Visa-free countries with a Bulgarian passport in 2026
178 destinations without a prior visa, living and working across the EU, full Schengen since 2025 and the euro since 2026. The USA requires a visa. Destinations by region and how to get the passport by Bulgarian origin.
In short
With a Bulgarian passport you can enter 178 of 227 countries and territories without a prior visa, and in EU countries also live, work and study without permits. The UK and Canada require an electronic travel authorisation, Australia an e-visa, and the USA a regular visa.
| Without a prior visa | 178 of 227: 140 visa-free, 28 on arrival, 10 with an electronic travel authorisation |
|---|---|
| Visa needed in advance | 48, of which 28 by e-visa |
| Schengen and the UK | Schengen area - free movement, United Kingdom - electronic travel authorisation |
| USA and Canada | USA - visa required, Canada - electronic travel authorisation |
| How to get it | by Bulgarian origin without moving or an exam, or naturalization after 5 years |
| Checked | October 2026 |
The Bulgarian passport opens 178 of 227 destinations without a prior visa: 140 fully visa-free, 28 with a visa on arrival and 10 with an electronic travel authorisation. The Romanian passport has the same, and it is 64 destinations more than the Russian passport.
Bulgaria has been an EU member since 2007, a full Schengen member since 1 January 2025 and has used the euro since 1 January 2026. So a Bulgarian passport means not only visa-free travel but also the right to live, work and study in any EU country, as well as Norway, Iceland, Liechtenstein and Switzerland.
We will work out online when you can apply and what fees and documents will cost for your family.
Where you can go visa-free with a Bulgarian passport
Entry regimes differ in how much preparation the trip needs. Visa-free means the passport is enough and the permitted stay is set at the border. A visa on arrival means a fee and a stamp at the airport or checkpoint. An electronic travel authorisation is a short online form and fee before departure. An e-visa is also online but involves a check and a consular decision. A regular visa means a form, documents, often a personal visit to the consulate and waiting for a decision.
| Region | Visa-free or with an electronic authorisation | Visa on arrival or e-visa | Visa needed in advance |
|---|---|---|---|
| Europe | Schengen area (live and work), United Kingdom (online authorisation), Ireland (live and work), Cyprus (live and work), Belarus, Moldova, Turkey, Serbia, Montenegro, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Albania, North Macedonia | Russia | - |
| Caucasus and Central Asia | Georgia, Armenia, Kazakhstan, Uzbekistan, Kyrgyzstan | Azerbaijan | - |
| Asia | China, Hong Kong, Japan, South Korea (online authorisation), Singapore, Thailand, Vietnam, Malaysia, Philippines | Indonesia, India, Maldives | - |
| Middle East and Africa | UAE, Israel (online authorisation), Oman, Morocco, South Africa, Kenya (online authorisation) | Saudi Arabia, Jordan, Egypt, Tanzania | - |
| Americas | Canada (online authorisation), Mexico, Brazil, Argentina, Chile, Colombia, Peru, Panama, Dominican Republic, Paraguay, Uruguay | - | USA |
| Oceania | New Zealand (online authorisation) | Australia | - |
A Bulgarian citizen needs a regular visa in advance for only 20 of 227 countries and territories, the most notable being the USA. Latin America including Mexico, the Balkans, Turkey, Armenia, Georgia, Kazakhstan, Uzbekistan and Kyrgyzstan, Japan, China and the UAE are visa-free. Azerbaijan, India and Russia require an e-visa, while Egypt, Jordan and Tanzania issue a visa on arrival.
The table shows the main destinations for travel, living and business, not all 227 countries and territories. An electronic travel authorisation is issued online within minutes or days; an e-visa is also applied for online, but it is a separate consular decision. Entry rules change several times a year: check with an expert for your trip.
Schengen, the UK, the USA and Canada
Schengen and the EU. A Bulgarian citizen enters any EU and Schengen country with a passport or identity card. There is no longer border control between Bulgaria and the rest of Schengen: in 2025 checks were lifted on the land borders with Greece and Romania too.
United Kingdom. Since 2 April 2025 EU citizens obtain the UK electronic travel authorisation online before the trip. No visa is needed, but a Bulgarian passport does not let you live and work in the UK.
USA. Bulgaria is not in the US Visa Waiver Program, so Bulgarian citizens need a tourist or business visa, as do Romanian citizens.
Canada, Australia and New Zealand. Canada requires an electronic travel authorisation when flying, and so does New Zealand. Australia issues EU citizens a free electronic visitor visa online.
