Temporary passport

A temporary passport is issued on the spot by the embassy or consulate — it is not produced in Sofia, so it is quicker than a regular passport. It is for Bulgarians abroad who have no regular passport: lost, stolen, expired or damaged.

fee

€50

€75 within 8 h, €100 within 4 h

validity

up to 12 months

in some cases up to 3 months

application

in person

photo and fingerprints

Who can get one

Under Art. 39(1) of the Bulgarian Identity Documents Act, a mission issues a temporary passport:

• valid up to 12 months — to Bulgarian citizens staying abroad who have no regular passport;
• valid up to 3 months, as long as needed to return to Bulgaria by the usual route — to citizens who have not been issued a Bulgarian identity document since 1 September 1999, in cases of a coercive administrative measure, extradition or a European arrest warrant, prisoner transfer, or at the request of the local authorities.

How to apply

1. Contact the mission

   Call or write to the consular section, especially if you need to travel urgently. Many missions work by appointment.

2. Make a declaration

   If your document was lost, stolen or damaged, fill in a declaration under Art. 17(1) of the Regulation on Bulgarian Identity Documents and attach a police report if you have one.

3. Apply in person

   You sign the application in front of the consular officer, who takes your photo and fingerprints. Bring whatever identity document you have — even an expired one — or a birth certificate.

4. Pay the fee

   €50, or €75 / €100 if you need the document within 8 / 4 working hours.

5. Collect the passport

   In person at the consular section; exceptionally by a person with a notarised power of attorney or named in the application. For a child, a parent collects it with their ID and the child’s birth certificate.

Fees

The fee is set by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs’ Tariff No. 3: €50. Fast service within 8 working hours costs €75, express service within 4 working hours €100; express is offered when the mission has capacity.

It is free if your documents were taken by force, damaged or destroyed for reasons beyond your control — natural disaster, accident, crash, robbery, emergency medical treatment — and this is confirmed by a document from the competent local authorities (Art. 13(4) of Tariff No. 3). Without such a document the fee is payable.

Children

For a child under 18, the child and both parents attend. One parent may be absent if there is a specific notarised power of attorney from them, a court decision, a death certificate, or if the father is unknown. Bring the parents’ passports or ID cards and the child’s Bulgarian birth certificate with personal number (EGN). Children aged 12 and over give fingerprints.

After you return

The temporary passport must be handed back to a police station in Bulgaria or to the consular section when you apply for an ID card or passport, and no later than 3 months after it expires. If you have no identity document at all, the temporary passport is also how your identity is confirmed before you apply for a regular passport.