Health Minister temporarily bans non-EU citizens from entering Bulgaria

Bulgaria’s Minister of Health, Kiril Ananiev issued an order temporarily prohibiting the entry of third-country nationals into the territory of the Republic of Bulgaria. The ban is introduced as a measure against the spread of the coronavirus. The order provides for the following restrictions:

1. Entry into the territory of the Republic of Bulgaria shall be temporarily prohibited from 00:00 hours on March 20 until April 17, 2020, inclusive, for all third-country nationals at all border crossing points and with any means of transport, including aviation, maritime, rail and road.

2. The ban on entry into the territory of Bulgaria of persons arriving from the following EU Member States and Schengen countries shall remain in force: Italy, Spain, France, Great Britain and Northern Ireland, Germany, the Netherlands and Switzerland, except Bulgarian citizens, family members of Bulgarian citizens and persons with permanent and long-term residence status on the territory of the Republic of Bulgaria. Citizens from these EU Member States and Schengen countries and their family members are allowed to transit through the territory of the Republic of Bulgaria in order to return to their country of permanent or temporary residence.

3. The ban under item 1 does not affect nationals of EU Member States and Schengen countries and their family members except those under item 2.

4. This prohibition does not cover:

- health care professionals, health researchers and elderly care professionals;

- transport personnel engaged in the carriage of goods, crews of aircraft engaged in commercial air transport and other transport personnel as necessary;

- diplomats, officials of international organizations, military personnel and humanitarian workers in the performance of their duties;

- persons travelling for humanitarian reasons; third-country nationals who hold a long-term residence permit in an EU Member State and pass through Bulgaria in order to return to their country of residence.