickers were sentenced to five to 10 years' imprisonment and 33 traffickers were sentenced to one to five years' imprisonment; 48 per cent — 35 of 73 convicted traffickers — were given suspended sentences or had their sentences reduced to less than one year.

During the reporting period, Bulgaria extradited 29 people requested by other countries for prosecution on trafficking charges.
Bulgarian police worked closely with law enforcement counterparts in Italy and Greece, investigating cases of Bulgarian victims trafficked for labour exploitation.

"There were continued reports of generalised corruption; during the reporting period, the Government investigated one border police official allegedly involved in trafficking," the report said.

The report said that Bulgaria had sustained its significant victim assistance and protection efforts during the reporting period.
The Government provided rehabilitative, psychological, and medical assistance to child trafficking victims in three child-trafficking crises centres in the country.

In 2007, the Commission began implementing a revised national referral mechanism for victims of transnational trafficking, building on already strong referral efforts.

In 2007, the government identified 288 victims of trafficking; 124 victims received assistance from the International Organisation for Migration or NGOs. All victims in Bulgaria are eligible for free medical and psychological care provided through public hospitals and NGOs. Victims are encouraged to assist in trafficking investigations and prosecutions; victims who choose to co-operate with law enforcement investigators are provided with full residency and employment rights for the duration of the criminal proceedings.

Foreign victims who choose not to co-operate with trafficking investigations are permitted to stay in Bulgaria for one month and 10 days before they are repatriated. Victims were not detained, fined, or otherwise penalised for unlawful acts committed as a result of their being trafficked.

The report said that in October 2007, the Commission organised a national awareness campaign, which included funding the production of more than 1000 posters to advertise the campaign, and distribution of the posters throughout the country — mostly in schools and other public buildings.

The Commission also published and began distribution of 1000 posters and 5000 brochures for an NGO-run awareness campaign focused on child trafficking.

The National Border Police continued to actively monitor airports and land border crossings for evidence of people trafficking.
"However Bulgaria's accession into the European Union in 2007 and subsequent visa free travel within the EU has challenged border officials' ability to identify potential victims," the report said.

The Commission adopted Bulgaria's current National Strategy for Combating Human Trafficking in June 2007. In 2007, the Commission made efforts to reduce domestic demand by launching an awareness campaign targeting consumers purchasing commercial sex acts.

The law provides that Bulgarian citizens who participate in certain crimes abroad, including child sex tourism, can be prosecuted and convicted in Bulgaria.