Life is full of surprises. Sometimes tourists expect to spend a maximum of a couple of weeks in Bulgaria, but a sudden illness or injury makes them stay here for a long time. The insurance company pays for the hospital stay until recovery, but the visa may expire during this time. As long as the tourist is in the hospital, no one will deport him. But then a foreigner with an expired visa becomes an outlaw. He faces fines and even a ban on entry into the EU in the future if he tries to cross the border with a visa that has already expired. How to avoid such consequences? First of all, you need to take a document from the hospital, which will indicate for how long and for what reason the foreigner was there. There are no special requirements for the execution of the document, the main thing is that there is a seal of a medical institution. After that, you should contact the branch of the migration service located in the police department in the nearest regional city.

Option 1: Visa Extension

A foreigner who has involuntarily stayed in Bulgaria can apply for an extension of a tourist visa. In this case, you need to contact the migration service at the place of stay and provide the following documents:

• A memo confirming the document from the hospital.
• A copy of your passport (the first page and a spread with a visa and an entry stamp). The original document must be carried with you.
• Application (filled out on the spot, the form will be issued at the window).
• A document confirming the payment of a fee of 10 leva. In addition, you will have to pay a bank commission.

After that, you need to take a ticket in the window and wait for a decision. It will not be accepted immediately: usually a commission is convened, a request is made to the hospital, all this takes time. If the extension of the visa is approved, then you will need to pay for it, after which you can legally leave Bulgaria without fear of any problems with the border guards.

Option 2: stamp for departure (stamp for the stamp on Bulgaria)

In this case, it is also necessary to come to the migration service and provide a document from a medical institution, the original and a copy of the passport, as well as an application describing the situation and the reasons for violating the visa regime. In addition, you must have a ticket for the next date as proof of your intention to leave the country. In this case, permission to leave will be obtained within an hour. The passport will be stamped with the date when it is necessary to leave the country. This stamp must be shown to the border guard when crossing the border. As the situation is abnormal, airport staff may take longer than usual to complete the paperwork, so it is worth arriving early.

Important nuances

Migration officials do not speak Russian, and tourists usually do not speak Bulgarian. For this reason, it is better to negotiate with the help of an interpreter to avoid misunderstandings. It is necessary to deal with the paperwork immediately after discharge from the hospital. As soon as the certificate is received in the hospital, you need to buy tickets and come to the migration service.