Bulgaria will ease the process of issuing visas to nationals from Russia, Ukraine, Belarus and Moldova, Bulgaria’s Foreign Minister Nikolai Mladenov was quoted as saying by Darik Radio on June 4 2010.
The goal is to stimulate the flow of tourists from these countries over the summer, bearing in mind that Bulgaria’s Black Sea has proved an attractive destination for holidaymakers from these four non-EU countries.
The changes include shortening the time required for issuing a Bulgarian visa. This period is currently between 10 and 30 days. Now organised tour groups will have their visas processed within 10 days of all relevant documentation being filed.
Free of charge Bulgarian visas will be issued to people who take part in international youth sport and culture events held in Bulgaria. These include school and university students, accompanied by teachers and professors, as well as researchers and NGO representatives aged up to 25 who take part in seminars, conferences and other events.
People taking part in bilateral exchange programmes will also get a free Bulgarian visa.
The one-year long multiple entry Bulgarian visa will be issued to people who already had at least one Bulgarian visa issued to them in the preceding year, who have used it accordingly, who have met all Bulgarian legal requirements and who have proven their need to travel to and from Bulgaria on a regular basis. These include people who own properties in Bulgaria and members of their families.
The multiple entry visa of between two and five years will be issued to people who, in the past two years, have used a multiple one-year entry visa and who have met all legal requirements.
According to Mladenov, easing procedures will bring a 30 per cent increase in tourist numbers from the four countries. In 2009 alone a total of 234 000 Russian tourists visited Bulgaria.
“I think that what we are doing now is the best that could be done within the framework of the European Union and the Schengen zone. There has never been easier access to Bulgarian visas since we joined the EU in 2007,” Mladenov told Darik.
The new rules follow several weeks of controversy surrounding new visa rules for Russian tourists which Bulgaria introduced a month ago.
The rules said that Bulgarian operators selling tourist packages in Russia could no longer process applications online, as was the case in the past.
Instead, tourists were asked to take their paperwork to the visa centre, run by the Indian company VFS Services, who in turn have increased their prices by half, according to media reports.
Tourist organisations in Bulgaria and Russia have been staunchly opposed to the new regulations.
Source: Darik
