Bulgarian passport

Application

The Ministry of Interior is responsible for the issuing and renewing of Bulgarian passports.

Use

For travel within the European Union, Schengen Area as well as to Albania, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Georgia, Kosovo, Moldova, Montenegro, North Macedonia, North Cyprus, Serbia and Turkey Bulgarian citizens are not required to carry a passport and only need a valid national identity cards.

A Bulgarian passport gives its bearer the right to assistance and protection by Bulgarian diplomatic missions and consular offices abroad (or to those of other EU member states when there is no Bulgarian diplomatic mission or consulate in the destination country or territory).

The passport remains the property of the Republic of Bulgaria.

Categories

• Regular – available to all Bulgarian citizens and valid for five or ten years.
• Service – issued to their staff on request by the respective government agency or directorate.
• Diplomatic – issued to diplomats, high-ranking state officials and their immediate families.

Physical appearance

Bulgarian passports are of the common EU design, burgundy in color, with the Bulgarian Coat of arms emblazoned in the center of the front cover. The text "Европейски съюз" (Bulgarian) / "European Union" (English), the country's official long name "Република България" (Bulgarian) and the English form "Republic of Bulgaria" are inscribed in capital letters above the coat of arms, with the word "паспорт" (Bulgarian) / "passport" (English) underneath. It is issued for a period of five or ten years, and contains 32 or 48 pages.

Security features include holographic images, micro printing, UV-visible features, watermarks, etc. In addition, the passport holder's photograph is digitally printed directly onto the paper, in standard ink as well as a holographic image. All passports are machine-readable.

Biometric passports

Since 29 March 2010, all newly issued Bulgarian passports contain a chip with biometric data, and also feature the text "Европейски съюз" (Bulgarian) / "European Union" (English) above the country's official name, thus reflecting Bulgaria's EU membership. Additional design changes include the placement of pictures of famous Bulgarian landmarks and monuments on the inside pages of the passports. The standard (within 30 business days) passport service fee for adults aged 14–58 is €20.45, with lower fees for those younger or older than age group. Prices for expedited (3 business days) and urgent (8 business hours) passport services are roughly twice and five-times, respectively, more expensive than the standard fees.

Passport note

The passports contain a note from the issuing state that is addressed to the authorities of all other states, identifying the bearer as a citizen of that state and requesting that he or she be allowed to pass and be treated according to international norms. The note inside Bulgarian passports states:

This passport is valid for all countries.|}}

Languages

The data page/information page is printed in Bulgarian, English and French.

Visa requirements

Main article: Visa requirements for Bulgarian citizens

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As of 8 September 2023, Bulgarian citizens have visa-free or visa on arrival access to 177 countries and territories, ranking the Bulgarian passport 14th overall in terms of travel freedom according to the Henley & Partners Passport Index.

Visitor statistics

According to the National Statistical Institute of Bulgaria, these were the top 10 destination countries for Bulgarians:

Gallery of historic images

Image:1943 pages from a Bulgarian Diplomatic passport used for travelling to Switzerland.jpg|1943 pages from a Bulgarian Diplomatic passport used for travelling to Switzerland Image:Bulgaria passport 1944.jpg|Kingdom of Bulgaria passport, circa 1944 Image:Bulgarian Passport Front.jpg|Pre-EU Bulgarian non-biometric passport (1999–2009) Image:Bulgarian Passport Inside.jpg|The title pages (1999–2009)

References

References

1. "Издаване на паспорт".
2. "Такси за издаване на лична карта и паспорт на български граждани".
3. (2025-10-20). "Henley Passport Index 2025 October Global Ranking".
4. [http://eur-lex.europa.eu/LexUriServ/LexUriServ.do?uri=OJ:C:2008:115:0047:0199:EN:PDF Treaty on the Function of the European Union] (consolidated version)
5. (2014-03-04). "VISA Regulations - Turkish Republic of Northern Cyprus".
6. (2022-07-22). "Resmî Gazete".
7. (2019-07-11). "From 2021: Bulgarian Passports Will Be Valid for 10 Years - Novinite.com - Sofia News Agency". novinite.com.
8. "Bulgaria to Start Issuing Biometric IDs in March 2010 - Novinite.com - Sofia News Agency".
9. "Trips of Bulgarian residents abroad by months and by country of destination - National statistical institute".