Letter Clarifying the Need for Green Card and Visa in Bulgaria

Barry and Margaret Williamson

June 2006

De Oude Wilg, Carta, Fagaras Mountains, Romania

Dear MMM Reader

Your email was passed on to us by Mike and Jane Jago, editors of the MMM. We are the magazine's voluntary Travel Consultants for Bulgaria, among other countries. Details of our email address and website are published monthly on the MMM's Travel Consultants' page.

If you visit our website: www.magbaztravels.com, you will find a 'Quick Links' menu on the right hand side of the Home Page. Click on 'Bulgaria' and you will see a number of articles on the subject of motorhoming in Bulgaria.

We think that you are asking about 2 issues here: firstly, the Green Card which your motorhome insurance company should supply, so that your insurance remains valid during your stay in Bulgaria. Sometimes, but less often these days, officials will want to see your Green Card at the border crossing from Greece, as well as your passport and the motorhome's papers.

You must ask your insurance company about the validity of your Green Card. It varies a lot between companies. Ours, from Comfort, can be bought for a small fixed fee, lasts up to a total of 120 days in a given year and can cover a number of countries not included in the main policy. Whatever its length, your Green Card cover will have to be between specified dates, so that it is known to be valid during the time you are in Bulgaria.

If you are leaving Bulgaria via Romania or Serbia or Turkey, you will also need Green Card cover for those countries.

The second issue you raise is the entry visa issued by the Bulgarians. For UK citizens, they issue a visa free of charge for 30 days (most other EU citizens get 90 days), at the border, with no forms to complete - they stamp your passport with an (often illegible) date. You can then have up to 30 days in the country in a period of 6 months starting on your date of entry. We take that to mean that the 30 days total can be spread over more than one visit.

The Bulgarian Consular website in the UK writes: "Passport holders from the countries listed above need a visa only if their stay in Bulgaria will exceed 30 days, if they need to enter the country a number of times for a longer period of time, or if they need a long-term visa." Getting a visa in advance from a Bulgarian Consulate is a messy and time-consuming business.

You are also required to register with the police within 48 hours (this figure varies and is also quoted as being 72 hours and 5 days!) of your arrival, although this may be done for you if you register at a hotel or official campsite. You are also required to inform the police of any subsequent change of address.

The UK Foreign and Commonwealth Office advises: "As a British national you may enter Bulgaria as a tourist without a visa for up to thirty days only in any 6 month period. Please note the immigration authorities are enforcing this rule more strictly now: you may not be allowed to re-enter Bulgaria after the initial thirty days have expired if you have not spent the requisite period outside the country.

You must register with the nearest police station within five days of arrival. If you are in a hotel or on a package holiday, this will be done for you. If you are staying in a private house, you will need to do it yourself. Failure to do so may result in a fine (currently between Lv 200 and 2000) for your host family. If your stay is less than five days, registration is not essential. However, even short-term visitors are advised to register if possible.

You may exceptionally be able to extend your stay in Bulgaria beyond 30 days (normally only for urgent or compassionate reasons) by applying at the local passport office. However, switching "status" is no longer allowed. For example, if you enter as a visitor then decide to establish a business, or stay on a more permanent basis, you will have to go back to London and apply for the appropriate entry clearance at the Bulgarian Embassy."

This is the official position and, needless to say, it does not sit well with motorhomers who come and go and indulge in frequent changes of 'address', including free camping. What we can tell you is that we have made 4 protracted journeys through Bulgaria over the years by bicycle, car and motorhome and we have never registered with the police ourselves (and other motorhomers we know followed suit). The 30-day rule is more awkward but we can say that the date stamp on your passport is unlikely to be found and looked at on exit. Similarly, you passport is not carefully perused on arrival, although they may have a computer record of any previous visits.

Arriving in Romania recently, where they have similar rules although the length of stay is 90 days, our passports were stamped before we even got to the booth where this was supposed to be done. An officiall came to the driver's window, opened and stamped the 2 passports without looking (he stamped a page which was already full of stamps) and walked away. That was it! No forms, no computer record. In the Balkans and further east, what happens in practice is often quite different to what the verbose regulations say!

So it's over to you - make sure you have a Green Card from your insurance company for the dates of your visit, get a 30-day visa automatically on arrival at the Bulgarian Airport and your husband will have to decide if he can make a second visit within the 30-day limit.

Please contact us if you have any further queries or need clarifications.

Best wishes

Barry and Margaret