Bulgaria issues only short-stay Schengen Visas & has no VIS connection problems, MFA clarifies

Sofia: The Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Bulgaria has clarified that the country only issues Schengen visas for short-term stays, stressing that it has no problem with its connectivity to the Schengen visa system.

According to the Ministry, over 35,000 Schengen visas have been issued by the end of July.

Bulgaria’s MFA comments came following reports related to the issuance of Schengen visas and potential difficulties in obtaining a visa.

Bulgarian diplomatic representations abroad issue only Schengen visas for short-term stays, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Bulgaria has emphasised.

The same has reiterated that Bulgaria has no problem with its connectivity to the Schengen Visa Information System (VIS), Schengen.News reports.

According to the Ministry, by the end of July, the number of short-term visas surpassed 35,000.

Bulgaria’s MFA’s comments come in response to reports related to Schengen visa issuance and potential difficulties in obtaining a visa or visa refusals.

Through a statement, the Ministry stressed that the linking of the Bulgarian National Visa System to the Schengen Visa System became effective through the so-called ‘passive access’.

By virtue of Council Decision (EU) 2024/210 of December 30, 2023, as of March 31, 2024, Bulgaria issued only Schengen visas for short stays and by the end of July 2024, the number of issued visas exceeded 35,000. Since then, Bulgaria has been granted active access to the EU Central Visa Information System (CVIS), and information from Bulgaria’s national visa system on all visa applications and decisions has been recorded in CVIS. Bulgaria has no problems with its connectivity to the Schengen visa system.

The Ministry recalled that based on European legislation, the possession of a visa is not the only reason for a citizen of a third country to be admitted to the Schengen Zone.

According to the Ministry, relevant authorities have powers which allow them to refuse entry into EU countries to third-country nationals who do not meet the required entry conditions mentioned in Regulation (EU) 2016/399 of the European Parliament and of the Council of 9 March 2016 on a Union Code of Procedure of the movement of persons across borders (Schengen Borders Code).

Bulgaria began issuing Schengen visas on March 31 this year, when the country became part of the Schengen Area by air and sea, in spite of the fact that border controls continue to remain effective.

In a bid to attract a larger number of foreigners, authorities in Bulgaria recently announced that they intensified the efforts to facilitate the issuance of tourist and work visas.

Through a statement, Bulgaria’s Minister of Tourism Evtim Miloshev and the Deputy Minister of Foreign Affairs Maria Angelieva unfolded plans to ease the issuance of tourist and work visas.

However, as a result of the implementation of the new version of the National Visa Information System (NVIS) the Bulgarian consular authorities have temporarily suspended the issuance of visas from August 9 until August 18.