As from 2021, Bulgarian Citizens without Settled Status Will Be Able to Stay in UK Visa-Free for Up to 6 Months

The transition period after Britain’s withdrawal from the EU ends on 1 January 2021. Here is what this implies for Bulgarian citizens’ travel, work and study.

Travel

From 1 January 2021, Bulgarian citizens who do not have settled or pre-settled status will be able to enter and stay in the UK for up to 6 months without needing a visa. During that period, citizens may enter the country multiple times for holidays, to participate in meetings and conferences and to do a short course of study, but not for the purpose of remaining indefinitely, working, or having access to public funds.

From 1 October 2021, according to the new rules published on the website of the UK Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office, EU, EEA and Swiss citizens (unless they have settled or pre-settled status) will have to use an international passport in order to enter Britain.

Bulgarian citizens who have obtained settled or pre-settled status can continue to use their national identity card to enter the UK until at least 31 December 2025. National identity cards can be used for entry into Britain after that date, too, if they conform to the security standards established by the International Civil Aviation Organisation.
For a tourist trip, Bulgarians will be able to travel to Britain with their Bulgarian driving licences.
Applying for a visa

Bulgarian citizens, who do not have settled or pre-settled status but intend to stay for a period longer than 6 months to work or study, or wish to settle in Britain, will be required to apply for a visa. Those wishing to apply for a visa can do so on the British Government website: https://www.gov.uk/browse/visas-immigration.

Holders of biometric passports, such as the Bulgarian ones, can use a smartphone app to apply for a visa online. If they cannot access the app or their passport proves unreadable, they will have to attend a UK Visa Application Centre.
Successful applicants will be provided with secure access to their immigration status instead of a physical document.

Please note that, In addition to a fee for the processing of their visa application https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/visa-regulations-revised-table/fees-5-october, applicants will also have to pay the Immigration Health Surcharge, which will enable them to access the UK’s National Health Service: https://www.gov.uk/healthcare-immigration-application/how-much-pay. Certain categories of essential workers will be exempt from paying the Immigration Health Surcharge.
The following immigration routes are open to Bulgarian citizens:

Skilled worker - Skilled worker route
Health care Skilled worker - Health and Care visa

Highly skilled workers

- Global talent - Highly skilled workers
- Global talent route

Students - Student route
Entrepreneurs in the field of innovation - Innovative entrepreneurs
Special professions - Specialist occupations
Pre-settled and settled status

Bulgarian citizens, as well as all other EU citizens, who got pre-settled status in Britain, can spend 2 years in a row outside the UK without losing their status, unless they wish to apply for settled status.

A citizen becomes eligible for settled status after 5 years’ continuous residence in the UK during which they have lived in the country for at least 6 months in any 12-month period. Therefore, if a citizen has pre-settled status and wants to get settled status, they must not have left the UK for more than 6 months in any 12-month period during 5 years in a row.

Please note that each case is considered on its own merits: by way of exception, the length of absence from the UK can be exceeded by a single period of up to 12 months due to illness, childbirth, posting as a Crown servant, or for another important reason.

Conditions for Bulgarian students

The end of EU citizens’ right to free movement and stay in the UK from 1 January 2021 will entail a change in the immigration status of present and future EU students in Britain.

EU students, including such whose course starts in the current 2020 to 2021 academic year, may apply to the EU Settlement Scheme, but this entitlement is limited to those who are physically present in Britain by 1 January 2021. Their arrival and settlement there before the end of the transition period is essential for their keeping their right to access to emergency medical services in the country using a European Health Insurance Card (EHIC) or an EHIC Provisional Replacement Certificate.

The right to unplanned healthcare: accident and emergency services, is guaranteed to persons whose stay began before 31 December 2020 and continues after that date. The maximum length of the stay is not fixed by law and depends on the actual case-specific circumstances.

The stay of students can continue until the end of their course of study. They may return to the State of their habitual residence in order to see family or travel to another country for a holiday.

EU students planning to arrive in Britain after 31 December 2020 in order to study there, including such whose course starts in the current 2020 to 2021 academic year, who have not lived in the UK, need to apply for a Student visa before their arrival.
They will fall out of scope of the Social Security Coordination provisions of the Withdrawal Agreement and, accordingly, their EHIC entitlement to access healthcare will no longer be valid. As part of their visa application, they will have to pay the Immigration Health Surcharge, which will enable them to access the UK’s National Health Service (NHS). Student visa applicants will need to an Immigration Health Surcharge of £470 per year, in addition to the fee for the processing of their visa application.

Important about tuition fees

Bulgarian students starting a new undergraduate course after the summer of 2021 will have to pay full international tuition fees and will not be eligible for State-guaranteed student loans. Each university sets its own fees, and their amount may vary by part of the UK: England, Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland.

Bulgarian citizens can obtain further information about the expiry of the transition period on 31 December 2020 and the new rules for entry and stay in the UK on the website of the Embassy of Bulgaria in London, at http://bulgarianembassy-london.org/