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Research on Bulgarian emigration has been rather fragmentary because of the lack of reliable data and field research. This article aims at enhancing the understanding of such a phenomenon by offering a historical overview of emigration dynamics since 1989. The article shows that in recent years there has been a growing trend towards permanent settlement along with temporary and seasonal migration (the so called “gurbet” model), stimulated by the visa liberalization of 2011 and subsequently by the EU enlargement of 2007. Since the beginning of 2000, Italy, along with Spain, has become a favorite destination for Bulgarian emigration with an overall presence of more than 50.000 individuals and a growing social and occupational integration (especially in agriculture and service sectors). By analyzing the experience of the Bulgarians in Italy, this article shows that the advantages of the EU enlargement are also shown by the human dimension of migrants’ integration, thus calling to develop a concrete sense of European citizenship.
