General Information

The Bulgarian visas are issued by the Bulgarian embassies and consulates abroad, not at the airports or the land and sea passport control points in Bulgaria.

By applying for a Bulgarian visa, the applicant agrees that his/her personal data appearing on the application form would be electronically stored and processed, and if necessary, passed over to the appropriate authorities of other countries in execution of Bulgaria's international obligations.

A visa is issued only to holders of passports or travel documents that are valid for Bulgaria for at least 3 months after the end of the intended stay and that contain a blank page for affixing of visa vignettes.

With effect from 1 January 2006, all children entering Bulgaria will need to have their own passport. Children included in their parents' passports will only be allowed in if the passport also contains their photograph.

Upon entry into Bulgaria, foreigners should declare in writing the purpose of their stay and the address at which they will reside. To this end they should fill in a registration form. Exempt of that are the citizens of the European Union member-states and the citizens of the countries in the Economic European Area.

The Bulgarian Foreign Nationals Act provides for three main visa categories: transit visa, short-stay visa and long-stay visa.

1. A transit visa is required for travel through Bulgaria to another country within 24 hours.
    

2. A short-stay visa allows a Foreign citizen single or multiple entries into Bulgaria for up to 90 days within a period of six months.
    

3. A long-stay visa allows a Foreign citizen to enter into Bulgaria and later to apply for a long-term or permanent residence permit. The validity of the long-stay visa is 6 (six) months and it allows its holder of stay up to 90 days.
   
   Pursuant to a draft Act for amendments of the Foreign Nationals Act there will be an option the validity of the long-stay visa to be up to 1 (one) year for certain categories of Foreign citizens. The calculation of the period commences on the day of first arrival into Bulgaria as indicated in the Foreign citizen's international passport. All visa applications should be submitted to the respective Bulgarian diplomatic missions and consular departments around the world. In exceptional cases (e.g. the state's interest, extraordinary circumstances or humanitarian reasons) border control officers, after coordination with the Foreign Nationals Administrative Control Office, can issue transit visas or short-term visas for up to 10 days.
    

4. List of countries whose citizens do not require visa to enter Bulgaria