Passengers from the U.S. can’t enter Bulgaria, unless they are:
– Bulgarian citizens, permanent or long-term residents, or their family members (that means spouses and children up to 18 years old); see more below;
– Medical professionals, medical researchers, social workers, and their supervisors when traveling is related to their duties;
– Workers involved in the supply of medical products, medical devices, and personal protective equipment;
– Foreign officials (heads of state, government members, etc.) and their delegations, diplomats, members of the administrative and technical staff of foreign missions, employees of international organizations, military personnel, security officials, public order officials, and humanitarian workers in the performance of their duties, as well as their family members;
– Persons traveling for humanitarian reasons as described in § 1, item 16 of the Law for the Foreigners in the Republic of Bulgaria;
– Seasonal agricultural and tourism workers;
– Persons, who are to obtain a decree under the Bulgarian Citizenship Law for acquiring Bulgarian citizenship, certified by a letter from the Ministry of Justice;
– Students with type “D” visas;
– Persons, who have received approval from the Minister of Health or a Deputy Minister authorized by him, when this is required for particularly important reasons.
Persons, who fall under any of the above-mentioned exceptions and are 18 years old or older, can enter Bulgaria by presenting:
- A valid EU digital COVID certificate for vaccination or certificate of recovery, or a similar document, along with
- A negative result from a polymerase chain reaction (PCR) test conducted up to 72 hours before the arrival, certified by a valid EU digital COVID test certificate or a document, containing the same data.
Travelers, age from 12 to 18 years, shall present a negative PCR test result only. If they fail to provide it, will be quarantined for 10 days at home or another place of accommodation, and may conduct a PCR test not earlier than 72 hours of their arrival. If the result is negative, the quarantine shall be terminated.
Neither vaccination certificate, nor PCR test result is required for travelers up to 12 years old.
NB! The US CDC vaccination cards are considered as a document, similar and equal to the EU digital COVID certificate.
Exceptions for Bulgarian citizens, permanent or long-term residents, or their family members
When they present only one of the documents, specified above, they shall be quarantined for a period of 10 days at home or another place of accommodation, with an order by the relevant regional health inspectorate. The quarantined individual may conduct a PCR test for COVID-19 no earlier than 72 hours of arrival in the country and in case of a negative result, the quarantine shall be considered terminated from the day following the registration of the result in the National Information System for Combating COVID-19.
When they do not present any of the documents, specified above, they will be allowed to enter the country but will be immediately placed under quarantine for 10 days at home or another place of accommodation and no discharge option will be available.
The travel requirements are subject to review every two weeks.
The most recent orders can be found in English here:
https://www.mh.government.bg/media/filer_public/2022/01/18/zapoved_za_vlizane_bg_14_01_2022_en.pdf
https://www.mh.government.bg/media/filer_public/2022/01/18/zapoved_rd-01-26_en.pdf