Bulgaria ETIAS

Located on the Eastern Side of the Balkan Peninsula, where the Carpathian Mountains meet the Black Sea, Bulgaria is a country with a rich and colorful cultural heritage that blends influences from many parts of Europe, Russia and the Middle East, making it a unique place to visit and experience.

ETIAS to Bulgaria: main facts

Bulgaria will, from 2025, enforce the requirement to hold a valid ETIAS to visitors with a passport from 60 Visa Waiver Countries
ETIAS allows for a combined stay in Bulgaria and 33 more ETIAS Nations of maximum 90 out of every 180 days and only for purposes of either tourism, commerce and trade, transit or medical treatment
ETIAS application to be forwarded electronically only
ETIAS holders coming must have at least 3 months of residual validity on their passport since the day they are scheduled to leave from ETIAS Europe.

Bulgaria and Europe
Located on the Eastern Side of the Balkan Peninsula, where the Carpathian Mountains meet the Black Sea, Bulgaria is a country with a rich and colorful cultural heritage that blends influences from many parts of Europe, Russia and the Middle East, making it a unique place to visit and experience.
Bulgaria first gained its modern days independence in 1908 in the aftermath of the so-called liberation war, and in 1990, after the crumbling of Soviet Union and Iron Curtain, it became a fully working democracy aiming to soon reach the standards set by the rest of Europe. After a long and fruitful process of modernization of its institutions, rules of law and infrastructures, Bulgaria reached, in 2007, the important goal of being inducted in the European Union. Such Membership brought and additional boost to Bulgaria’s cultural and economic development favoring a full transition towards modern European standards and recently culminated with the official induction of the country in the EU/Schengen Area.
Bulgaria ETIAS application step by step
The application procedure for ETIAS to Bulgaria is a simple process to be dealt with electronically exclusively. Most of the process basically revolves around filling out a digital form posing a short set of questions to be always answered in complete and truthful way.
Such questions are broadly divided into four sections including:

personal data

contact details

travel schedule

background and eligibility questions

Once the form has been completed and recontroled, candidates will have to submit its content to European Controlling Authorities by mean Family or friends visit

The maximum combined stay inside the ETIAS Area in its entirety that must not pass the threshold of ninety days within six months.
Visa Waiver Nationals aiming to study, work or live in Bulgaria or any other ETIAS Countries on a long-term basis will still be demanded to apply for a specific Consular Visa.
More details about ETIAS eligibility criteria and few exceptions are available in this website’s guideline and FAQ section. of electronic payment of the due taxes. When the application has been submitted, travelers will than simply have to wait to receive its outcome that will be notified via e-mail within 72 hours.
ETIAS approval certificate, when ready, is only sent to the candidate’s e-mail declared in the application form and it is therefore important for each applicant to input a valid and working e-mail account when they fill out the required form.
ETIAS to Bulgaria: validity and benchmarks
Once received the positive outcome, like it will be in most cases, ETIAS Visa Waiver to Bulgaria is valid for 3 years and allows for multiple journeys towards all the 34 Countries part of the European Union/Schengen Area with the sole exclusion of the Republic of Ireland (EIRE); an exception to such validity frame is in place for those visitors whose passports expire in less than 3 years from the ETIAS issue date. Such Visa Waiver Nationals must indeed notice that their ETIAS will cease to be fit for use together with their passport and additionally, that it is required for the passport itself to have at least three months of remaining validity throughout the entire permanence in ETIAS Area.
ETIAS can exclusively be used for the following travel reasons:

Business

Leisure

Transit

Medical Therapy

Short term study or training program

Family or friends visit

The maximum combined stay inside the ETIAS Area in its entirety that must not pass the threshold of ninety days within six months.
Visa Waiver Nationals aiming to study, work or live in Bulgaria or any other ETIAS Countries on a long-term basis will still be demanded to apply for a specific Consular Visa.
More details about ETIAS eligibility criteria and few exceptions are available in this website’s guideline and FAQ section.
Additional rules and exceptions
Visitors entering Bulgaria that already possess a valid Schengen Visa or a Residence Permit issued by any of the Schengen Member or de facto Member Countries are exempted from the requirement to hold a valid ETIAS.
Even though its possession is compulsory for short term trips falling under the categories cited above in the main facts, holding a ETIAS Visa Waiver to Bulgaria itself does not ensure that the Nationals of Visa Waiver Countries will be allowed inside the European borders since the final decision on this matter is sole responsibility of the Border Control Officers.
Visitors coming to the ETIAS Area from abroad should than notice that they could be asked to provide supporting documents to demonstrate the actual aim and duration of their scheduled stay. Such additional documents may include:

return ticket to country of residence

onwards ticket to a non-ETIAS country where the yoyagers have a proven right to enter

proof of sufficient funds to support themselves during the whole stay