MIA: Bulgarian police have no record of legal entry by Iva Mihailova
Checks via the joint contact centre found no registered legal entry into Bulgaria; Macedonian records list her last entry to Bulgaria in September 2025.
The Ministry of Internal Affairs (MIA) of North Macedonia says Bulgarian border police have no record of a legal entry into Bulgaria by Iva Mihailova following checks carried out through the two countries' joint contact centre.
Border-system checks and earlier movements
According to the MIA, checks of border-control systems show that Mihailova's last registered entry into Bulgaria was in September 2025, and that an exit from Bulgaria — recorded as an entry into North Macedonia — appears in October 2025. The ministry added that, for the person who is subject to an active judicial ban, there is no registered exit from the territory of North Macedonia.
"The Ministry of Internal Affairs carried out checks in the border control system, and it was established that for the person Iva Mihailova, for whom there is an active judicial ban, there is no recorded exit from the territory of Macedonia. Additionally, through the joint contact centre with the Republic of Bulgaria, checks were carried out by the Bulgarian border police, from where information was received that for the aforementioned person there is no recorded legal entry into the territory of the Republic of Bulgaria," the MIA said this afternoon.
At the beginning of October 2025 Mihailova was involved in a traffic accident with fatal consequences; she is currently facing a criminal case at the Basic Court in Kočani related to that incident. As precautionary measures in the proceedings, her identity documents were confiscated.
The MIA says Mihailova — who was on the ministry's stop list — and her lawyer nevertheless managed to leave North Macedonia and travel to Bulgaria. Her lawyer has confirmed she crossed the Macedonian–Bulgarian border but has not disclosed which crossing was used.
Authorities state they continue to verify records and to coordinate with Bulgarian counterparts as the investigation into the circumstances of her travel and the ongoing court case proceeds.
Photo: press material from the event
