Bulgaria introduces a visa regime for Russians with official passports

Since October 20, Bulgaria has introduced a visa regime for citizens of Russia who have official passports. The countryʼs government has partially suspended the agreement between the governments of Bulgaria and the Russian Federation on the mutual travel of citizens.

This is reported by the Bulgarian News Agency.

The restrictions apply to citizens of both countries who have valid official and diplomatic passports, which gave them the right to entry, exit, transit, and temporary residence without visas for a period of up to 90 days.

Previously, Bulgaria already introduced a visa regime for Russian holders of diplomatic passports. This happened on February 25, immediately after the Russian invasion of Ukraine.

Bulgaria also suspended the agreement between the European Union and the Russian Federation on the simplified issuance of visas to Russians (the decision entered into force on September 12).

• In June, the Bulgarian authorities expelled 70 diplomats from the Russian embassy. They were suspected of working for intelligence services.