site.btaUS Visas for Bulgarians Will Be Lifted within Cabinet's Four-Year Term, Says Foreign Minister

Speaking during Question Time in Parliament on Friday, Bulgaria’s Foreign Minister Georg Georgiev said that the US visa requirement for Bulgarian nationals is expected to be lifted within the four-year term the current government is expected to complete. Georgiev took a question from Angel Georgiev MP of Vazrazhdane, who asked about a specific timeline for removing the visa obligation for Bulgarians traveling to the United States.

The Minister described Bulgaria’s inclusion in the US Visa Waiver Program as a key foreign policy priority for the Cabinet, adding that it would meet the public’s long-standing expectations for an easier access and mobility, Georgiev said. Achieving this goal would contribute to facilitating interpersonal relations, including with the Bulgarian diaspora in the US, and would create favorable conditions for revitalized tourism, cultural exchange, and economic cooperation between the two countries, he added. 

The removal of the visa obligation for Bulgarians does not depend on this country, and no specific deadline can be provided, the Minister added.

Since 2006, the B visa refusal rate for Bulgarians has fallen below 10% twice. In 2024, the rate dropped to 6.02%, which is the lowest recorded so far, according to the US Department of State’s website. One of the technical requirements for this country's inclusion in the US Visa Waiver Program is maintaining a tourist visa refusal rate below 3%.