Voting abroad

A Bulgarian citizen aged 18 or over who is not under guardianship and not serving a prison sentence can vote abroad in elections to the National Assembly, for President and Vice-President, and to the European Parliament. You vote in person, at a polling station in an embassy, a consulate or another address set for that election.

voting hours

7:00–20:00

local time, until 21:00 if there is a queue

or passport

ID card

a driving licence is not accepted

applications

300

threshold for machine voting

Which elections you can vote in abroad

Which document to bring

At a polling station abroad you prove your identity with a Bulgarian ID card or passport (including temporary, service, diplomatic and seafarer’s passports); military personnel may also use a military ID. A driving licence is not accepted.

If your document has expired, you will only be allowed to vote with a certificate from a Bulgarian embassy or consulate confirming that you have applied for a new one (Art. 263(2) of the Electoral Code). If your document is about to expire, apply for a new one in good time and ask for that certificate.

If you are not on the list: the declaration

Applying to vote abroad is optional. Without an application you can vote at any polling station opened abroad. The polling station committee adds you to the list once you show your document and fill in a standard declaration in front of the committee:

• that you meet the conditions to vote;
• that you have not voted and will not vote anywhere else in the same election.

The forms are available at the polling station. If the committee refuses to add you, the refusal must be in writing and can be challenged electronically before CIK, which decides immediately.

How voting works at the polling station

1. Find your polling station

   Addresses are published on the Ministry of Foreign Affairs website and by the embassy or consulate before each election.

2. Show your document

   The committee finds you on the list or adds you with a declaration.

3. Vote

   On a paper ballot or on a voting machine, depending on the station. A machine prints a paper receipt, which you drop into a separate box.

4. Sign the list

   You sign the voter list next to your name.

Machine or paper voting

Machine voting takes place only at polling stations abroad that received at least 300 applications or where at least 300 people voted in the previous election. Everywhere else you vote on paper. For the election of 25 October 2026 CIK set up machine voting at 242 polling stations abroad. A vote cast on a machine cannot be changed by voting again.

How polling stations are set up

There is a polling station at every embassy and consulate where the host country allows it. Outside them, stations open in two ways: on the applications of at least 40 voters, or — in EU countries — automatically wherever a station had at least 100 voters in the past 5 years. The details are in the guide “Application for a polling station”.

Some countries restrict where voting may take place. For the October 2026 election, for example, the Czech Republic allowed polling stations only in the embassy, and Germany only at certain addresses.

Where to find your polling station

• CIK sets the places and number of polling stations no later than 21 days before election day (decisions on cik.bg).
• Embassies and consulates announce the exact addresses by order no later than 18 days before the election.
• The Ministry of Foreign Affairs publishes the addresses and the lists of applicants on mfa.bg.

If you applied and are on the list for abroad, your name is removed from the list at your permanent address in Bulgaria.