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The Validity Term of Various Personal Documents is Extended Due to the State of Emergency

The State of Emergency Measures Act, provides that the validity term of the following personal documents is extended by 6 months if their current term expires within the period March 13th – October 31st, 2020:

1 Applicable to Bulgarian citizens:

2 Applicable to foreigners and citizens of the European Union (EU) residing in Bulgaria:

2.1 residence permits of foreigners residing in the EU for a long term, residence permits of foreign holders of Blue Card of the EU residing in the EU for a long term and residence permits of foreigners with granted international protection from another EU Member State, residing in the EU for a long term;

2.2 residence permits of foreigner permanently residing in Bulgaria;

2.3 residence permits of permanently residing in Bulgaria family member of a Bulgarian citizen;

2.4 long-term residence permits of a family member of a Bulgarian citizen who has not exercised his/her right of free movement;

2.5 residence permits of permanently residing in Bulgaria family member of a Bulgarian citizen who has not exercised his/her right of free movement;

2.6 residence permit of a long-term or permanently residing:

2.7 a residence card of an EU-citizen family member issued to an extendedly residing EU-citizen family member who has exercised his/her right of free movement;

2.8 a residence card of an EU-citizen family member issued to a permanently residing EU-citizen family member who has exercised his/her right of free movement;

2.9 an extended-term residence permit issued to EU citizens, nationals of the EEA states, citizens of Switzerland;
2.10 a permanent residence permit issued to EU citizens, nationals of the EEA states, citizens of Switzerland.

For the duration of the extension, the old documents will remain valid, but only within the territory of the Republic of Bulgaria.

3 Expired Passports

With respect to passports expiring between March 13th – October 31st 2020 or earlier, Bulgarian citizens residing abroad may apply for a passport renewal at the diplomatic missions and consular posts of the Republic of Bulgaria abroad. Due to the lack of a permanent schedule of diplomatic couriers, courier services can be used for faster reception of the newly issued passports by the Bulgarian citizens abroad.

The news above is intended for information purposes only by drawing your attention to the extension of particular validity terms during the declared state of emergency. We have extracted the texts of the Act as discussed in the National Assembly. There may be changes to some of the texts when the Act itself is promulgated. This should not be construed as (binding) legal advice. For a thorough understanding of the subjects covered and prior acting on any issue discussed we kindly recommend Readers consult Ilieva, Voutcheva & Co. Law Firm attorneys at law.