The scope of people arriving from the UK and Northern Ireland who previously were banned from entering and staying in Bulgaria has been expanded, the Ministry of Health has announced.

This is regulated by an order of the Minister of Health Kostadin Angelov, which enters into force from 00:00 on 22 December.

The ban on entry into the country does not apply to Bulgarian citizens and their family members, as well as to persons with permanent or long-term residence status on the territory of Bulgaria and their families.

According to the new order No RD-01-721/21.12.2020 of the Health Minister, other categories of people can enter the country, they are:

• medical professionals, medical researchers, social workers and their managers, where the purpose of the journey relates to the profession they pursue;
• transport staff engaged in the international carriage of passengers and cargo and goods, aircraft crews, aircraft maintenance personnel and other transport personnel, where necessary, including boat crews and persons engaged in the maintenance of vessels;
• officials (heads of state, members of governments, etc.) and members of their delegations, as well as diplomats, members of the administrative and technical staff of overseas representations, employees of international organisations, servicemen, security and public order staff and humanitarian workers in the performance of their duties, as well as their family members;

• workers involved in the supply of medicinal products, medical devices and personal protective equipment, medical equipment, including in its installation and maintenance;

• persons traveling for humanitarian reasons within the meaning of § 1, item 16 of the additional provisions of the Foreigners in the Republic of Bulgaria Act;

• representatives of the commercial/economic and investment activities and persons directly related to: construction, maintenance, operation and safety of the strategic and critical infrastructure of the Republic of Bulgaria, implementation of projects certified under the Investment Promotion Act, analysis of projects of potential investors and other activities relevant to the economy of the country, certified by a letter from the Minister of Economy or another Minister responsible for the activity concerned, as well as persons engaged in shipbuilding and ship repair, as well as their family members.  The official letter signed by the relevant minister should be presented to the border control officers.
• seasonal agricultural and tourism workers.
• persons transiting through the territory of the Republic of Bulgaria, whose immediate departure from the territory of the Republic of Bulgaria can be guaranteed.

In the document it is underscored that all persons arriving in Bulgaria with a starting point of departure from the UK or Northern Ireland are quarantined for 10 days at their home or in another place they have designated for residence.

Mandatory quarantine of ten days does not be apply only to:

• officials (heads of state, members of governments, etc.) and members of their delegations who submit a document showing a negative result of a test made up to 48 hours before entering the country using the polymerase chain reaction method to prove covid-19 (PCR test) considered from the date of the test entered in the document;

• truck drivers who transit through the country or carry out loading and unloading activities in the country when carrying out international transport of goods and goods;
• crew members of vessels in the event that they do not leave the vessel for the time of stay;

• the crew members of an aircraft flying to and from civil airports on the territory of the Republic of Bulgaria and persons engaged in aircraft maintenance in the event that they do not leave the aircraft, except for mandatory pre-flight training, and their ground-time until departure of the next scheduled flight which does not exceed 12 hours;

• people transiting through the territory of Bulgaria.