26 January
Bulgaria to accept Schengen visas as equivalent to Bulgarian
Bulgaria’s Cabinet approved, at a scheduled meeting on January 25 2012, a proposal to accept Schengen visas as equivalent to Bulgarian visas for short stays.
This means that travellers who have Schengen visas will be able to enter and stay in Bulgaria for up to three months in any six-month period without requiring a Bulgarian short-stay visa.
The intention is to facilitate tourist and business visits from people with Schengen visas.
In recent statements, for example on the development of ties with Gulf countries, Foreign Minister Nikolai Mladenov has spoken of the stimulus to trade, tourism and investment that could come from Bulgaria accepting Schengen visas as equivalent to its own.
Bulgarian National Television said that the change was expected to bring increased interest from citizens of Russia, Ukraine, Belarus, Moldova and Turkey as well as other non-EU states in tourism and investment in Bulgaria.
by the Sofia Echo
