Czech Republic
Last update 23 October 2023Diplomatic missions
Risk index
Level 2: Increased attention (please be informed in detail about the current situation in the country)
2
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Czech Republic
Embassy of the Republic of Bulgaria in the Czech Republic
Address: Praha 1, ul. Krakovska 6
Telephone: +420 222 212 011; +420 222 211 258
Fax: +420 222 211 728
Emergency telephone number for out-of-hours when there is a risk to the life or health of citizens: + 420 774 790 991
Working hours: from 08:00 to 16:30
E-mail: [email protected]; [email protected]
Consular Office - opening hours:
08:30 to 11:30 and 14:00 to 15:00 every working day.
Embassy of the Czech Republic in the Republic of Bulgaria
Address: 100 G.S. Rakovski St., 1000 Sofia
Phone: +359 2 948 68 00
Fax: +259 2 948 68 18
E-mail: [email protected]
Website: www.mzv.cz/sofia
Honorary Consuls of the Czech Republic in the Republic of Bulgaria
Mrs. Zdenka Boevova
Office: 9002 Varna, 24 Tsani Ginchev St.,
Telephone/Fax.: +359 52 64 17 75
Opening hours: 14:00 – 16:00 (Tuesday and Thursday)
E-mail: [email protected]
Web site: www.mzv.cz/sofia
Mr. Ivan Sokolov
Office: 4000 Plovdiv, 37 Tsar Boris III Obedinitel Blvd.,
International Fair Plovdiv, floor 3
Telephone: +359 889 005 000
E-mail: [email protected]
General information
Security level:
The level of crime in the country is low. Nevertheless, in places with large concentrations of tourists or groups of people — stations and squares in large cities, around hotels and on public transport, there is a risk of pickpocketing. Excessively inflated taxi bills are not rare.
Customs requirements Travellers to the Czech Republic should comply with the country's customs laws.
For more information you can visit the website of the Ministry of Finance and that of the Customs Agency.
Healthcare:
We recommend that all Bulgarian citizens travelling to the Czech Republic have a European Health Insurance Card.
Without a health insurance card, each visit to a medical facility is charged according to the price list of the respective facility.
There are no mandatory vaccination requirements before entering the country.
No reports of epidemics or other communicable diseases.
Road traffic:
Up-to-date information on the prices of vignette stickers in the Czech Republic for vehicles up to 3.5 tonnes can be found on the following website — https://e-vignette.cz/
For motor vehicles over 3.5 tonnes, the fee is paid in the form of an electronic duty.
When travelling by car, you must have a Green Card and a vehicle registration certificate.
Following the amendments to the Regulations on the Issuance of Bulgarian Identity Documents (Article 34, paragraph 1), which entered into force on 12 February 2010, Bulgarian consular and diplomatic representations in the member states of the European Union do not accept applications for the issuance and replacement of a Bulgarian driving licence and registration document.
Bulgarian citizens whose habitual residence is on the territory of the Czech Republic may drive a motor vehicle with their valid Bulgarian driving licence. In case of its expiry, theft, loss, destruction, confiscation by the competent Czech authorities, they should apply to the local authorities to obtain a Czech driving licence.
If an offence is detected and a monetary penalty is imposed, drivers are obliged to pay it on the spot. If you think you have been fined unjustly, you have the right to appeal. In the event of a decision in your favour, the money will be refunded.
You can find useful information on the amount of fines and penalties for some of the most common traffic offences in the Czech Republic at HERE.
Practical advice:
Due to the increased number of fraud cases by incorrect intermediary companies, we recommend Bulgarian citizens interested in employment in the Czech Republic to contact the specialized agencies for recruitment of workers on the following websites:
• www.mpsv.cz - Ministry of Labour and Social Affairs of the Czech Republic;
• www.statnisprava.cz ;
• www.mlsp.government.bg - Ministry of Labour and Social Policy of the Republic of Bulgaria.
The Czech Republic does not apply a transition period for Bulgarian workers. Pay is according to pre-agreed terms but cannot be less than the national minimum hourly wage.
