Visas are issued single-entry — for three months
Bulgaria slams its doors on the Russians. Before the summer season, tourists faced visa problems. Property owners complain that they receive single-entry tourist visas for only three months.
In the chats of property owners in Bulgaria, people are perplexed: “I just received information from the tour operator that the Bulgarian consulate with On April 13, documents for an urgent visa will not be accepted, and tourist visas are issued only for single entry and for three months. The reason is not indicated. They promise that this is a temporary measure.”
We contacted the representative of the travel agency who is in charge of issuing Bulgarian visas.
— Indeed, now Bulgaria issues single-entry tourist visas. That is, you won’t be able to go on an excursion to neighboring Romania or go to Turkey, and then return back to Bulgaria.
Most likely, such measures were taken to restrict tourists from Russia from traveling to other European countries, where entry is open on the Bulgarian multivisa. In addition to Romania, with a national Bulgarian visa, you can visit Croatia and Cyprus, — said the employee of the company. — Previously, the owners of Bulgarian real estate issued annual tourist visas, because it was easier and cheaper. To obtain a three-year real estate visa, you need to collect a whole package of documents — you must be the owner of the apartment, you need to provide checks for paying taxes, receipts for paying utility bills. Not everyone was ready to bother with this.
Some property owners from the Russian Federation admitted that they would not be able to fly to Bulgaria this year, not only because of visa problems, but also because of the high prices for air travel. You have to fly through Istanbul. Then about 8 hours to get by bus to Bulgaria. The prices for the most budget air travel by Russian airlines from Moscow to Istanbul and back in the summer are about 60-70 thousand rubles. Moreover, some planes fly with refueling in Sochi. A two-way flight by Turkish Airlines will cost about 100 thousand rubles.
The cost of a visa has also increased. Getting a tourist visa through a travel agency costs around 9 thousand rubles, for a three-year real estate visa you will have to pay about 15 thousand.