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Visa policy

Bulgaria’s visa policy is based on the Foreign Nationals in the Republic of Bulgaria Act and the regulations for issuing visas. Bulgarian legislation in this area is aligned to a great degree with the respective EU acquis. Bulgaria has committed to fully align its visa policy by the time of formal membership in the EU. At this time, Bulgaria maintains visa regime with all countries from the so-called negative list of the EU, except for FYROM (Former Yugoslavia Republic of Macedonia), Serbia and Montenegro. As regards the so-called positive EU positive visit list, Bulgaria still has to align its visa policy for 20 countries, most of them in Latin America. Bulgaria has already provided draft bilateral agreements to some of the countries which aim to remove the mutual visa requirement.

Following the requirements of the EU, Bulgaria introduced a new type of visa—Visa 2001. The new type of visa meets the very high standards of the EU’s security requirements. The visa features additional safety elements including photos of the passport holders, personal data and special technologies.

According to the Foreign Nationals Act, Bulgaria’s diplomatic and consular offices are the only institutions having the authority to issue visas. The Visa Center in the Ministry of Foreign Affairs uses an information system for visa control. Using online communication the Bulgarian diplomatic and consular services transfer the personal information of visa candidates to the Visa Center that, following a background check, approves or rejects the request. The Visa Center is also provides visa information to all border control and customs agencies thus deterring visa counterfeit.

In the area of visa policy, the technical equipment, necessary for issuing the new sticker is in the process of being installed in all diplomatic and consular representations. Priority has been given to missions in Europe and high-risk migration countries. The administrative capacity of the Visa Center of the Bulgarian Ministry of Foreign Affairs has been further increased with the recruitment of 21 officers. The Visa Center is also connected wit the computer network of the Bulgarian border check points with enables automatic transfer of all the data into the Border Police database, as well as with the office of the alien’s control authority. Training of consular staff is continuing and is assured by a special Training Center for consular personnel within the Visa Center.

Downloads

• Law for the Foreigners in the Republic of Bulgaria