Eastern Europe
Making aliyah from Bulgaria
164 people moved from Bulgaria to Israel between 2015 and 2025, including 16 in 2025. Here is what the official record shows about them, and what the process looks like from Bulgaria specifically.
Olim in 2025
16
granted oleh status on arrival
Total since 2015
164
11 years of the record
Busiest year
2024
24 arrivals
Most chosen town
Tel Aviv-Yafo
18 people
Settlement concentration
Not ranked: Bulgaria has fewer than 1,000 olim on the detailed record, so its top three towns say more about one absorption programme than about a pattern.
The record
Aliyah from Bulgaria, in the ministry's own files
Every arrival counted once, in the year they landed and the town they registered in.
Arrivals from Bulgaria by year
Where they settled
Absorption town recorded on arrival.
- 1Tel Aviv-Yafo18
- 2Bat Yam18
- 3Haifa17
- 4Ashkelon11
- 5Petah Tikva9
- 6Ashdod9
- 7Rishon LeZion8
- 8Netanya7
- 9Karmiel7
- 10Be'er Sheva6
Age on arrival
16% arrived as children, 12% at 65 or over.
- 10-1726
- 218-2431
- 325-3422
- 435-4941
- 550-6424
- 665+20
What they did before moving
Occupation recorded at registration. "School pupil" and "student" reflect how many arrive as dependants.
- 1Not stated19
- 2School pupil19
- 3Student14
- 4Retired14
- 5Civil engineer7
- 6Economist5
- 7Professional services5
- 8Primary school teacher4
Destination
More went to Tel Aviv-Yafo than anywhere else
18 of the 164 arrivals from Bulgaria registered in Tel Aviv-Yafo, ahead of Bat Yam, Haifa, Ashkelon.
The town is recorded once, on arrival, so the chart above shows where people registered rather than where they live now.
How it works
The process from Bulgaria
The Jewish Agency for Israel runs the process through its regional office and the Israeli consulate.
The Jewish Agency organises assisted departures, and in emergencies has run dedicated flights.
Russian-speaking olim have long-established communities in Haifa, Netanya, Bat Yam, Ashdod and Nof HaGalil.
Documents are the slow part everywhere: birth certificates, proof of Jewish descent, police clearance and, in most countries, apostilles. Start collecting before you open the file, not after. The full sequence is in the aliyah guide.
Arriving with Russian as your first language, ulpan is the single biggest determinant of how fast your first year goes. New olim are entitled to free Hebrew study, and the Hebrew alphabet and essential phrases pages are a no-cost head start.
Before you go
Work out what your money is worth: the cost of living page has rent, groceries and salaries in real numbers, and the shekel converter gives today's rate.
A market stall in Jerusalem with prices marked in shekels.
Check the calendar you are moving into: holiday dates close the country for whole weeks in autumn and spring, and Shabbat times govern the week.
A sesame-topped challah loaf, freshly baked.
See how Bulgaria compares with everywhere else on the full statistics explorer.
An open-plan office floor of screens and desks.
Aliyah from elsewhere in Eastern Europe
Total arrivals 2015 to 2025, in brackets.
Start here
The move itself, in six steps
Eligibility, opening the file, the documents, the visa, landing day and the absorption benefits that follow. The guide is the same wherever you are starting from.
Frequently asked questions
How many people make aliyah from Bulgaria each year?+
16 in 2025, and 164 in total between 2015 and 2025. The strongest single year was 2024, with 24 arrivals.
Where do olim from Bulgaria settle?+
Tel Aviv-Yafo takes the largest share, followed by Bat Yam, Haifa, Ashkelon.
Who handles an aliyah application from Bulgaria?+
The Jewish Agency for Israel runs the process through its regional office and the Israeli consulate.
Is aliyah from Bulgaria mostly families or individuals?+
Of the 164 arrivals recorded, 16% were children under 18 and 12% were 65 or over. That skews towards adults moving without school-age children.
Source: Ministry of Aliyah and Integration, published on data.gov.il. Figures count people granted oleh status on arrival. Rebuilt 2026-08-05.