Asia. Visa-free: China, Vietnam, Japan, Singapore, Hong Kong, Thailand, Malaysia and the Philippines. Indonesia issues a visa on arrival; India and Russia require an e-visa.
What else a Bulgarian passport gives
Living and working in the EU. EU citizens enjoy in another member state the same rights to work, study, healthcare and social protection as its own citizens. Children study at schools and universities on EU terms, and living in another country for more than 3 months requires only registration, not a residence permit.
Consular protection. Where Bulgaria has no embassy, the embassy of any other EU country helps its citizen.
Dual citizenship. By Bulgarian origin you keep your previous passport; there is no need to give up Russian citizenship. Regular naturalization requires renouncing the previous citizenship, except for spouses of Bulgarian citizens and citizens of EU countries, Iceland, Liechtenstein, Norway and Switzerland. A Russian citizen notifies the Interior Ministry of the second passport within 60 days.
Taxes. A passport does not make you a Bulgarian tax resident. A person becomes resident after more than 183 days in the country within any 12 months. Rates are among the lowest in the EU: income tax and corporate profit tax are 10% each.
How to get a Bulgarian passport
Bulgaria has no passport for investment. The main route for citizens of Russia, Ukraine and Moldova is citizenship by Bulgarian origin under Article 15 of the Bulgarian Citizenship Act. You must prove with documents that a parent, grandparent or great-grandparent was Bulgarian. The law requires neither 5 years of living in the country, nor proof of income, nor a language exam, nor renouncing the previous citizenship.
Origin is checked by a consultative council at the State Agency for Bulgarians Abroad, which gives its opinion within two months. The Minister of Justice then submits a proposal for a presidential decree, by law within 9 months for persons of Bulgarian origin, and citizenship arises on the day of the decree. With archive searches and translations the whole path usually takes one to two years. Children under 14 receive citizenship together with their parents. All costs are in how much Bulgarian citizenship costs.
Requirements, timelines and documents are on the page Bulgarian citizenship by origin.
An EU passport by roots, a gap in the documents costs more
The law does not forbid applying for Bulgarian citizenship by origin on your own. But mistakes cost more than the fees: documents that do not link the generations, an ancestor's name written differently in different papers, no record of Bulgarian origin. We check the family tree before filing, search the archives, prepare translations and legalisation and handle the application until the presidential decree, and if you have no roots we find another route to an EU passport.
Our manager in the chat will calculate the cost of support.
This topic in other countries
Visa-free travel with other passports:
- Visa-free countries with a Turkish passport in 2026
- Visa-free countries with a Serbian passport in 2026
- Visa-free countries with a Romanian passport in 2026
- Where you can travel visa-free with a Moldovan passport in 2026
- Where you can travel visa-free with an Armenian passport in 2026
- Where you can travel visa-free with an Israeli passport in 2026
- Where you can travel visa-free with an Italian passport in 2026
- Where you can travel visa-free with a Greek passport in 2026
- Where you can travel visa-free with a Latvian passport in 2026
- Where you can travel visa-free with a Lithuanian passport in 2026
- Visa-free countries with a Sao Tome and Principe passport in 2026
- Visa-free countries with a Nauru passport in 2026
- Visa-free countries with an Egyptian passport in 2026
- Visa-free countries with a Jordanian passport in 2026
- Where you can travel visa-free with a German passport in 2026
- Visa-free countries with a Mexican passport in 2026
- Visa-free countries with a Uruguayan passport in 2026
- Visa-free countries with a Paraguayan passport in 2026
- Visa-free countries with a Brazilian passport in 2026
- Where you can travel visa-free with a Kazakh passport in 2026
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- Where you can travel visa-free with a Dominica passport in 2026
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- Visa-free countries with a Grenadian passport in 2026
- Visa-free countries with a Saint Lucian passport in 2026
- Visa-free countries with a Kyrgyz passport in 2026
- Visa-free countries with a Sierra Leonean passport in 2026
- Visa-free countries with a North Macedonian passport in 2026
- Visa-free countries with a US passport in 2026
- What an Argentine passport gives
- What a Vanuatu passport gives
More on this country:
- How much Bulgarian citizenship costs
- Bulgaria and Russia dual citizenship
- Taxes in Bulgaria
- Sofia city guide
- Moving to Bulgaria
Compare passports of different countries in our 2026 passport overview.
FAQ
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