Bulgaria Visa Practices

Dear Member,

In the letter sent to our Chamber by TOBB, with reference to the Ministry of Trade's letter dated 16.06.2023 and numbered 86379937, it was announced that, with the amendment made to the country's visa regime under the Decision of the Bulgarian Council of Ministers dated 12 April 2023, it has been accepted that, in order to enter Bulgaria or transit through the country without the need for a Bulgarian type "C" transit or entry visa, one must hold a double- or multiple-entry Schengen visa that has been used once for entry into a country fully applying the Schengen acquis.

The said letter stated that, pursuant to the second article of the "Agreement on the Amendment of the Visa Agreement Concluded on 10 March 1993 between the Government of the Republic of Türkiye and the Government of the Republic of Bulgaria", signed between Türkiye and Bulgaria in 2007, the following procedure is applied upon the entry of our citizens;

Drivers holding a Bulgarian type "C" transit/entry visa or a double- or multiple-entry Schengen visa used once for entry into a country fully applying the Schengen acquis are permitted to transit through Bulgaria,
Drivers holding a Bulgarian entry visa or a double- or multiple-entry Schengen visa used once for entry into a country fully applying the Schengen acquis are permitted to unload cargo in Bulgaria or load cargo from Bulgaria.
Drivers holding a Schengen visa who do not have a Bulgarian type "C" transit/entry visa and have not yet entered a country fully applying the Schengen acquis are permitted to transit through Bulgaria with a declaration, and if, upon their return, these persons cannot prove that they entered a country fully applying the Schengen acquis, a fine of 500 Leva (approximately 250 Euro) is imposed.
If drivers holding a Schengen visa who do not have a Bulgarian entry visa and have not yet entered a country fully applying the Schengen acquis unload cargo in Bulgaria or load cargo from Bulgaria, a fine of 500 Leva (approximately 250 Euro) is imposed if they cannot prove upon their return that they entered a country fully applying the Schengen acquis,
Transit through Bulgaria to Romania is permitted with a double- or multiple-entry Romanian visa,
Drivers holding a double- or multiple-entry Romanian visa who do not have a Bulgarian entry visa are permitted to load cargo from Bulgaria provided that they have entered Romania with these visas.
Should one wish to object to the fine imposed;

An objection can be made to the penalty report within 7 days following the issuance of the penalty report, and to the penalty decision within 14 days following the issuance of the penalty decision.
Objections are made before the institutions that issued the report and the decision.
In order to be able to object, the payment must not have been made.
Should one wish to object, it is possible to leave Bulgaria without making the payment, and objections can also be made from Türkiye.
The fine of 500 Leva imposed is the lower limit, and this amount may increase depending on the number of violations.

Kind regards,

Elazığ Chamber of Commerce and Industry