Staying in Bulgaria

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Thank you so much Evtra,

I assume it's okay then.

Maybe in the old days of the Soviet Empire you had to do registrations!

Now, as far as I know, if you have a tourist visa (or your passport allows visa-free travel), then you can stay where you like. And I am 100% certain that the Secret Police will not be coming round to his apartment to check if you're there.

If you want to stay 3 months with your friend, then you can. However, I would guess either you or he will be pretty fed up long before 3 months is up... so, from a practical perspective, I'd imagine it makes sense to spend some time in different places so he gets his personal space back, and you can preserve your friendship.

There are plenty of rooms and apartments being rented via booking dot com and Airbnb - and many are quite inexpensive. There are also many very nice places to visit in Bulgaria, so it would be a pity to spend all your time at your friend's place anyway.

Enjoy your trip!

[Post deleted]

This JustLanded info is out of date (or, rather, was probably never current as it's a rather loose interpretation of the law, as actually written) and rather misleading.

Bulgaria is no longer part of the (former) Soviet Union; it's a warm and welcoming EU member country, eager to have you spend your money in our bars, restaurants, malls, and tourist hotspots. I'm confident that, as per my earlier post, you don't need to worry about registrations/inspections.

If we want to verify, it's best to refer directly to the legislation "Bulgarian Law for the Foreigners".

- Firstly, per Article 2, the word "foreigner" doesn't mean the expected meaning of "non-Bulgarian". It means someone who is neither Bulgarian, nor a citizen of any EU/EEA country, nor a citizen of Switzerland. (So the following applies to narajabi.)

Art. 2. (amend. – SG 29/07) (1) Foreigner in the sense of this Law shall be any person who is not a Bulgarian citizen or is not a citizen of another Member State of the European Union,  of  a  state,  party  to  the  Agreement  on  European  Economic  Area,  or  of  the  Swiss Confederation.

- Secondly, per Article 28 clause 3/4, any responsibility for address registration explicitly lies with the host (not the foreigner):

(3) (suppl., SG 37/03, SG 11/05) An individual or a corporate body who has provided shelter  for  a  foreigner  shall,  within  5  days  from  providing  the  shelter,  inform  about  this circumstance in writing the office for administrative control of the foreigners or the regional police department at his location, announcing the name, the date of birth, the citizenship, the number and the series of the identification document of the foreigner.
(4)  A  person  carrying  out  hotel  activity,  or  his  employee,  shall  register  him immediately  upon  accommodation  in  a  special  register.  The  information  for  the accommodated foreigners shall be submitted daily by this person by 6 a.m. to the office for administrative control of the foreigners or at the regional police department at the location of the hotel.

I am pretty sure there is little or no enforcement/penalty for a host who neglects to register his friends staying over for a few weeks. Perhaps they take it a bit more seriously for hotels.

- However, thirdly, and most importantly, per "Chapter four. LEAVING OF THE REPUBLIC OF BULGARIA BY FOREIGNERS" there is no exit condition which requires the "foreigner" to provide "border guards" (I think these days we prefer "Immigration Officer") with any documentation/"receipts" regarding their address/registration during their stay. You only need to show your "travel document" (i.e. your passport). The only exception is if the foreigner is subject to a "compulsory administrative measure" (i.e. you've committed a crime or something along these lines, and the authorities have instigated some formal action against you).

- Fourthly, and finally, per Article 18 - as you'd expect when entering most countries - you'll fill in an immigration form giving your reason for travel ("tourism" / "visiting a friend") and your friend's (or your first booked hotel/Airbnb) address. So this takes care of the formalities as far as the "foreigner" is concerned. (So, if you're feeling particularly paranoid, you could make a copy/take a photo of this form so you can show it if you're unlucky enough, when leaving, to bump into an immigration official who still thinks he's a cold war border guard from 1969.)

Art.  18.  (Amend.,  SG  42/01,  amend.,  SG  63/05  –  in  force  from  01.01.06)  (1) At entering in the Republic of Bulgaria, the foreigner shall declare the purpose of his/her visit and shall point out in written his/her address where he/she will stay fulfilling an address card form, approved by the Minister of Interior.