Starting from October 30, the unvaccinated and unrecovered travellers from the Baltic countries and other EU countries, as well as third countries reaching Bulgaria, have to undergo quarantine and testing requirements as the incidence rates of COVID-19 in the countries have surged.
Moreover, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs issued a press release, which reveals that the United Kingdom, Georgia, Armenia and other EU third countries are all placed in the red category, SchengenVisaInfo.com reports.
However, entry rules do not apply to all of those who have been fully vaccinated against COVID-19 and those who have been previously infected with the virus. In other words, all EU Digital COVID-19 Certificate holders and vaccination certificates equivalent to EUDCC are exempted from entry requirements.
Moreover, vaccination certificates from North Macedonia, Turkey, Ukraine, San Marino, Vatican City and Switzerland are also recognised as valid by the Bulgarian authorities.
In general, all red countries unvaccinated and unrecovered travellers have to follow these rules in order to enter Bulgaria:
- Present a PCR test taken 72 hours before entering the country
- Self-isolate for ten days upon arrival
Travellers can reduce their isolation time by taking a PCR test within 24 hours upon reaching the country.
At present, the EU member states in Bulgaria’s red category are Lithuania, Latvia, Estonia, Romania, Slovenia, Croatia and Slovakia.
Furthermore, third countries located on the European continent also placed in the red category include the United Kingdom, Georgia, Armenia, Ukraine, Moldova, Montenegro, Serbia.
The remaining countries on the red category are as the following list shows:
- Bangladesh
- Myanmar
- Bhutan
- Sri Lanka
- Maldives
- Botswana
- Tanzania
- Seychelles
- Namibia
- Zambia
- Oman
- Turkmenistan
- Tajikistan
- Kyrgyzstan
- Mongolia
- Chile
- Uruguay
- Brazil
- Paraguay
- Bolivia
- Suriname
- Panama
- Costa Rica
- Guatemala
- Belize
- The Savior
- Cuba
- Dominican Republic
- Fiji
- Saint Lucia
- Saint Kitts and Nevis
- Grenada
- Barbados
- Brunei
- South Africa
- Singapore
Moreover, the green category of countries consists of Finland, Vatican City, Luxembourg, Denmark, Italy, Spain, Malta, Sweden, France, Monaco and Portugal.
Unvaccinated and unrecovered travellers from the green countries are obliged to present a pre-departure test certificate, which must be taken 72 hours before reaching Bulgaria.
Furthermore, the same rule applies to travellers from the orange countries, which are considered all countries that are not found on any of the previously mentioned lists.
According to the data for the last 24 hours provided by the World Health Organisation (WHO), 5,643 positive cases and deaths from COVID-19 have been registered in Bulgaria. The country remains one of the least vaccinated in the EU, with only 25.3 per cent of the population being fully vaccinated against the virus.
