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Bulgaria's Interior Minister, Tsvetan Tsvetanov, says the German company Siemens will pay for the delays and overtime triggered by problems with their ID software. Photo by BGNES
Interior Minister, Tsvetan Tsvetanov, informed the German company Siemens, manufacturer of the software for the issuing of ID documents, is going to reimburse Bulgaria for the delays.
Tsvetanov reiterated earlier statements that the glitches are caused by the software and are not the fault of the Interior Ministry’s employees at passport offices.
The Minister further informed that overnight 630 express passport applications have been processed and passports will be sent via DHL to their owners. In 9 Bulgarian cities, the employees will work 24 hours to solve the problem with the delays. The overtime will be also paid by Siemens, Tsvetanov says.
In addition, citizens, who applied for an express service, will be charged the fee for a regular one in case they do not receive their ID documents on time.
Experts are arriving from Italy on Wednesday to help resolving the issue.
Problems emerged since March 29 when the system was first introduced. On Tuesday, Bulgaria also began processing express ID orders.
The Bulgarian passport offers its holders visa-free access to 178 countries and territories, placing it 11th globally for travel freedom and expedited border crossing, according to Henley & Partners.
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