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Visa Requirements for Citizens of Bulgaria

Browse the visa requirements for Bulgarian Citizens and discover if you need an approved visa for your travel destination.

Visa Requirements for Bulgarian Citizens

Visa requirements for citizens of Bulgaria are administrative entry restrictions placed on Bulgarian passport holders by the authorities of other countries and territories around the globe.

The Henley Passport Index currently ranks the Bulgarian passport 9th in terms of travel freedom among the passports of the world, tied with those of Croatia, Cyprus, and Romania. This is because citizens of Bulgaria are granted visa exemption or access with a visa on arrival to up to 135 countries worldwide.

To visit territories to which Bulgarians are granted visa exemption, it is necessary to present a valid Bulgarian passport. The visa-free stay permitted in these countries varies from 14 days up to 1 year depending on the destination.

There are up to 40 countries that have implemented an Electronic Travel Visa Authorization program for Bulgarian nationals. These expedited online applications allow Bulgarians to easily obtain an eVisa or electronic travel authorization for their destination from the comfort of their own home. They remove the need to apply for a visa from an embassy or endure long border queues to submit a visa on arrival application.

An approved online visa waiver or eVisa for Bulgarian travelers may be issued for a single entry or multiple entries, and permit a stay from 14 days to 1 year depending on the destination. They are most often issued for purposes of tourism, business, or transit.

To visit these same destinations for long-term stays or other purposes, it is necessary to obtain an embassy travel visa for Bulgarian citizens. Additionally, an approved visa from an embassy or consulate is required for Bulgarians to visit around 80 countries no matter the length of stay or motive for the travel.

Further information about these entry types for travelers from Bulgaria can be found below.

List of Visa Countries for Bulgarian Passport Holders

It’s important to check what the visa requirements for Bulgarian citizens are before visiting any new travel destination. At present, there are approximately 140 countries that require visitors from Bulgaria to have an approved visa or travel authorization no matter the motive for the trip or period of intended stay.

This may be either an Electronic Travel Visa Authorization through a simple online application protocol, a visa on arrival obtained at a border checkpoint, or a visa from an embassy or consulate. The most efficient and time-saving option is to use an electronic application program if it is available for your destination, as it removes the need to visit a diplomatic government office in person or wait in long immigration lines at the border.

Electronic visas and travel authorizations permit foreigners temporary stays in the country of issue that vary from 16 days up to 3 months and may grant a single entry or multiple entries. They are most often granted for tourist stays, business or trade activities, or for transit.

Nevertheless, there are approximately 80 countries and territories that require Bulgarians to obtain an embassy visa to visit for any intended period of stay or travel purpose.

Discover a more trailed breakdown of these types of visa for Bulgarians below.

Electronic Travel Visa Authorization

The visa policies of up to 40 countries across the world state that an Electronic Travel Visa Authorization for Bulgarian citizens is available. These simplified application protocols allow Bulgarians to easily obtain an eVisa or online visa waiver for their destination and eliminate the need to travel to an embassy or consulate in person or to apply for a visa on arrival.

Electronic travel authorizations and eVisas for Bulgarian passport holders are issued for short-term stays that vary from 16 days to 3 months. They may be issued for a single entry or multiple entries depending on the destination, and usually permit entry for tourism, transit, or business purposes.

To apply for an Electronic Travel Visa Authorization from Bulgaria, it is only necessary to complete a simple online form with basic personal and contact information, passport data, and travel details.

Applicants are then required to upload any necessary supporting documents in digital form and to pay a processing fee with a valid debit or credit card. In some cases, you may be asked to answer a few questions related to security matters before submitting the form.

Once processed, usually within a few business days, an approved eVisa or electronic travel permission is often electronically linked to the traveler’s Bulgarian passport. This document can then be presented on arrival to gain entry to the destination.
Discover a comprehensive list of Electronic Travel Visa Authorization countries for Bulgarians below.

Visa On Arrival

Visas on arrival for Bulgarian citizens are a type of document issued to travelers from Bulgaria at immigration checkpoints of roughly 20 countries worldwide.

They permit short-term stays that vary from 7 days to 3 months depending on the country of issue and usually permit a single entry to the destination. A visa on arrival for Bulgarians is usually issued for purposes of either tourism or business.

To apply for a visa on arrival for Bulgarian passport holders, it is necessary to go to a border checkpoint in the destination and wait in an immigration line to be handed an application to complete with a range of personal, passport, and travel data. Immigration officers will also ask the traveler to furnish a variety of supporting documents in paper form.

After submitting this documentation alongside the completed visa on arrival form. It is usually necessary to pay a mandatory processing fee in local cash currency before the application can be considered for approval.

Bulgarian travelers are advised to use the expedited eVisa application protocol for these countries if one is available. An approved eVisa greatly facilities entry on arrival as it removes the need to wait in long border queues.

Find below a full list of the visa on arrival countries for Bulgarians.

Visa On Arrival: Country list

Click on the links below to find out more about each country
  • Bangladesh
  • Bolivia
  • Comoros
  • Gabon
  • Guinea-Bissau
  • Kyrgyzstan
  • Lebanon
  • Mauritania
  • Mozambique
  • Somalia
  • Zambia
  • Zimbabwe

Embassy Visa Required

Current visa requirements for Bulgarian travelers identify roughly 80 countries for which an approved embassy visa is necessary. This is a mandatory requirement for these territories regardless of the duration of stay or purpose of the visit.

Embassy visas for Bulgarian nationals may be issued for a variety of periods of stay and validity, and for either a single entry or multiple entries. This depends on whether the individual requires a tourist visa, business visa, student visa, work visa, transit visa, or another visa type.

