Guidelines for how to get a visa for Bulgaria

IMMIGRATION AND VISAS

Passport Requirements:-

All travelers need a passport, except for the following:

1. Travelers with a ‘Laissez Passer’ given to workers by the United Nations if they are traveling on work.

2. If they are traveling on service, travelers with a Seaman Book.

3. Travelers with certificates that have been given to refugees and people without citizenship or nationality.

4. Except for Denmark, Iceland, Ireland, Norway, Romania, and Great Britain, nationals of Switzerland and of the Member States of the European Economic Region are given a national identification card.

5. ‘Kinderausweis’ travelers, a German identification document given to children up to the age of 16 if a picture of the child is available.

6. Travelers with temporary passports given to residents of Bulgaria by Bulgarian Embassies.

7. Travelers with travel documents sent by the United Nations Provisional Administration Mission in Kosovo to permanent residents of Kosovo.

Document Validity:-

Passports and alternative documents, or either of them, must be valid on arrival for a period of three months.

a. European Union citizens must have passports or alternative documents that are valid for the time of their expected visit.

b. With a passport or alternative documents valid on the day of arrival, citizens of Bulgaria can enter.

c. With travel documents valid on arrival, residents of Bulgaria can enter.

Additional information:-

1. In that part of Cyprus not governed by the Government of Cyprus, the Bulgarian authorities deny entry to travelers with documents provided by the authorities.

2. Bulgarian authorities deny entry to travelers with diplomatic and official passports from Chinese Taipei.

Visa Issuance:-

Until arrival: Travelers are kindly asked to contact Bulgaria’s nearest representative office.

Visa Exemptions:-

A visa must be carried by all travelers except for the following:

1. Bulgarian people.

2. Travelers with a normal passport stay no longer than 90 days, given that they are:

• Citizens of Andorra, Argentina, Australia, Antigua & Barbuda, Austria, Barbados, Bahamas, Belgium, Brazil, Brunei, Croatia, Cyprus, Canada, Chile, Costa Rica, Czech Republic, Denmark, El Salvador, Germany, Estonia, Finland, Guatemala, Greece, Honduras, Hungary, Iceland, Republic of Ireland, Israel, Italy, Japan, Republic of Korea, Luxembourg, Latvia, Lichtenstein, Lithuania, Malaysia, Malta, Mauritius, Mexico, Monaco, New Zealand, Norway, Nicaragua, Portugal, Panama, Paraguay, Poland, Romania, San Marino, Seychelles, Singapore, Slovak Republic, Sweden, Slovenia, Spain, St. Kitts-Nevis, Switzerland, Uruguay, United States of America, Vatican City and Venezuela.
• People of France, but this does not happen if a passport is issued in the French Departments of Overseas or the French Territories of Overseas.
• Netherlands people whose passports in Aruba or in the Netherlands Antilles are not released.
• Travelers with passports issued by Macao and Hong Kong.

3. ‘British Resident’ or ‘British National (Overseas)’ was endorsed by British passport travelers who are staying for no more than 90 days.

4. The British Overseas Territories Citizen ‘containing the’ right of residency’ mark issued by Great Britain or a ‘British Subject’ was endorsed by travelers with British passports.

5. Austrian residents with diplomatic passports, with a stay of no more than 90 days.

6. Austrian people carry service passports and remain for no longer than 90 days.

7. Armenian and Georgian residents carry diplomatic passports and remain for no longer than 90 days.

8. Travelers staying for no more than 30 days if they are residents of Argentina, the People’s Republic of China, Mongolia, and Venezuela are travelers with diplomatic, official, or service passports.

