The Bulgarian Tourist Visa for your Holiday or Visiting a Family
Applying for a Bulgarian Tourist visa is necessary when going on vacation trip or to visit a relative living in Bulgaria.
Generally, you should be able to apply for the required Bulgarian tourist visa online/ at the nearest Bulgarian consulate in the country of your residence for a stay in Bulgaria of up to three months.
General Visa Requirements and Validity Period of Bulgarian Tourist Visa
Before applying for a tourist visa for Bulgaria, it is advised you check whether you meet all the Bulgarian visa requirements.
A brief summary of the most important requirements and conditions when obtaining the tourist visa for Bulgaria:
- You do not plan to conduct voluntary work that can otherwise be performed by a paid worker in Bulgaria.
- You do not plan to join a work relationship in Bulgaria.
- You do not mean to provide services to Bulgarian organisations (this is allowed with a Bulgarian work visa or business visa).
- You do not plan to provide or offer product or services to consumers in Bulgaria.
- You and your family members are not in debt to the Bulgaria Government.
- You do not present a risk to the health or safety of residents of Bulgaria.
- You are able to demonstrate that you have adequate financial resources to finance your stay and return from Bulgaria.
Do you need a Bulgarian tourist visa?
It relies on your citizenship as well as the type of travel document you are using to travel to Bulgaria.Please click here to verify if you need a Bulgarian visa.
Who can request a Bulgarian tourist visa?
Anyone hoping to go on vacation to Bulgaria can apply for a Bulgarian tourist visa.
There are many kinds of visa for Bulgaria which you can use as a visitor to Bulgaria. If you are uncertain which type of Bulgarian tourist visa you require to apply, please call the closest Bulgarian visa office to obtain additional information as goal of this page is to provide you general guide when requesting Bulgarian tourist visa.
What kind of Bulgarian visa do I require?
This relies on three things:
- The citizenship according to your passport – If the nationality according to the passport is from a country that is on visa free travel to Bulgaria or eligible to obtain a visa on arrival in Bulgaria, then you may not require to get a Bulgarian tourist visa before leaving from your home country. Please click here to find out if you need a Bulgarian visa.
- The timeframe of your visit in Bulgaria – If you intend to stay in Bulgaria for a shorter period less than ninety days, then you can request the Bulgarian tourist visa. If you want to remain longer, then call the nearby Bulgarian visa office to obtain the appropriate visa for your trip.
- The activities you hope to carry out in Bulgaria – If your main reason of taking a trip is for vacation, then you can make an application for all types of Bulgarian tourist visas mentioned on this page.
General Visa Application Requirements to Make An Application For Bulgarian Tourist Visa
- Holiday visa application form for Bulgaria – Completed Bulgarian visa application form.
- Original and signed passport – The passport needs to be valid for a minimum of six months before going into Bulgaria and 3 months after leaving Bulgaria. It should have a minimum of two spare visa pages and can not be older than 10 years.
- Passport type photo – Photo needs to be no older than 6 months and should be 35 x 40mm in width.
- Previous passport – Give a previous passport if you had any.
- Previous visas – Copies of previous Bulgarian visas details if you had any.
- Flight tickets to Bulgaria – Reservation of return or round trip flight tickets. In some situations the Bulgarian visa office might request for pre-paid flight tickets to Bulgaria.
- Travel insurance – Evidence of travel insurance with a minimum cover set by the Bulgarian consular office provided with the Certificate of Insurance and the table of benefits. The travel insurance have to cover the cost of repatriation for medical reasons and the Certificate of Currency need to be issued by an insurance company. If you are thinking about using your credit card travel insurance for your travel to Bulgaria, please call Bulgarian embassy for additional information and travel insurance policy requirements for the Bulgarian visa.
- Original financial institution declarations – Original financial institution statements for the last 3 months revealing enough funds to cover stay in Bulgaria. If statements are printed online then it needs to be Verified (marked) by the financial institution representatives.
- Hotel Reservations in Bulgaria – Copy of confirmed hotel bookings including name of the applicant, name and address of the hotel, time-span of stay. In many circumstances, only bookings which are partially or completely pre-paid can be accepted.
- Work letter – This letter must be: original and signed letter from employer written on company letter head paper, validating your ongoing employment, the status of employment, regular monthly income and annual leave. Likewise, please provide your 3 latest pay slips. If you are self-employed: give certified copies of company registration, income tax return.
- For students. Please provide the following:
- Proof of current student status: Certificate of Enrollment.
- Original and signed letter from university written on university letter head paper, affirming ongoing enrolment, verifying the payment of tuition fees or any kind of scholarships, and confirming term break.
- Insurance from Organisation/University – Offer a letter from the University stating the purpose, duration of travel and confirmation that you are going to be covered by the insurance for the whole trip together with the Certificate of Currency and summary of benefits.
In general, visa applications for Bulgarian visa need to be sent for an optimum of 6 months, and no behind 15 days, before the journey.