Bulgaria · Visa guide
Bulgaria · Visa guideBulgaria Family & Friends Visit Visa
A short-stay Schengen visa to visit family or friends living in Bulgaria — up to 90 days.
- ProcessingUsually about 15 calendar days from submission
- Visa categoryFamily & Friends Visit Visa
- Your guideOne consultant
Reading is not the hard part. Knowing if YOUR bank statements and ties will pass is. Call us and tell us your travel month. We tell you honestly if your Bulgaria file is ready.
Monday–Saturday, 9:00 AM – 7:00 PM IST
Start here
Bulgaria Family & Friends Visit Visa — overview
A Bulgarian private-visit visa — to stay with family or friends — turns on one statutory document: the Invitation-Declaration for a private stay of a foreigner. Your host prepares it on the official form, signs it, and has it certified by a notary and by the Migration Directorate of Bulgaria's Ministry of Interior.
Where that form states your accommodation, no hotel booking is needed. Your own side of the file follows Bulgaria's pattern: a professional photograph, an employer's letter naming your years in service, and three years of tax returns.
Your host's document carries three certifications
A private visit to Bulgaria depends on the Invitation-Declaration for a private stay of a foreigner. The checklist sets out what makes it valid:
- prepared on the official form — Enclosure 3 to Bulgaria's regulation on issuing visas;
- signed by the inviting person;
- certified by a notary public;
- certified by the Migration Directorate of the Ministry of Interior.
All of that happens in Bulgaria, and it is the slowest part of the application. Ask your host to start it the day the visit is agreed, and to send you the certified original.
It can be your accommodation proof too
If the Invitation-Declaration states that you will stay with your host, the checklist accepts that as proof of accommodation — "accommodation can be provided by the inviting person in the Invitation-Declaration". No hotel booking is needed for those nights. Check the form before booking anything.
Your side of the file
- An employer's letter on official letterhead stating your position, years in service and grant of leave, with three months' salary certificates — or a visa request letter with company papers if you run a business.
- Three months of bank statements and three years of income-tax returns with the ITR-V acknowledgements.
- A professional photograph, 3.5 × 4.5 cm, face filling 70–80% of the frame — no dark glasses, and a head covering only for religious reasons.
- Insurance of at least EUR 30,000 for the entire stay.
One trip, one story
The Invitation-Declaration names your host and the dates. Your cover letter, your ticket booking and your employer's leave letter should give the same dates and the same host. When the Bulgarian form and the Indian papers are prepared separately, a date a day out is the sort of thing that draws a question.
Source: Bulgaria — Checklist for a Bulgarian visa for private visit, as issued through VFS Global and held in our knowledge base. Requirements change; confirm against the current checklist before you submit.
10 items
Documents you need
Application form
Fully completed in English or Bulgarian and signed in the last field.
Passport
Valid at least three months after your last intended departure from Bulgaria, at least two empty pages, issued within the previous 10 years, no alteration or handwritten amendment on the data page.
One photograph
Recent, full colour, 3.5 × 4.5 cm, light background, full face filling 70–80% of the photo. No dark glasses; no head covering unless for religious reasons; no non-professional photos.
Travel medical insurance
Valid for Bulgaria for the entire stay, minimum EUR 30,000. Multiple-entry applicants: cover for the first visit plus a signed statement on the prescribed form.
Cover letter
Explaining the purpose of the trip, the duration of stay and any subsequent visits.
Means of transportation
A return ticket or confirmed booking.
Invitation-Declaration for a private stay
On the official form (Enclosure 3 to Bulgaria's visa regulation), signed by the inviting person, certified by a notary public, and certified by the Migration Directorate of the Ministry of Interior.
Proof of accommodation
A hotel booking — or accommodation provided by the inviting person in the Invitation-Declaration.
Proof of professional status
Employed: a letter on official letterhead stating your position, years in service and grant of leave, with salary certificates for three months. Business or self-employed: a visa request letter with company registration papers. Student: a letter from the institution and ID copy.
