From March 31, 2024, Bulgaria and Romania will partially join the Schengen area
Bulgaria has been preparing to issue Schengen visas to Russians since April.According to the Bulgarian national short-term visa, it will be impossible to enter the Schengen area on March 31, 2024, Bulgaria and Romania will partially join the Schengen area. Border controls for any air or sea travel between Bulgaria, Romania and other countries of the Schengen area will be discontinued, but border checks at the land borders of the Balkan countries with other states of the Schengen area will remain.It is expected that from April 1, Bulgaria and Romania will start issuing single type C Schengen visas instead of national visas. To receive Schengen, Russian citizens will have to submit biometrics, and their stay in these countries will already be counted as days spent in the Schengen area. Accordingly, this is a maximum of 90 days during any 180-day period. It does not matter whether the traveler has been continuously in other member states of the Schengen area for 90 days or has entered and left several times.National short-term visas issued by Romania and Bulgaria before March 31, 2024 do not give the right to travel to other countries of the Schengen area. However, residence permits and long-term D visas issued before the specified date imply free movement in the countries of the Schengen area as long as these permits are valid.This information was confirmed at the Embassy of the Republic of Bulgaria in Moscow.”After April 1, all previously issued long–term type D visas and residence permits in Bulgaria will provide their holders with the opportunity to travel to the Schengen countries within the specified period of stay – for example, up to 90 days within a 180–day period,” the Embassy said.We also add that from March 31, it will be impossible to enter Bulgaria and Romania with a Cypriot national visa. The Republic of Cyprus is not a member of the Schengen area.The Bulgarian diplomatic mission also announced its readiness to start issuing Schengen visas to the Russian Federation in April. However, they could not specify how long it would take the Russian applicant to receive the Bulgarian Schengen.”After April 1, all Schengen-type visas that will be issued by Bulgarian consulates abroad must be coordinated with all countries of the Schengen area. It is still difficult to answer how long this procedure will take,” the Bulgarian diplomats commented.In the telegram channels, with reference to the Bulgarian visa center in Moscow, information was published that the acceptance of documents for Bulgarian Schengen visas starts on April 1 and will be possible only in the capital.The Bulgarian Embassy did not give a definite answer to the request about the start date of issuing visas and the place of their possible registration, noting that “consultations and testing of the system are underway.”We remind you that since July 2023, for technical reasons, the regional visa centers of Bulgaria, which are serviced by the VFS Global provider, do not accept applications with payment of the consular fee (80 euros).
