Security level:

There is an extremely high crime rate in a number of Mexican states, caused by the turf wars fought between drug cartels, as well as the arrival of new criminal groups through migrant flows from Central America.
Avoiding travel to the following states is recommended: Veracruz, Zacatecas, Chiapas, Guerrero, Tamaulipas, Chihuahua, Guanajuato, Sinaloa, Sonora and Michoacán, where the situation is particularly complex.
Caution should be used when visiting the states of Quintana Roo, Baja California, Morelos, Oaxaca, Jalisco, San Luis Potosí, Mexico City and Durango.
It is recommended that you make a copy of your identity documents during your stay in the country and keep them in a safe place. When you leave, bring the copy of identification that is accepted by the police authorities in Mexico.
Take special care with personal belongings and luggage, especially when travelling on public transport.
Avoid visibly carrying valuables and hitchhiking.
Use ATMs with caution, and it is advisable to use only those in bank branches.
Bulgarian citizens whose Bulgarian identity document has been stolen should report the case to the nearest police station and obtain a police report on the offence, which they should submit to the Consular Office within three days.

Healthcare:

Consumption of bottled water only is recommended. It is not recommended to eat food prepared on the street or sold by street vendors. Fruits and vegetables should be eaten after they have been thoroughly washed. It should be borne in mind that the location of Mexico's capital at an altitude of 2,260 m can cause some complications for people with heart problems and high blood pressure.
There is no requirement to have certain vaccines. Despite the lack of mandatory immunizations in Mexico and Central American countries, there is a real danger of contracting Chikungunya, Zika or Dengue. This danger increases especially during the rainy season (May—November). When visiting places with a pronounced tropical climate and vegetation, it is recommended that tourists use mosquito repellents.
Since the beginning of the year, the countries of Central America (Guatemala, Belize, Honduras, Nicaragua, Costa Rica and Panama) and the southern states of Mexico (Chiapas, Campeche, Yucatan and Quintana Roo) have seen a sharp increase in the number of people infected with Dengue disease, which is transmitted after mosquito bites.
Some of the main symptoms of dengue are high fever, dizziness, vomiting, rash and weakness. With complications, especially in children, blood begins to flow from the nose, constant vomiting, red eyes, urination of blood and mental deviations are observed. In the presence of the above symptoms, you should seek medical attention immediately.
The situation is most serious in Honduras, where a Dengue epidemic is occurring in 12 districts of the country.
In order to avoid possible infection with the disease, Bulgarian citizens travelling in the region should take all possible measures to prevent mosquito bites, such as wearing body covering clothing, using mosquito repellents and nets, avoiding places with a higher risk of contracting the disease.
Specifics of the legislation:
Narcotics use and possession is a federal crime punishable by 5 to 15 years in prison. Alcohol is prohibited in public places, including parks.

Customs requirements:

The import of dairy and meat products is prohibited. The import of two bottles of liquor per person is permitted.
Each foreigner may bring into the country, without being subject to declaration, up to USD 10,000 or their equivalent in euros or Mexican peso.Bulgarian citizens wishing to obtain information on agricultural and food products, animals, etc. allowed for non-profit import into the country can download the free mobile app of the National Service of Health, Safety and Agrifood Quality of Mexico ‘QUE T TRAES’ - https://www.gob.mx/senasica/articulos/descarga-que-t-traes . The app is available in Spanish and English for Android.
We advise Bulgarian citizens to check whether their passport has been stamped by a border police officer for entry into the country, especially through Mexico's land borders. Citizens whose passports do not bear this stamp shall be liable to a fine.

Road traffic:

It is recommended to use public transport with persons who know well the locality being visited. Avoid hiring casual taxis outside designated areas. It is not recommended to visit outlying districts or to travel at night. When travelling within the country, it is advisable to use the main highways and avoid secondary roads. In the event of an occupied by unidentified local persons toll booth on a highway, do not take any action that would endanger your safety.