9. Travelers who stay for no more than 90 days with diplomatic, official, or service passports as long as they are Albanian citizens, Andorra, Antigua & Barbuda, Azerbaijan, Barbados, Bahamas, Belgium, Bosnia, Herzegovina, Brazil, Cyprus, Croatia, Czech Republic, Denmark, El Salvador, Estonia, Finland, Former Yugoslavian Republic of Macedonia, France, Germany, Greece, Guatemala, Hungary, Honduras, Iceland, Israel, Italy, Japan, Republic of Korea, Lithuania, Latvia, Lichtenstein, Luxembourg, Malaysia, Malta, Mauritius, Morocco, Mexico, Republic of Moldova, Monaco, Republic of Montenegro, Netherlands, Poland, Nicaragua, Norway, Peru, Portugal, Romania, Russia, San Marino, Republic of Serbia, Slovenia, Seychelles, Slovak Republic, South Africa, Spain, Switzerland, St. Kitts-Nevis, Sweden, Ukraine, Uruguay, Vatican City, and Vietnam.

10. Travelers staying for a period not exceeding 30 days with a diplomatic, official, or service passport if they are Iranian residents.

11. Turkey’s people carry diplomatic and service passports and remain for no longer than 30 days.

12. Travelers with a permanent or long-term residency permit given to international residents of Bulgaria by Bulgaria.

13. Citizens of the Former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia, the Republic of Montenegro, the Republic of Serbia, and Turkey stay for a period not exceeding five days, provided that travelers are in transit through Bulgaria and continue their journey to a third country, including other means of transport, and possess a valid residence permit granted by the Schengen Member State.

14. Citizens of the Former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia, the Republic of Montenegro, the Republic of Serbia, and Turkey shall stay for a period not exceeding five days, provided that travelers are in transit through Bulgaria and continue their journey to a third country, including other means of transport, and have a valid visa issued by the Schengen Member State.

15. Travelers, except nationality, remain for no longer than 36 hours if they pass through Bulgaria and begin their journey to a third country, including other means of transport, and keep a valid date:

• A visa for Schengen Type B, C, or D.
• A national visa issued by Romania or Cyprus.

16. ‘Laissez Passer’ travelers given by the United Nations to workers while they are traveling on business.

17. Travelers staying for a period not exceeding 90 days for travelers with a ‘family member’ residency card issued by the other Member States of the European Economic Area or Switzerland to a member of the family (spouse, legal partner or child under the age of 21) of a citizen of a Member State of the European Economic Area or Switzerland, provided that they travel:

• Citizen or citizen of Switzerland from the European Economic Area; or
• To become a member of the European Economic Region or a member of Switzerland

18. Travelers, irrespective of their nationality, shall remain for a period not exceeding 36 hours, provided that the traveler is in transit through Bulgaria and continues His / her journey to a third country (including other modes of transport) and holds a valid residence permit granted by the Schengen Member State.

19. Travelers, except for their nationality, stay no longer than 36 hours, given that they pass through Bulgaria and begin

their journey, including other means of transport to a third country, with a valid residency permit issued by Cyprus, Liechtenstein, and Romania.

20. A maximum stay of 90 days with a travel document and a residency permit issued by a member country of the European Union for refugees and people without nationality or citizenship.

TWOV (Transit Without Visa):-

1. For migrants and people without nationality or citizenship, TWOV may not apply.

2. Travelers begin their journey to a third country within 24 hours via the same or first connecting plane, if they:

• Have tickets with confirmed bookings in advance.
• Do not depart from the airport.
• TWOV does not apply to Afghanistan, Angola, Bangladesh, Congo (Kinshasa), Eritrea, Ethiopia, Ghana, Iraq, Liberia, Nigeria, Pakistan, Somalia, Sri Lanka, and Sudan, who need a Form ‘A’ Airport Transit Visa to transit through Bulgaria.
• Except for diplomatic, official, and service passport holders, TWOV does not apply to Iranian people who need a Category ‘A’ Airport Transit Visa).

Additional information:-

1. For their stay, return or onward tickets, and all the documentation needed for their next journey, as well as valid health insurance, travelers must have a consistent source of financial support. In addition, travelers must, upon arrival, fill in the Foreigners’ Immigration Register Card submitted along with the passport or other approved travel document, if they remain for up to three months.

