Missions abroad

Bulgarian embassies and consulates abroad

  • 121 missions
  • 75 countries
  • 73 embassies

Bulgaria runs 121 missions in 75 countries: 73 embassies, 25 consulates, 19 honorary consulates and 4 other offices. The largest networks are in Germany (11), France (5) and Belgium (4).

Countries with missions

Map

Bulgarian embassies and consulates abroad

Visa rules for Bulgaria passport holders

Entry rules for Bulgaria passport holders199 in total

  • Visa-free119
  • Visa on arrival30
  • Electronic travel authorisation10
  • e-Visa26
  • Visa required14

Visa rules for Bulgaria passport holders

Schengen visas issued by Bulgaria

YearApplicationsVisas issuedRefusedRefusal rateMultiple-entry share
2024 (part of the year) 122,22996,14212,2469.4% 54.5%
2025 179,402152,23621,77512.5% 52.5%

Busiest countries, 2025

CountryApplicationsRefusal rate
Turkey 82,03310.1%
Russia 27,4233.4%
Kazakhstan 7,6026.3%
Armenia 7,3744.0%
Belarus 5,7411.4%
Uzbekistan 5,23310.7%
United Arab Emirates 4,49458.2%
China 3,6879.7%
India 3,43537.9%
Vietnam 2,7265.7%

Bulgaria’s embassies and consulates outside the Schengen area received 179,402 short-stay visa applications in 2025, the 15th highest number among the 28 Schengen states, and issued 152,236 visas. The refusal rate was 12.5%. The refusal rate rose by 3.1 points from 9.4% in 2024. Applications rose by 47% compared with 2024 (122,229).

The busiest countries were Turkey (82,033), Russia (27,423), Kazakhstan (7,602), Armenia (7,374) and Belarus (5,741). Among the ten busiest, refusal rates ranged from 1.4% in Belarus to 58.2% in the United Arab Emirates.

Bulgaria only began issuing Schengen visas on 31 March 2024, so its 2024 figures cover part of the year.

Source: European Commission, Directorate-General for Migration and Home Affairs, visa statistics for consulates 2024–2025 (© European Union, reused under CC BY 4.0). Short-stay (type C) visas. How these figures are made

Latest official news

  • Arbeitstreffen mit den Spitzenvertretern

    Honorary Consulate of Bulgaria in Hamburgoriginal only

    Arbeitstreffen mit den Spitzenvertretern bulgarischer Institutionen am 1. Juli 2026 im Konsulat

All consular news

Good to know

Bulgaria’s missions by continent

By continent, 75 of Bulgaria’s missions are in Europe, 27 in Asia, 10 in the Americas, 8 in Africa and 1 in Oceania; Europe accounts for 62%.

Where Bulgaria has the most missions

After Germany (11), Bulgaria’s largest networks are in France (5), Belgium (4), Spain (4), Italy (4), Turkey (4) and the United States (4).

Embassies of Bulgaria

Bulgaria has an embassy in 72 countries. In 3 other countries it has consulates, honorary consulates or other offices but no embassy.

Honorary consuls of Bulgaria

Bulgaria has 19 honorary consulates, 16% of its network; honorary consuls work part-time and normally cannot issue visas or full passports. In Costa Rica, honorary consuls are its only representation.

Frequently asked questions

Where does Bulgaria have the most consulates?

In Germany, with 11 missions, followed by France (5).

In which countries is Bulgaria represented only by honorary consuls?

Costa Rica.