Bulgarian Government Plans to Extend Passport Validity from 5 to 10 Years

The validity of the Bulgarian foreign travel passports will be 10 years and the Bulgarians abroad will be able to receive them with only one visit to the consular service. This is envisaged by the changes to the law on the Bulgarian ID documents.

The changes were prepared by an inter-agency working group and provide for doubling the period of validly of the foreign travel passports, from 5 to 10 years, which is the same as the validity of the Bulgarian Identity Cards. A comparative analysis in the EU shows that Bulgaria is among the few countries in which the validity period of the passports is so short.

Longer validity period of the passports will ease Bulgarian citizens, including those receiving foreign visas with a 10-year validity. Currently, expired passports, but with valid visas, must be presented together with the new passport when entering the relevant country, which creating inconveniences, the Foreign Ministry said. It is envisaged that the amendments will enter into force on January 1, 2020, as it is necessary to take action to change the issuing technology.

It will be possible to get Bulgarian ID documents issued abroad only with one visit to a consular office. Citizens will be able to choose whether to visit Bulgarian overseas representation on requesting the document or on receipt.

Bulgarians who file a personal application for a new ID document at a consulate will be able to get their ready passport or ID card at their home address by courier. So far, this has not been possible, and the fastest service Bulgarinas could get was to pay for their documents to arrive at the consular office, from where they could receive them in person.

source:Darik