• Exemptions include residents of member countries of the European Union

2. The maximum duration of stay allowed under a visa exemption is six months.

3. Visas are not approved for expired travel documents.

4. Students living in a member country of the European Union and traveling as part of a school community from within the European Union, apart from their nationality, do not need a visa:

• Their names are stamped by the school and approved by the relevant authority in charge in their home country on the ‘List of Travelers’; and
• One of the teachers at that school accompanies the school party.

Notes:-

Each student must bring his or her own travel documents and proof of residency if the ‘List of Travelers’ is only stamped by the school but not authenticated by the relevant authority in charge and does not contain photographs.

Information to know:-

Travelers who do not comply with entry or transit laws or arrive with forged documents will pay penalties ranging from BGL 10,000 to BGL 60,000 on the transport carrier and will be returned to their home country. Any charges resulting from the arrest of the traveler would be at the expense of the airline.

CUSTOMS AND FOREIGN EXCHANGE

Import regulations:-

1. Travelers arriving with products purchased only for personal use within the European Union are permitted to import:

a. Tobacco goods for travelers 17 years of age or older:

• One kilogram of tobacco for smoking.
• 800-bits of cigarettes; or
• 200-cigars.
• 400-small cigars, each of which does not weigh more than three grams.

b. Alcoholic beverages for travelers aged 17 or older:

• Ten liters of over 22% alcoholic beverages and ethyl alcohol.
• Twenty liters of less than 22% alcoholic beverage.
• 90-liters of wine with a limit of 60 liters of sparkling wine.
• 110 gallons of beer.

2. Travelers coming from countries outside the European Union, including the Canary Islands, the Channel Islands, and other related regions, are entitled to import:

a. Tobacco goods for travelers 17 years of age or older:

• tobacco of 250 grams.
• 200-tobacco cigarettes; or
• 50-cigars.
• 100 small cigars, each of which does not weigh more than three grams.
• A relative mixture of goods of this kind.

b. Alcoholic beverages for travelers aged 17 or older:

• One liter of alcoholic beverages.
• Two liters of dessert wine, 22% or less, and sparkling wine.
• A couple of liters of wine.

c. Fragrances:

• 50 grams of fragrance; or,
• Eau de toilette of 250 milliliters.

d. Travelers aged 15 years and older are entitled to import:

• 500-grams of coffee; or, respectively,
• the extract of 200 grams of coffee.
• a hundred grams of tea; or
• an extract of 50 grams of tea.

g. Such products with a total value of up to EUR 175.

3. Forbidden goods:

Animal products that do not originate in the Member States of the European Union, Andorra, Liechtenstein, Norway, San Marino, or Switzerland cannot be imported into the Member States of the European Union. The exceptions include restricted amounts of imports from Andorra, Croatia, the Faeroe Islands, Greenland, Iceland, and small quantities from other countries of some goods.

Pets:-

Travelers must have an official health certificate issued by the veterinary authorities not more than five days before shipment, as well as a certificate of vaccination against rabies approved by the veterinary authorities in their home country and issued not less than 30 days, but not more than 12 months before shipment, in order to carry pets.

Baggage Clearance regulations:-

The luggage of a traveler at the first airport of entry in Bulgaria should be cleared.

The exemptions: Transit luggage for passengers whose destination is outside Bulgaria.

Airport tax:-

On their departure from the airport, travelers are not required to pay any airport tax.

Exception:A levy of USD 20 must be paid by residents of the United States of America with regular passports.

Currency Import regulations:-

For currency imports, the same rules apply as for currency exports.

Currency Export regulations:-

Local currencies (BGN-Bulgarian New Leva) and foreign currencies can be exported by travelers:

1. For travelers coming from or going to another European Union country, there are no limitations on the export of local currencies and foreign currencies.

2. For travelers coming directly from a country outside the European Union, there are no limits on the export of local currency or foreign currency. However, it is appropriate to report quantities more than EUR 10,000 or more or their equivalent in another currency, including draughts of bankers and cheques of any sort.

Wild Fauna and Flora:-

One of the participants of the CITES (Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species) Treaty is Bulgaria.