Bulgaria cancels obligatory PCR-testing, but not for all the travelers

On September 1, Bulgaria presented new rules for visiting the country. Regulations are described in the Health Ministry order # RD-01-488/ 08/31/2020. They will be in effect till 09/30/2020.

The present legal act describes in detail, citizens of which states can cross the Bulgarian borders without limitations in terms of pandemic. There are several categories of travelers who do not need to follow quarantine. Neither should they present coronavirus negative examination results. Among these happy people, there are:

• Persons keeping a permanent or long-term residence permit, or a valid visa D in Bulgaria. 
• Citizens and keepers of residence permits of the countries-members of the EU, their families as well as persons in de facto cohabitation. This relates to the Schengen Agreement’s states. 
• Citizens and owners of residence visas of Great Britain. This includes Northern Ireland.
• Citizens of San Marino, Vatican City, Andorra, Serbia, Belarus, Georgia, Monaco, Ukraine. 
• Citizens of Tunisia, Thailand, Japan, UAE, Uruguay, Rwanda. The list includes Korea, New Zealand, Australia, Canada, Turkey. 
• People who have been granted Bulgarian citizenship based on a Presidential Decree.
• Officials.
• Social and medical employees, people occupied with medical equipment delivery and installation.
• Seasonal workers. 
• Organizers and participants of international cultural, sports events, competitions, festivals.
• Transit passengers. It doesn't matter where they come from. They are obliged to leave the country immediately upon arrival. 
• People obliged to move for humanitarian reasons. 

This new legal act is really good news for those who think of buying property in Bulgaria! Among them, there are many EU and UK citizens. They don’t need to worry about self-isolation and how to organize passing a coronavirus test. They can just buy tickets and come to Bulgaria. However, if these people travel from the US or Russia, they must do the examination for the infection.  

The same document allows travelers and property buyers from Israel, Moldova, Kuwait crossing the Bulgarian borders. This concerns residents of North Macedonia, Albania, North Macedonia, Montenegro and Bosnia and Herzegovina. Unfortunately, they still must pass the examination and show PCR-test results, which have to be negative. 

The results are valid for 3 days. So, the property buyers, tourists can pass the examination at home, get the results and provide them to the Bulgarian officials upon arrival. It does not matter, where they will cross the border – in Burgas, Varna, Sophia, other points.

Another option for Israelis is to come to Bulgaria and pass tests here. There are several authorized laboratories in almost all the large settlements. When the results are received (providing they are negative), they can go to the beach, buy a property in sea resorts in Sunny Beach, Sveti Vlas, Pomorie, Sozopol, Burgas, or any place. 

The current legal document is valid until the 30th of September. However, the situation changes fast. So, before buying tickets to Bulgarian resorts or planning a trip to buy property, please check that there are no amendments or changes to the current legislation. These corrections are accepted on a regular basis and drastically impact freedom of movement.