Bulgarian consulates in Russia do not accept documents for tourist visas for Russians – World
Association of Tour Operators of Russia (ATOR) reportedthat the consular services of Bulgaria stopped accepting documents for tourist visas and visas for property owners in the country.
The unnamed members of the association said the consulate in Moscow informed them of its decision, which was taken indefinitely “in view of the emergency situation that has arisen”. The explanation apparently refers to today’s order by Moscow for 14 Bulgarian diplomatic, consular and technical employees to leave the country by 120 hours in response to the expulsion from Bulgaria of 70 diplomatic employees at the end of June.
Greece was in a similar situation a few weeks ago, which, after the expulsion of its officials from Russia, suspended consular and visa services for several days.
Russian media recall that the Minister of Tourism Hristo Prodanov said in July that for the five months of the year Russian tourists have increased by almost 4 times compared to the same period of 2021: “Regardless of the complex international situation, the absence of direct flights, total in the period January-May, 33,584 visits by Russian tourists were registered”.
From the end of March, visas are applied for at the consulates in Moscow, St. Petersburg and Yekaterinburg. But with the expulsion of the Russian officials, the Foreign Ministry announced with a second note that it was beginning to adapt the representation in Russia with the intention of temporarily suspending the work of the consulate in Yekaterinburg.
A month later decided on July 28:
“Given the limitation to normal and reasonable limits of the Russian diplomatic service in the Republic of Bulgaria and with the understanding that bilateral relations should be based on reciprocity, the Republic of Bulgaria will temporarily close its Consulate in the city of Yekaterinburg, Russian Federation, and expects reciprocal actions from the Russian side regarding the Consulate General in the city of Ruse.”
ATOR reports that Russians can currently enter Bulgaria with a multiple-entry Schengen visa or multiple-entry national visas of Romania, Croatia or Cyprus.