Bulgaria restricts entry of foreigners with Schengen visas

Bulgaria has restricted the access of Russians with Schengen visas to its territory, Report informs via Bulgarian media.

Double-entry or multiple-entry Schengen visa holders can only enter Bulgaria if they have previously visited the Schengen area.

An explicit requirement introduced is that visa holders must have used their visas once either in the country that issued them or in a country that fully implements the Schengen acquis.

Foreigners holding double or multiple entry visas issued by Romania or Cyprus, which are not members of the Schengen area, will be required to have visited the country that issued the visa before entering Bulgaria.

If a foreigner meets these conditions, they have the right to stay in Bulgaria for the duration of the visa's validity within up to 90 days out of a total of 180.

In September of last year, the EU canceled the visa facilitation agreement with Russia, and the European Commission recommended that the Schengen countries tighten the requirements for issuing visas to Russians.

According to data from the National Statistical Institute, since the beginning of this year, Bulgaria has been visited by about 6,000 citizens of the Russian Federation each month. Last year, their number was 126,000 in total.