Bulgaria Halts Visa Issuance from August 9 to 18 for New Visa System Implementation

Bulgaria will halt the issuance of visas from August 9 to 18 due to the implementation of a new version of the National Visa Information System (NVIS).

The Bulgarian Ministry of Foreign Affairs announced in a press release on August 2, 2024, that this significant project, previously agreed upon by Bulgarian and European Union institutions, requires a temporary suspension of current system operations.

During this period, consular offices will not accept applications for visas or Bulgarian identity documents, such as passports and identity cards. "The technological implementation of the activities necessitates a temporary suspension of work with the current system in the period August 9-18 of this year," stated the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Bulgaria.

However, temporary passports will still be issued to individuals in extraordinary situations, such as force majeure events, natural disasters, or urgent travel related to the illness or death of a close family member. Applicants in other categories have been advised to reschedule their appointments with the relevant consular office.

Since July 21, 2021, Bulgaria, along with Romania, has had read-only access to the Visa Information System, allowing them to review visa applications and access e-mail services without entering information. Once the NVIS implementation is complete on August 18, Bulgarian authorities will have full access, enabling them to use and import data from the system entered by other Schengen states.

During a parliamentary session, Prime Minister Dimitar Glavchev revealed that individuals with Bulgarian Schengen visas had been removed from planes due to Bulgaria's inability to enter their data into the VIS. "The unified European visa issuance system is currently not functioning and is not connected to the systems of other countries in the European Union.

According to news reports, people with Schengen visas issued by the Bulgarian government have been removed from planes," said Glavchev. He assured that these issues would be resolved once Bulgaria gains complete access to the VIS.

When questioned about the removal of land borders between Bulgaria and the rest of Schengen, Glavchev indicated that upcoming elections were delaying progress but assured MPs that the EU had promised the removal of land borders by the end of 2024.

Following Bulgaria's entry into the Schengen Area on March 31, which removed air and sea borders with other Schengen Member States, Bulgarian consular authorities began accepting applications for Schengen visas on April 1. According to the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Bulgaria, "A Schengen visa issued by the Republic of Bulgaria after March 31, 2024 will allow its holder to travel throughout the Schengen area in accordance with the Schengen rules (no more than 90 days in any 180-day period), regardless of internal land border checks."

By fLEXI tEAM