Visa for Bulgaria from Turkey: price, documents and processing time 2026

Yes. An ordinary Turkish passport does not exempt you from a visa for Bulgaria, whether you arrive by air, by road or by train, and whatever the purpose of the short stay: tourism, family visit, business, transit leaving the international zone. As Bulgaria belongs to the Schengen area, the short-stay visa issued is a Schengen-type visa: it allows 90 days of presence in any 180-day period, counted across all countries of the area visited. It must always be applied for before departure at the competent Bulgarian embassy or consulate, or at the approved submission centre.

• Government fee90 EUR
• Application centre feeCapped at €45
• Agency or online serviceOptional, added on top
• ExtrasVariable

A typical file includes the signed form, compliant passport photos, a valid passport with blank pages, travel medical insurance valid throughout the Schengen area, proof of accommodation (booking or invitation letter), evidence of financial means (bank statements, employer letter) and a round-trip transport booking; for a trip by car, the vehicle documents and international insurance are added. The visa fee is 90 EUR, payable at submission; any service fee charged by the submission centre is stated on the official portal.

Book an appointment with the Bulgarian mission responsible for your province of residence in Turkey, or with the submission centre it has approved, following the procedure described on the official portal. Fill in the form, gather the documents and attend in person: the passport is handed in, fingerprints are taken and the fee is paid at that point. The consulate then processes the file; you collect the passport, with or without a sticker, once the decision is made. Never hand your passport to an unapproved intermediary, whatever promises of speed it makes.

• Your application goes to the state that is your main destination. If Bulgaria is where you spend the longest, it handles the file, whatever the entry point.
• With no main destination, the competent state is the one you enter first.
• If Bulgaria has no consulate in Turkey, another Schengen state may act on its behalf under a representation arrangement, or the file goes to the post accredited for your country.

Then the application goes to the post accredited for Turkey, often in a neighbouring capital, or to a state acting on its behalf. Confirm which post is competent with the official source before travelling to a third country to apply, a rejected file at the wrong counter costs the trip and the fee.

The regime follows your nationality, not where you live. If you reside in Turkey but travel on another country's passport, the rule on this page is not yours. Filing usually still happens from your country of residence, at the post competent for it, but the requirement itself comes from your passport.

Processing takes 15 to 45 days from the submission of a complete file; plan accordingly, and more before summer and holiday periods, when demand in Turkey is high. Book flexible tickets or accommodation and do not commit to non-refundable expenses before you have the visa. Make sure your supporting documents are consistent (dates, itinerary, funds) and respond quickly to any additional request. If refused, the decision states the reason and the appeal route; a new, corrected application is possible.

Turning up at the border post hoping to obtain the visa on the spot, when it is not issued there; buying non-refundable tickets before the decision; providing insurance that does not cover the whole stay or the whole Schengen area; submitting incomplete bank statements or a hotel booking cancelled before submission. Finally, exceeding the 90 days allowed in any 180-day period, by combining Bulgaria with other Schengen countries, weighs heavily on future applications.