site.btaNew Bulgarian Passport Issue Launched

The issuance of new Bulgarian passports was launched on Monday.

"The project started in 2022, and today we are seeing the final result," caretaker Interior Minister Emil Dechev said at the opening of the new Administrative Services Centre of the Bulgarian Identity Documents Directorate in Sofia’s Mladost 4 borough.

"With the new identity documents personalization centre, we are moving to centralized personalization, which provides a more secure model. This new centre meets the highest security standards. At the same time, the submission of applications remains decentralized," Dechev said.

He added that with this step Bulgaria is not only strengthening its security, but also consolidating its position as an important international partner. Dechev recalled that the new Bulgarian identity card issue was recognized as the best in Europe.

Deputy Interior Minister Ivan Anchev said that the centre has been built with the highest technological capabilities and will also launch electronic identification services.

Anchev also said that for the first time Bulgaria will produce 48-page passports valid for 10 years, while the existing five-year passports will continue to be available.

"There is a change in prices, but they are aligned with production costs. The increase is not significant," he explained.

"This was a very long process that began more than 10 years ago, and today we are seeing the final result. Our goal was to convince the Bulgarian state and government that we would bring new technologies to Bulgaria and implement the highest possible security for identity documents produced in Bulgaria," Dr Stefan Muehlbauer from the company manufacturing the machines said during the official ceremony.