Local currency:
Czech koruna (CZK). The exchange rate depends on the Central Bank's daily fixing - around CZK 24.00 = EUR 1.
Travel papers and visas
Bulgarian citizens may enter the territory of the Czech Republic with a valid identity card or passport. A visa-free regime is in force for trips with a maximum stay of 90 days, every 6 months. Identity documents must be valid for the duration of the stay in the Czech Republic. Children under 18 years of age travel with a valid ID.
Competitive service
Consular services:
To obtain information on consular matters, please contact us during working hours between 15:00 and 16:00 every working day at: Telephone: +420 222 212 011 or telephone +420 222 211 258.
Issuance of identity documents:
The Consular Office with the Embassy of the Republic of Bulgaria in Prague can accept applications for passports, identity cards and Emergency Travel Documents. Before visiting the Consular Office to apply for a new identity document - passport, identity card or Emergency Travel Document, please make an appointment to visit the Consular Office with the Embassy, using the online electronic service on the following website: https://consulatebg.eu/. When registering, you will also be able to see the fees for the individual documents that are posted on the page.
Please also familiarise yourself with the information on the above website https://consulatebg.eu/ on the documents required when applying for a passport, identity card or Emergency Travel Document.
A Bulgarian birth certificate with a personal identification number must be presented when the first identity card is issued. In case of loss, theft, damage or destruction of an identity card and/or passport, a police document certifying these circumstances shall be presented.
In order to issue an Emergency Travel Document or a passport to children born abroad, it is necessary to present a Bulgarian birth certificate of the child with the registered birth certificate and the presence of both parents who certify their identity with valid identity documents. The child's old passport should also be presented for a subsequent passport.
In order to issue an Emergency Travel Document for returning to Bulgaria in case of lost/stolen documents, a document from the police must be presented.
Obligation to return an expired passport: within three months after the expiration of the passport, holders must surrender it to the Consular Office with the Embassy or to the relevant district police station of residence in the Republic of Bulgaria.
To receive issued documents from 14:00 to 15:00. Before visiting the Consular Office to obtain issued identity documents - passport, identity card or Emergency Travel Document, please check whether your identity document has been received at the Consular Office, using the online electronic service ‘checking issued documents’ on the following website: https://consulatebg.eu/.
Civil status:
The initial certification of civil status shall be issued by the competent local authorities (the Civil Registry Office in the municipality concerned) and the time limits for registration shall be observed. Particular care should be taken not to miss the deadlines for recording the birth of the child.
After obtaining of the relevant local document certifying civil status, the same shall be provided to the Consular Office in translation and legalized in accordance with the established procedure in the event that the persons concerned are unable to register a birth, a civil marriage before the local authorities in any other way, or death.
When the interested person can and wishes to carry out the registration in person or through an authorized person, he should present the relevant local certification document, translated and certified according to the established procedure, to the relevant municipality in Bulgaria:
• for a child birth - at the place of the permanent address of the mother, and if she is a foreigner - of the father;
• for a contracted civil marriage before the local authorities - at the place of the permanent address of the husband or, if he is a foreigner - of the wife;
• for death - at the place of the permanent address of the deceased.
Certifications and legalizations:
Documents issued in the Czech Republic and intended to take effect on the territory of the Republic of Bulgaria and vice versa do not require an Apostille stamp. Pursuant to the 1978 Treaty between the People's Republic of Bulgaria and the Czechoslovak Socialist Republic on Legal Assistance and Settlement of Relations in Civil, Family and Criminal Matters, the Czech side sends copies of civil status certificates (birth, marriage and death) to the Embassy of the Republic of Bulgaria in Prague, where they are translated, certified and sent ex officio for entry in the Bulgarian registers.
For civil status records other than those mentioned in the above paragraph, the requirement for translation by a sworn translator at the Embassy and certification of the translator's signature at the Consular Office with the Embassy in Prague upon payment of the appropriate service fee applies.
If you would like to visit the Consular Office for the purpose of validation of powers of attorney and declarations, as well as when applying for a visa or applying for Bulgarian citizenship, please make an appointment to visit the Consular Office by sending an email to: [email protected]