The Bulgarian government decided unilaterally to accept Schengen visas as equivalent to Bulgarian national visas until the date of the full accession of our country to the Schengen area. No visas will be required for holders of valid uniform (Schengen) visas, valid long-stay visas and residence permits issued by the member-states applying the Schengen acquis in full, Switzerland and Lichtenstein.
The Cabinet’s decision adopted on 25 January 2012 means that holders of these visas and permits will have the right to enter and stay on the territory of Bulgaria for up to three months per any six-month period, as of the date of their first entry, without requiring a Bulgarian short-stay visa.
The Bulgarian Chamber of Commerce and Industry expresses its content with the significant progress achieved in simplifying the Bulgarian entry regime with this Resolution of the Council of Ministers. The decision comes in fulfillment of the promise of the Minister of Foreign Affairs Nikolay Mladenov, given during the meeting with the President of BCCI Tsvetan Simeonov on 10 January this year, to facilitate acquisition of business visas for citizens of Bulgaria’s neighbour countries.
The measure is expected to attract more foreign tourists and businessmen - holders of Schengen visas and stay permits issued by countries which apply the Schengen acquis in full. Increased interest of citizens of Russia, Ukraine, Belarus, Moldova, Turkey and other countries is expected to tourism and investment opportunities in Bulgaria.