Practical advice:

IMPORTANT!!! The Ministry of Foreign Affairs offers the following advice to Bulgarian citizens travelling to Cancun for tourism purposes:
- do not rent a car from EUROCAR;
- only stay in hotels and rented apartments in the hotel area of the city if possible;
- only use transport services offered by hotels or licensed taxi companies;
- when consuming drinks in restaurants and on the beach, make sure they are opened in front of you;
- carry a copy of your ID instead of the original. In case of theft, report/complain to the police;
- do not use narcotics, despite the easy availability to purchase them;
- when buying a travel package for the holiday, check the website that offers it, and take into account the reviews and recommendations, before proceeding to payment, contact the company;
- it is desirable to use the app https://guestassist.mx/containing  the most important contacts that might be needed on the spot: police, red cross, Consulates, Consular House, fire station, etc.;
- internet address: http://turismocancun.mx/  you can find the most useful and basic tourist information about Cancun;
- if necessary, you can also contact the Consular House Casa Consular in Cancun at the following telephone numbers — telephone: +52 998 240 9545; +52 998 204 7743; [email protected] ; address: Blvd. Kukulcan Km13.5, Zona Hotelera, at the same address is the Tourist Police.

Climate:

The presence of five active tectonic plates on the territory of the country are a great prerequisite for active seismic activity. The rainy season is from May to November and is accompanied by hurricanes and rainstorms both on the Pacific coast and in the Gulf of Mexico region and on the Atlantic coast, where the resorts of Cancun and Riviera Maya are located.

Local currency:

Mexican Peso (MXN). You can exchange euros or US dollars freely in the country at bank offices, exchange houses at airports and hotels.

A travel document is a passport that is valid for at least 6 months after the last day of stay in the country. Bulgarian citizens who also hold Mexican citizenship should enter and leave Mexico as Mexican citizens using their Mexican passports.

Bulgarian citizens holding valid passports may enter and stay in the territory of Mexico as tourists without visas for up to 180 days. On the spot, the stay can be continued at the migration control offices of the respective state - www.inm.gob.mx .

As of 01.06.2024, Bulgarian citizens traveling short-term in Mexico for tourism can use electronic migration filters - E-gates for automatic passport control.

The E-gates system is available to persons having:
- a passport with biometric data that is valid for more than 180 days;
- adults over 18 years of age;
- purpose of travel only tourism;

MAY NOT pass through E-gates persons who:
- have a valid Mexican visa;
- have a residence document in the country;
- travel with a diplomatic or service passport;

Bulgarian citizens who intend to settle in Mexico for a period longer than 180 days or will be staying in the country for the purpose of work, study or other gainful activity should contact the Embassy of Mexico in Budapest, also responsible for the Republic of Bulgaria, for more information.

Notwithstanding the existing visa waiver, Mexico's national immigration officials may, at their discretion, conduct an expanded screening of those entering the country. In this case, the passengers are separated from the general flow of passengers and two conversations are held with them, within about 1 hour. If even partial discrepancies are found in the information provided by the passenger, the immigration authorities may refuse access to Mexico and hand over the Bulgarian citizen to representatives of the airline-carrier for their return. Reasons for refusal may be lack of convincing or failure to provide ‘sufficient’ documentation/evidence of a prepaid hotel, return air ticket or sufficient means of subsistence during the stay. In such cases, it should be borne in mind that in between the two conversations with the migration officer, Bulgarian citizens have the right to be given the opportunity to speak to a consular official on the Embassy's telephones: +52 55 55963283 or +52 55 55963295. A document for refusal of entry into the country is provided by the immigration authorities only if the same is requested by the Bulgarian citizen.
In such cases, the Mexican authorities apply a provision of the Migration Law that:
‘Article 60’. In order to allow the entry of a foreigner, the migration officer may, in case of doubt, carry out a secondary check to verify:
• valid passport or identity document, visa or migration document;
• personal data;
• purpose of travel;
• place of usual residence or where the traveller comes from;
• address and period of residence in Mexico;
• name and address of the person/company employing or inviting the foreigner;
• occupational commitment in the country of habitual residence and the activities to be carried out in Mexico;
• availability of the necessary means of subsistence during the stay in Mexico, only for persons subject to the visa regime;
• return transport provided.’

Travelling of children:
In case of children travelling with you accompanied by only one parent or unaccompanied, a document from the parents certifying their consent to the child’s travel should be necessarily drawn up.