Proof of sufficient funds
Three months' bank statements and three years' income-tax returns, personal and — where applicable — the company's, with the ITR-V acknowledgements.
5 steps
How the process works
Typical processing: Usually about 15 calendar days from submission — may extend up to 45 calendar days. Apply at least 2-3 weeks before travel.
Step 1
Free eligibility review
We assess your profile and build a document checklist matched to the embassy's requirements.
Step 2
Build the file & cover letter
Every document — finances, bookings, insurance and the cover letter — is prepared and verified.
Step 3
Book the VFS Global appointment
Applications in India are submitted through VFS Global — we schedule your slot.
Step 4
Submit & give biometrics
You attend the VFS centre to submit the file and provide fingerprints and a photograph.
Step 5
Decision & passport return
The embassy decides the application and your passport is returned through VFS.
Transparent
Costs & fees
Item
Amount
Schengen visa fee (adult)
EUR 45 for children aged 6 to 11; under 6 exempt. Payable in INR.
EUR 90
VFS Global service charge
Plus optional add-ons such as courier.
Confirmed at booking
Government and third-party fees change often — we confirm the exact current amounts for your case before you pay anything.
5 answers
Frequently asked questions
No. Bulgaria's checklist requires the Invitation-Declaration for a private stay, prepared on the official form, signed by your host, certified by a notary public and certified by the Migration Directorate of the Ministry of Interior. An ordinary letter does not replace it.
Not if the accommodation is provided by your host in the Invitation-Declaration. Otherwise a hotel booking is required.
Three — personal and, where applicable, the company's — with the ITR-V acknowledgements, plus three months of bank statements.
Official letterhead, your position, your years in service, the grant of leave, and salary certificates for the last three months.
Yes — fully since 1 January 2025, and it adopted the euro on 1 January 2026. If you are visiting other Schengen states on the same trip, the country where you spend the most nights decides your visa.
Why it matters
Going it alone vs filing with us
On your own
- Guessing the document list — one missing or wrongly formatted paper triggers a refusal.
- Generic cover letters copied from the internet that officers recognise and flag.
- No read on peak rejection windows or what this visa post is strict about.
- Government and VFS fees are non-refundable — money lost if you are refused.
- A refusal stamp follows you and weakens every future visa application.
With Lifeset Overseas
- An honest case assessment before you spend a rupee on government fees.
- A file built to the embassy's exact checklist and in the exact order.
- Weak finances, ties or purpose identified and fixed before submission.
- Previously refused? We can rescue and rebuild the file.
- Every case handled by one consultant, end to end.
Refused before?
A refusal isn't the end
A refusal is not a permanent bar — but it only improves if the actual reason is found and answered, and nobody can tell you a second application will succeed. If a Bulgaria visa has been refused, we:
- Read the actual refusal letter and pinpoint the real gaps.
- Advise whether to pull the officer's notes (CAIPS / GCMS) for the true reason.
- Identify which part was weak — funds, employment, purpose or ties.
- Tell you honestly whether to reapply now or strengthen the file first.
- Refused? Your fee back, or a rebuilt application free — your choice.
Other Bulgaria visas
Bulgaria Tourist Visa
A short-stay Schengen visa for tourism and holidays in Bulgaria — up to 90 days in any 180-day period.
Bulgaria Business Visa
A short-stay Schengen visa for business meetings, conferences and training in Bulgaria.
Bulgaria Study & Research Visa
A visa for study, research or an internship in Bulgaria — short stays use a Schengen visa; longer study needs a residence permit.
Bulgaria Cultural, Sports & Religious Visa
A short-stay Schengen visa for cultural, sporting and religious events and film crews in Bulgaria.
Start here · One message away
Bulgaria visitor visa: get a straight answer before you pay the fee.
- Honest assessment
- Fixed all-in fees
- No handovers between staff
- Licensed in Patiala
Let’s discuss your case
Message us your travel month and who is paying. A consultant from our Punjab-licensed consultancy checks your ties and funds and tells you what to fix.