Bulgaria, which has partially joined the Schengen zone, does not issue Schengen visas to Russia. According to the bulletin of the Association of Tour Operators (ATOR), although the country’s visa centers have resumed their work, they only accept documents for the issuance of national visas. And even in them the number of places is limited.
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Bulgaria partially entered the Schengen zone on March 31. The Bulgarian Embassy in the Russian Federation announced the start of issuing Schengen visas to Russians from April 1. And VFS Global visa centers promised to start accepting documents for short-term Schengen type C visas from April 2.
However, applicants have not been able to make an appointment for more than a month. On April 21 it became known that Bulgaria still issues only national visas, not Schengen.
VFS Global explained that Bulgaria currently only issues national visas and that it will not be possible to obtain a Schengen visa.
“There is still no information about the possible start of acceptance of the Schengen visa in Bulgaria. Furthermore, to present documents it is currently necessary to present biometric data,” VFS Global noted.
One of the tour operating companies confirmed the problem. They reported that the capital’s visa center has set a quota for applications and accepts only 50 passports per day.
The situation is further complicated by the fact that since July last year it has been impossible to obtain a Bulgarian visa in the regions. As a result, citizens from all over the country are forced to apply for a visa to Moscow.
Author:
Natalia Gormaleva
Source: RB
I am a professional journalist and content creator with extensive experience writing for news websites. I currently work as an author at Gadget Onus, where I specialize in covering hot news topics. My written pieces have been published on some of the biggest media outlets around the world, including The Guardian and BBC News.
