Bulgaria With Schengen Visa

This post explains how to travel to Bulgaria with a Schengen visa or residence permit. I am an Indian passport holder with a residence permit from Germany; at the time of traveling to Bulgaria I had an Aufenthaltstitel (student residence permit) from Germany. I traveled to Bulgaria without the need of any extra visa and arriving via the land border crossing over to Bulgaria from the Romanian side by train. So, if you are a national of any country with a valid visa or residence permit from Croatia, Cyprus, Romania or any other Schengen countries, you do not need an extra visa to travel to Bulgaria.

The Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Bulgaria website states the following:

On 25 January 2012 the Council of Ministers of the Republic of Bulgaria adopted a decision according to which by the date of Bulgaria’s accession to the Schengen area, our country will unilaterally apply a visa-free system for holders of valid Schengen visas. They will have the right to enter and reside in the Republic of Bulgaria for a period of no more than three months in any six-month period from the date of the first entry, without needing to have a Bulgarian short-stay visa. The decision entered into force on 31.01.2012.

Head over to this link for the latest information: https://www.mfa.bg/en/services-travel/consular-services/travel-bulgaria/visa-bulgaria

This page was last updated on: November 18, 2019