Schengen still a dream for Bulgaria, but what happens on the labor market

Bulgaria is ready to enter the visa free travel zone of the Schengen agreement, yet due to certain delays and current situations, the country is still not member of the passport-free area. Even so, since the beginning of January, Bulgaria as a member of the European Union has gained certain rights. With the start of the new year, the citizens of the country were given the right to work in all member states of the European Union since the free movement of workers is a right to all citizens that are part of the union. Bulgaria and its neighboring country Romania joined the European Union in year 2007 and after a seven year period, their citizens can finally benefit from free movement of the workers. Actually many countries from the European Union opened their labor markets for Bulgarians and Romanians long ago. Finally, restrictions are now not valid and workers from the two countries can search for jobs in Austria and Belgium, Britain and France, Germany and Luxembourg, Spain, Malta and the Netherlands.

The labor markets are now open for Bulgarians, however they have to apply for jobs that are officially offered and they have to follow the rules that are applied to the citizens in the country that is concerned. Until now Bulgarians had the right to stay for three months in one country, but had no right to work there. Now this has changed. At the same time, Bulgaria is still not a member of the Schengen agreement, as many Schengen members fear that the borders of the country are not protected well and this will lead to a huge migration from the Middle East and Asia.