Entering Bulgaria in 2025: Schengen, Currency and Border Crossings

Bulgaria spent sixteen years as a European Union member kept outside the Schengen Area. That changed: Bulgaria's air borders entered Schengen in March 2024, and land and maritime borders followed in January of the same year. The practical result is that there are no passport controls at EU airports when flying to or from Bulgaria — the Madrid-Sofia flight now works the same as Madrid-Berlin. But one detail still trips up many travellers: Bulgaria is the EU, Bulgaria is Schengen, but Bulgaria does not use the euro. The currency is the Bulgarian lev and there is no firm official date for the switch.

Documentation for EU Citizens

Citizens of EU member states do not need a visa to enter Bulgaria. A valid passport or national identity card is sufficient for entry by any means — air, land or sea — with no limit on stay for tourist purposes, since Bulgaria is now fully integrated in the Schengen area.

For stays beyond 90 days — for work, study or residency — standard EU rules apply, which this article doesn’t cover in detail.

Travellers from non-EU countries should verify whether their nationality requires a Bulgarian visa or benefits from one of the exemption agreements. Schengen integration has simplified some of the bureaucracy, but requirements vary by origin. The Bulgarian Ministry of Foreign Affairs website (mfa.bg) has an updated list by nationality.

• 📋EU citizens Passport or national ID card
• ⏱Stay without formalities Unlimited (EU citizens)
• ✈Schengen air borders Since March 2024
• 🛳Land/maritime Schengen Since January 2024

The History of Bulgarian Schengen Accession

That Bulgaria spent sixteen years as a EU member kept outside Schengen was not a bureaucratic accident but a repeatedly renewed political decision. Germany, the Netherlands and Austria blocked the accession for years, citing deficiencies in external border controls, judicial corruption problems and concerns about organised crime. Bulgaria technically met the Schengen criteria from around 2011, according to the European Commission itself, but member states’ politics could veto accession.

What finally unblocked the situation in 2023-2024 was a combination of Commission pressure, active support from countries including Spain and acceptance of a two-phase entry formula: first land and maritime borders (January 2024), then air (March 2024). Austria, which had been the most persistent obstacle, accepted Bulgarian accession once additional guarantees of migration cooperation were incorporated.

For the ordinary traveller, the impact is simple: the long queues at Sofia Airport passport control upon arriving from the EU are gone. The integration is complete in terms of free movement.

The Bulgarian Lev: The Currency That Survived the Euro

Bulgaria adopted the Bulgarian lev (BGN) as its national currency in 1999, when the economic crisis following the communist collapse forced deep reforms including a currency board that pegged the lev to the German mark and, after the euro’s introduction, to the euro. That parity remains in force today: 1 euro = 1.95583 Bulgarian lev, a fixed exchange rate that has been unchanged for over twenty-five years.

The practical implication is that the exchange rate between euros and lev is predictable to the cent and that Bulgaria operates economically in near-synchrony with the eurozone, though without the common currency. The Bulgarian government has had official euro adoption as a goal, and the missing condition — entry into Exchange Rate Mechanism II (ERM II, the waiting room for the euro) — was fulfilled in 2020. However, post-pandemic inflation complicated the timeline, and in 2026 there is still no firm date for the transition.

For the traveller, this means one thing: you need to exchange money or withdraw lev from ATMs. Euros in cash are not generally accepted in ordinary shops, though some large hotels and airport shops take them. Don’t count on it as a rule.

Where and How to Change Money

The systematically best option is withdrawing lev from ATMs (bankomat in Bulgarian) using a debit card with low foreign transaction fees. ATMs at major Bulgarian banks — DSK Bank, UniCredit Bulbank, Raiffeisenbank — offer the interbank exchange rate with low fees. Avoid ATMs that ask whether you want the conversion calculated in euros — always choose to be charged in the local currency (lev) so that your bank applies the rate rather than the ATM.

Exchange offices (обменно бюро) are present at airports, shopping centres and tourist areas. Airport ones have worse rates — up to 5-7% below interbank. In central Sofia or Plovdiv you’ll find exchange offices with competitive rates; compare two before exchanging significant amounts.

• 💱Exchange rate 1 € = 1.95583 BGN (fixed)
• 💰Best option ATM withdrawal with low-fee card
• ⚠Avoid Airport and hotel exchange
• 💳Cards Visa and Mastercard accepted in cities

Card payment works well in hotels, mid-to-upper restaurants and shops in cities. In rural areas, village markets, local transport and small accommodation, cash remains necessary. Bulgaria is a country where always having 50-100 lev in your pocket is a sensible precaution.

Airports of Entry

Sofia (SOF) is the country’s main airport and the natural hub for most travellers. Direct connections from major European cities. The city centre is 10 kilometres away: metro line 1 (direct, 20 minutes, 1.60 BGN), official taxi (15-20 BGN, meter required) or bus.

Plovdiv (PDV) has seasonal flights from several European airports (Ryanair mainly in high season). A practical option if the itinerary begins in the south or if you want to bypass Sofia.

Varna (VAR) and Burgas (BOJ) are the coastal airports, active primarily May to October with charter and low-cost flights from multiple European cities. Burgas is the most logical entry point for the southern coast (Sozopol) and Varna for the northern coast (Balchik, Kaliakra). Both have bus connections to their respective city centres.

Land Border Crossings

Bulgaria shares land borders with four countries: Romania to the north (main crossing: Calafat-Vidin bridge over the Danube; Giurgiu-Ruse), Serbia to the northwest (Kalotina-Gradina, the main corridor to Western Europe by road), Turkey to the southeast (Kapitan Andreevo, the country’s busiest crossing) and Greece to the south (Kulata-Promachon on the main route, Zlatograd-Exochi on the alternative Rhodopes route).

Since Bulgaria’s Schengen integration, crossings with Greece and Romania — both Schengen states — have no document checks for EU citizens, though there may be random vehicle inspections. Crossings with Turkey and Serbia (neither in Schengen) involve full passport controls.

What Changes and What Doesn’t

Bulgaria’s entry into Schengen simplified movement but did not change the fundamental nature of the country as a destination. Bulgaria remains significantly cheaper than the EU average — restaurant, accommodation and local transport prices run between 30% and 50% below countries like France, Germany or Spain — and that difference doesn’t disappear with integration into the free movement area.

The fixed currency peg to the euro has its advantages: no exchange rate risk, a stable and predictable rate. But it’s worth being clear that in Bulgaria you pay in lev, ATMs dispense lev, and the mental arithmetic — roughly dividing by two with a slight adjustment — is simple but not automatic. The first day of travel usually produces a brief confusion between what something costs in lev and what that represents in euros. By the second day you think in lev directly.

The fixed rate does make one thing easy: rough budgeting. If something costs 20 lev, that’s just over 10 euros. If a restaurant bill comes to 50 lev, that’s about 25 euros. The precision doesn’t matter much; the scale is clear.

For EU citizens travelling in 2026, entering Bulgaria is minimal bureaucracy: valid identity document in your pocket, a debit card with international coverage, some cash for the first few hours. The country does the rest.

The Far Guides complete Bulgaria guide includes a practical information section with itemised daily budgets, intercity transport costs and accommodation recommendations by price range.