Bulgaria moves to ease Schengen visa delays for Turks

ISTANBUL

Bulgaria plans to increase staffing at its consular offices in Türkiye and introduce a centralized digital appointment system to ease growing demand for Schengen visas and reduce long waiting times for Turkish applicants, Foreign Minister Velislava Petrova Chamova said.

Speaking after visiting Bulgaria’s Consulate General in Istanbul, Chamova stated eight additional staff members would be assigned to four consular offices in Istanbul, Ankara, Edirne and Bursa.

Schengen visa applications from Türkiye have increased by around 10 percent to 15 percent annually, while staffing levels at consulates authorized to issue visas have remained largely unchanged since before 2020.

Chamova said existing personnel were struggling to handle the growing workload despite working intensively, adding that the additional staff would help speed up both application intake and processing. The new personnel are expected to take up their posts by the end of 2026.

The second measure involves replacing the current appointment system with a centralized digital platform, expected to become operational by mid-2027. Chamova said the existing system lacked transparency over how applicants were prioritized for earlier appointments. The new platform will allow applicants to access appointments regardless of visa category, with slots allocated according to established rules and criteria.

Bulgaria received around 100,000 visa applications from Türkiye last year. Authorities aim to increase the annual total to more than 130,000, anticipating further growth driven by expanding trade ties and rising interest among Turkish tourists.