How to get a visa to Bulgaria in St. Petersburg

To enter the territory of Bulgaria, Russian citizens will need to present a foreign passport with an active visa at the border. In this case, the permit stamp itself must be of the appropriate type and coincide with the main purpose of the planned trip. Consideration of applications is carried out in the official representative offices. In particular, a visa to Bulgaria in St. Petersburg for Russians is issued by the Consulate General of the Republic of Bulgaria. Another option is to obtain a document through a visa center or travel agency.

Types of visas to Bulgaria

The main thing when submitting a package of papers is to choose and justify the purpose of entry correctly. It should be completely in line with your intentions. Otherwise, you may be denied to cross the border or forcibly forced to leave the country after entry. Such violations adversely affect the possibility of obtaining Bulgarian visas later.

If you are interested in a visa to Bulgaria for Russians in 2021 in St. Petersburg, you can apply for two types of visas.

A short-term permitting document of class C is issued on the basis of a package of papers, which is formed depending on the specific purpose of the trip. A short-term visa to Bulgaria can be valid for up to 5 years. At the same time, a foreign citizen can stay on the territory of Bulgaria for no more than 90 days within 180 days.

Where in St. Petersburg to apply for a visa in the Republic of Belarus

The choice of the place for filing the application depends primarily on whether you will personally deal with the registration procedure or are ready to entrust it to intermediaries. The second option increases the cost of the visa.

When contacting the Consulate General of the Republic of Bulgaria, you will need to independently collect and provide documents. Submission of the application is carried out at the appointed time, by appointment by phone.

Contact details:

• legal and postal address: 190000, St. Petersburg, st. Ryleeva, house 27 (metro station "Chernyshevskaya");
• consular secretary email: [email protected]
• phone number for preliminary registration for submission of documents - 275-31-34, 14.00 - 16.00:
• website: www.mfa.bg/ru/embassies/russiagc3.

Working hours:

• working hours of the consulate - 09.00-17.30;
• the time of reception of visitors at the consular section - 09.00–12.00.

VFS Global Visa Application Center is another official organization where you can get a visa to Bulgaria. VC is engaged in outsourcing for diplomatic missions and governments around the world. Providing a wide range of services for applicants, he helps to obtain permission to enter a particular country as quickly as possible.

Contact details:

• phone - +7 (812) 612 20 05, from 9.00 to 16.00 Moscow time;
• e-mail address: [email protected];
• legal address of the visa center in St. Petersburg: st. Bolshaya Raznochinnaya, 16A, (entrance from Chkalovsky Avenue, 7), 2nd floor, 197110;
• website: www.vfsglobal.com/Bulgaria/Russia/.

Opening hours of the visa center in St. Petersburg:

• acceptance of documents - Monday-Friday from 09.00 to 16.00;
• issuance of ready-made passports - Monday-Friday, from 11.00 to 16.00.

In addition, the services of an intermediary are often provided by travel agencies. Their employees can tell in detail how to apply for a visa to Bulgaria in St. Petersburg, assist in collecting and checking a package of papers, sending them to a visa center or consulate. However, such a service always requires additional payment.

For a child, an application is made by his parents / legal representatives; the accompanying persons must be in possession of a permit for the removal of the minor.

How long does it take and how much does a visa cost?

If you work directly with the consulate, the process will take no more than 4 days. The visa center with heavy workload can delay the finished passport for up to 7 days.

Travel agencies promise to obtain a visa within 3 to 6 working days. How much a Bulgarian visa is made to St. Petersburg through an intermediary firm is directly dependent on the selected service tariff, type of visa and category of the applicant.

If errors or inconsistencies are found in the submitted documents, you will need to recheck and re-submit the application. This significantly delays the process of obtaining a finished visa, so it is better to check everything in advance.

The total cost of a visa to Bulgaria in St. Petersburg also directly depends on the place of application and the correct execution of all documents.

When contacting the consulate, you will need to pay the standard visa fee - 35 €. The urgent processing rate will be 70 €. Considering that you will receive an entry permit within 2 days, it is inexpensive. However, the consulate reserves the right to consider the application within 30 days.

The cost of the VFS Global Visa Application Center is a service fee of 19 € (data as of December 2021). However, you are not exempt from paying the 35 € consular fee. Prices are fixed.

In travel agencies, escort rates vary within 450–7500 rubles. This may include the services of a translator, certification of copies of documents by a notary, verification of data and delivery of a passport.

How to know about readiness

The procedure for checking the status of consideration of an application directly depends on the method of submission of documents you have chosen.

To check the readiness of the Bulgarian visa in St. Petersburg at the VFS Global visa center, follow the link:

Here you will need to enter the data: the appeal number, the applicant's date of birth, the anti-robot verification code.

After submitting the documents to the Consulate General of the Republic of Belarus, you will be assigned a date to appear for obtaining a passport with a visa, if the result of consideration is positive.

Those who contact the travel agency can check the data in various ways, depending on the service of your intermediary: through your personal account on the tour operator's website, in the call center, via SMS notification. This question must be clarified with the manager of the travel agency.

Is it possible to visit other countries with a Bulgarian visa

Since 2007 Bulgaria has been a member of the European Union. This means that the visa issued to visit the republic is a short-term Schengen visa, and its holder can visit other EU countries. The period of stay on their territory is limited to 90 days in 180 days.

The first country of entry must be Bulgaria. In addition, the presence of a visa of the Republic of Belarus does not guarantee entry into another European country.

When choosing where to go with a Bulgarian visa, it is best to give preference to the nearest countries or those with a common border with Bulgaria: Croatia, Romania, Cyprus.

With the visa of which state can you enter Bulgaria

Having on hand any Schengen visa, you automatically get the right to visit all countries of the European Union. However, the main part of the trip must be carried out in the territory of the country whose consulate issued the entry permit.

Entry to the territory of Bulgaria with a Schengen visa from another consulate is not guaranteed, but possible. In this case, it all depends on the validity of crossing the border and your reputation as a traveler.

In the absence of problems with the law and violations of European migration legislation, the opportunity to visit Bulgaria with a permit stamp from another European country increases significantly.

When choosing which visa you can use to enter Bulgaria, it is better to give preference to an entry permit from neighboring countries: Serbia, Romania, Macedonia, Greece.

It should also be borne in mind that, in accordance with the agreement on mutual trips of citizens of the Russian Federation and the Republic of Serbia of 2009, citizens of the Russian Federation can stay on the territory of this country without a visa for no more than 30 days.If you went from Serbia without a visa, you will not be allowed to Bulgaria.

Summarizing

It is possible to obtain a Bulgarian visa in St. Petersburg for Russian citizens through a personal appeal to the consulate or through intermediaries: the VFS Global visa center or an accredited travel agency.

Those who do not want to overpay for obtaining a Bulgarian visa in St. Petersburg should contact the consulate directly: then you will pay only the consular fee. An additional service fee will be required at the Visa Application Center. The intermediary firm will issue an invoice for its services, depending on their number.

It is very important to carefully approach the procedure for collecting the necessary papers and filling out the questionnaire, so as not to re-pay the consular fee for their next examination.

The average time for obtaining a Bulgarian visa is 3-7 days. Urgent production takes 2 days, excluding the day of submission of documents. You can find out when and how to get a Bulgarian visa in St. Petersburg on the website of the visa center, from the representatives of the intermediary or when submitting documents at the consulate.