Effective 28 November 2022, new migration screening and control rules have been introduced at the country's international airports to facilitate the entry of foreigners into Mexico:
- the paper migration form has been replaced by a digital one;
- a new border stamp has been introduced for entry into Mexico, on which the migration authorities indicate the days of stay allowed, up to a maximum of 180 days, without a visa;
- a reusable electronic migration form has been introduced, which can be obtained from the following address: https://www.inm.gob.mx/spublic/portal/inmex.html. The rules for saving the electronic code of the multiple migration form can be checked at the following address: https://www.gob.mx/inm/articulos/forma-migratoria-multiple-digital-fmmd?idiom=es

Certification of date, content and signature of a private document:
The Consular Office of the Embassy certifies the contents and signatures of private documents that are not subject to registration. The documents should be drawn up in Bulgarian. The certification of the date, content and signature of a private document which is not subject to registration and which is presented for certification shall be carried out in order to make the document effective on the territory of the Republic of Bulgaria. When certifying the date, content and signature of a private document, the persons whose signatures are to be certified must appear in person before the consular officer and sign the document before him.
Services are provided upon presentation of valid original identification documents (passport or identity card). It should be borne in mind that a driving licence cannot be used to certify identity, a signature or the contents of a document.
Documents subject to registration in the Registry Agency, such as contracts for the transfer of ownership, including immovable and movable property, contracts for the sale of shares, declarations of partition, declarations of renunciation of property rights, declarations of renunciation of the right of use, declarations of renunciation of inheritance, applications for the cancellation of mortgages, etc., cannot be certified at the Consular Office.

When certifying a declaration for a child's travel outside the borders of the Republic of Bulgaria, as well as powers of attorney for the issuance of an identity card or passport to minors, the birth certificate of the minor must also be presented.

Certification of the authenticity of the original copy:
Certification of the authenticity of transcripts and extracts of documents is carried out at the Consular Office. The documents to be certified should be drawn up by Bulgarian institutions. The original and a copy of the document must be presented for the certification. The Consular Service does not certify the accuracy of copies of documents issued by foreign authorities.

Legalization and translations:
In order to be valid in the Republic of Bulgaria and to be able to serve before Bulgarian institutions, documents issued in Mexico or Central American countries should be certified with an Apostille affixed by the respective institutions of these countries (except for Guatemala and Nicaragua). The documents so executed do not require any other form of authentication and may be used, apart from the Republic of Bulgaria, in all countries which have acceded to the Convention Abolishing the Requirement of Legalisation for Foreign Public Documents, drawn up in The Hague on 5 October 1961. The regional signatories to this Convention are Mexico, Belize, El Salvador, Costa Rica, Guatemala, Panama and Honduras.

Translators registered with the Embassy:
- Tsvetelina Veleva, telephone: +52 9997508939, mobile telephone: +52 5519236181, E-mail: [email protected] ;
- Elena Lozanova, mobile telephone: +52 5534307825, E-mail: [email protected] .

Information on the authorities authorised to authenticate with an Apostille in each of the states parties to the Convention can be found at the following Internet address: http://www.mfa.bg/uploads/images /Cabinet_Photos_web/strani_.pdf

Nicaragua is not a party to the Convention Abolishing the Requirement of Legalisation for Foreign Public Documents, drawn up in Hague on 5 October 1961. Documents issued by it which are intended to produce effects in the Republic shall be authenticated in the following manner:
- the document shall be certified by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Nicaragua;
- the document shall be certified by the Embassy of Mexico in Nicaragua afterwards;
- the document thus legalized shall be certified by the Secretariat for Foreign Relations (MFA) of Mexico;
- then the document shall be certified by the Embassy of the Republic of Bulgaria in Mexico, which is accredited to Nicaragua.

Procedure for the certification of documents issued in the Republic of Bulgaria to be used in the territory of Nicaragua:
- the issued document is certified by the Bulgarian Ministry of Foreign Affairs;
- the document thus legalized is certified by the Embassy of Mexico in Budapest, which is accredited to the Republic of Bulgaria;
- subsequently, the document is certified by the Secretariat for Foreign Relations (MFA) of Mexico;
- then there is certification by the Consular Services of the Embassy of Nicaragua in Mexico.

Documents intended to be effective in Bulgaria or in Mexico and the countries of the region, certified with an Apostille, must be accompanied by a certified translation into Bulgarian in one of the two following ways:

1. by the Bulgarian diplomatic mission in Mexico — only translations prepared by the sworn translator at the Consular Service of the Embassy are certified on the basis of the Rules for legalization, certification and translation of documents and other acts (phone number of the sworn translator at the Embassy -+52 55 1923 6181);
2. by a translation agency authorized by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the Republic of Bulgaria - translations made in Bulgaria are certified by the Citizen Administrative Service Department of the Consular Relations Directorate of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs (2 Alfred Nobel St., Sofia).