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Bulgaria extends visa-free travel to Balkan neighbours

15 December 2009, 19:57 CET
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(SOFIA) - Bulgaria will extend visa-free travel to neighbouring Serbia and Macedonia as well as to the former Yugoslav republic of Montenegro as of December 19, the foreign ministry said Tuesday.

Citizens of the three Balkan countries who have biometric passports will be exempt from visas to visit Bulgaria for up to 90 days, the ministry said in a statement.

People who do not have biometric passports will still be required however to apply for a short-term visa, it added.

Bulgaria reluctantly introduced visas for Serbia and Macedonia before it entered the European Union on January 1, 2007.

Bulgarians meanwhile were able to travel without visa to these countries even after joining the bloc.

Serbia, Macedonia and Montenegro will also be granted visa-free travel to countries of the so-called Schengen area starting on December 19.

The Schengen zone in which systematic border controls have been abolished currently includes all EU members -- except Britain, Bulgaria, Cyprus, Ireland and Romania -- as well as Iceland, Norway and Switzerland.

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