To apply for a visa for Bulgarians from a diplomatic government office, it is first necessary to make an appointment at the nearest embassy or consulate of the destination. You will then be required to complete an embassy visa form to present in person along with a range of varying paper supporting documents depending on the purpose of the trip.

Before an embassy visa application can be submitted for processing, it is also necessary to pay a mandatory fee to consular officials. As it may take several weeks for an embassy document to be approved, Bulgarian travelers are advised to begin the application protocol well in advance of their intended date of arrival in the destination.

Discover a complete list of embassy visa-required countries for citizens of Bulgaria below.

Embassy Visa Required: Country list

Click on the links below to find out more about each country
  • Afghanistan
  • Aland Islands
  • Algeria
  • American Samoa
  • Anguilla
  • Antarctica
  • Azerbaijan
  • Bermuda
  • Bhutan
  • Bonaire
  • British Indian Ocean Territory
  • British Virgin Islands
  • Burkina Faso
  • Burundi
  • Cameroon
  • Cayman Islands
  • Central African Republic
  • Chad
  • China
  • Christmas Island
  • Cocos Islands
  • Congo
  • Cook Islands
  • Cuba
  • Curacao
  • Democratic Republic of the Congo
  • Equatorial Guinea
  • Eritrea
  • Falkland Islands
  • Faroe Islands
  • French Guiana
  • French Polynesia
  • Ghana
  • Gibraltar
  • Greenland
  • Guadeloupe
  • Guam
  • Guernsey
  • Guyana
  • Iraq
  • Isle of Man
  • Jersey
  • Liberia
  • Libya
  • Mali
  • Martinique
  • Mayotte
  • Montserrat
  • Namibia
  • Nauru
  • New Caledonia
  • Niger
  • Niue
  • Norfolk Island
  • North Korea
  • Northern Mariana Islands
  • Pitcairn Islands
  • Puerto Rico
  • Reunion
  • Saint Barthelemy
  • Saint Helena
  • Saint Martin
  • Saint Pierre and Miquelon
  • Seychelles
  • Sint Maarten
  • South Georgia and the South Sandwich Islands
  • Sudan
  • Suriname
  • Svalbard and Jan Mayen
  • Swaziland
  • Syrian Arab Republic
  • Tokelau
  • Turkmenistan
  • Turks and Caicos Islands
  • United States
  • United States Virgin Islands
  • Wallis and Futuna
  • Yemen

Visa Not Required

A visa is not required for Bulgarian citizens to visit over 100 countries and territories around the world for varying periods of stay depending on the destination.

As Bulgaria is a member of the European Union and a pending member of the Schengen Area, Bulgarian nationals are granted freedom of movement to other EU and Schengen countries for an unlimited duration of stay if they present a valid national ID card at a border entry checkpoint.

Other countries that grant visa exemption to citizens of Bulgaria require the traveler to present a valid Bulgarian passport on arrival at immigration control to gain entry. The minimum validity required on the passport varies depending on the destination, so it is important to check this requirement before departure.

The visa-free stay permitted in these territories varies from 14 days up to 1 year. Bulgarians are most often granted visa exemption for travel purposes such as tourism, business, or to transit to an onward destination.

To visit these same countries for other purposes such as to undertake employment or long-term stays, it is necessary to obtain an embassy visa for Bulgarian citizens from a diplomatic government office of the destination in Bulgaria before departure.

Check the visa -free countries for Bulgarians in the list below.

Visa Not Required: Country list

Click on the links below to find out more about each country
  • Albania
  • Andorra
  • Antigua and Barbuda
  • Argentina
  • Armenia
  • Austria
  • Barbados
  • Belarus
  • Belgium
  • Belize
  • Bosnia and Herzegovina
  • Botswana
  • Brazil
  • Brunei Darussalam
  • Chile
  • Colombia
  • Costa Rica
  • Croatia
  • Czech Republic
  • Denmark
  • Dominica
  • Ecuador
  • El Salvador
  • Estonia
  • Federated States of Micronesia
  • Fiji
  • Finland
  • France
  • Gambia
  • Georgia
  • Germany
  • Greece
  • Grenada
  • Guatemala
  • Haiti
  • Honduras
  • Hong Kong
  • Hungary
  • Iceland
  • Ireland
  • Israel
  • Italy
  • Japan
  • Kazakhstan
  • Kiribati
  • Latvia
  • Liechtenstein
  • Lithuania
  • Luxembourg
  • Macau
  • Macedonia
  • Malaysia
  • Malta
  • Marshall Islands
  • Mauritius
  • Moldova
  • Monaco
  • Montenegro
  • Morocco
  • Netherlands
  • Nicaragua
  • Norway
  • Palau
  • Palestinian Territory
  • Panama
  • Paraguay
  • Peru
  • Philippines
  • Poland
  • Portugal
  • Republic of Cyprus
  • Romania
  • Saint Kitts and Nevis
  • Saint Lucia
  • Saint Vincent and the Grenadines
  • Samoa
  • San Marino
  • Sao Tome and Principe
  • Senegal
  • Serbia
  • Slovakia
  • Slovenia
  • Solomon Islands
  • Spain
  • Sweden
  • Switzerland
  • Taiwan
  • Timor-Leste
  • Tonga
  • Trinidad and Tobago
  • Tunisia
  • Turkey
  • Tuvalu
  • Ukraine
  • United Arab Emirates
  • United Kingdom
  • Uruguay
  • Uzbekistan
  • Vanuatu
  • Vatican City
  • Venezuela

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