Security level:
The situation in the country is peaceful and stable. The terrorist threat level is three on a national scale of one to five, with level five being the highest. No demonstrations or armed clashes were observed. The level of crime is the usual for the country with no tendency to increase.

Healthcare:
Medical care is provided through social insurance of the population in a health insurance system. Pharmacies offer a wide variety of medicines, not only from Swedish manufacturers. Medicines are obtained against prescription in pharmacies that work with the insurance institution.
The European Health Insurance Card (EHIC) enables citizens of the Republic of Bulgaria with continuous health insurance rights in the countries of the European Union, the European Economic Area and Switzerland to benefit from the right to medical assistance in emergencies. Detailed information on the issue and the rights granted by the EHIC, as well as the countries in which it is valid, can be found on the following website: http://www.ezok.bg/
Bulgarian citizens intending to visit Sweden are advised to carry European Health Insurance Cards. In the case of travel for work purposes, it is advisable to have employment contracts concluded and signed in advance.

Specifics of the local legislation:
Legislation in Sweden is aligned with that in the EU and the Schengen area. Bulgarian nationals residing in Sweden must comply with local laws and customs. During their stay in Sweden, they fall under local jurisdiction. When planning a trip to Sweden, it is advisable for Bulgarian citizens to be informed in advance and familiar with the Swedish legislation, observing the established rules. The penalties imposed for non-compliance with legal requirements can be much more serious than the same in Bulgaria.
Due to the increased number of fraud cases by incorrect intermediary companies, we recommend Bulgarian citizens interested in working in Sweden to arrive in the country with previously concluded and signed formal employment contracts and to contact the specialized recruitment agencies on the following websites:

- For information on the working environment in temporary employment, see HERE.

- Swedish Migration Board - Migrationsverkets HERE.

- Ministry of Labour and Social Policy of the Republic of Bulgaria HERE.

- Swedish Social Insurance Agency - Försäkringskassan https://www.forsakringskassan.se/

Customs requirements:
Customs requirements for Sweden can be downloaded from HERE. 
The Swedish government's decision, which came into force in January 2016, to temporarily introduce border controls at its Schengen borders in order to limit and stem the flow of irregular migrants into the country has been extended until 11 November 2023. The control is carried out by checking the personal documents of travellers between Sweden and Denmark, including on the Öresund bridge between Malmö and Copenhagen and ferry connections to ports in southern Sweden. In this regard, we recommend that Bulgarian citizens who plan to visit Sweden carry valid Bulgarian identity documents (identity card or passport) when crossing its border crossings.

Road traffic:
Right road traffic. A toll sticker is not required for motorway travel. Driving with headlights on is compulsory all year round. The use of seat belts is mandatory for all passengers.
According to the regulations, regardless of registration, all cars and trucks in Sweden must be fitted with winter tyres with a tyre gripper depth of at least 3 mm between 1 November and 31 March.
For trucks, buses and caravans of over 3.5 tonnes gross weight, a minimum 5 mm tyre gripper depth is required on all tyres between 1 November and 31 March. This requirement also applies to foreign heavy goods vehicles. The requirement does not apply to additional trailers.
The ban on studded tyres applies from 16 April to 30 September.
Given the wet and icy roads during the long autumn-winter season, drivers should drive with particular care, taking into account the condition of the road surfaces.

Under new rules in force from 1 June 2019, between 1 December and 31 March all heavy goods vehicles weighing more than 3,500 kg must be driven in Sweden with winter tyres on all wheels of the vehicle, including trailers and semi-trailers.
Bulgarian driving licences are valid in Sweden.
According to Article 11 of Directive 2006/126/EC of the European Parliament, the Consular Office of the Embassy does not accept applications for the reissue of driving licences from Bulgarian citizens with ‘habitual residence’ in Sweden.
‘Habitual residence’ should be taken to mean the place where a person usually lives, i.e. for more than 185 days in a calendar year.
According to the above-mentioned Directive, the driving licence is issued by the authorities of the relevant EU Member State.
A toll sticker is not required for motorway travel. Driving with headlights on is compulsory all year round. The use of seat belts is mandatory for all passengers.
The maximum speed limit for cars on motorways is 110 km/h and for trucks - 90 km/h.
For general information on traffic laws and regulations and fines for breaking the law, see on the Swedish Police website (in English).

Practical advice:
In case of theft of your personal documents, luggage, cash, etc., we recommend that you inform the Swedish police immediately. It is advisable to obtain a copy of the protocol for establishing the event. Contact the Embassy of the Republic of Bulgaria in Stockholm to report the theft of your personal documents and to make arrangements for the issue of new ones or a document that will allow you to return to your home country.
We recommend that you make a note of your contacts at the Bulgarian diplomatic mission in Stockholm before you travel to Sweden or once you arrive in the country. In the event that you are detained by the local authorities, you can request that you be provided with contact with the Embassy of the Republic of Bulgaria. The consul will contact you as soon as possible. In cases of death of Bulgarian citizens in Sweden, the Embassy of the Republic of Bulgaria will provide assistance and help with the settlement of documents and other formalities.
We advise you to conclude a contract for health, tourist, travel or other insurance in advance.
A Bulgarian citizen who is in a difficult situation may receive financial assistance from the Embassy of the Republic of Bulgaria only if his/her relatives or close relatives deposit the necessary amount with the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Directorate of Budget and Finance.

Local currency:
Swedish krona (SEK).

Travel papers and visa requirements:
Bulgarian citizens can enter Sweden with an identity card, passport or Emergency Travel Document. There is a visa-free regime for Bulgarian citizens in Sweden, with travel for a maximum period of 90 days, within every 6 months. There is an obligation to register with the Police for foreign nationals once the period of residence exceeds 90 consecutive days. When travelling, identity cards or passports shall be used until they expire.

Since 12 November 2015, internal border controls in Sweden have been renewed and continue to this day.

When a child under 18 years of age travels without parents but with accompanying persons who are not his/her legal guardians or custodians, the following are needed:
• Child's passport and a possible visa;
• copies of the parents' passports;
• A completed declaration signed by at least one of the parents or one of the legal guardians or custodians.

The declaration must contain text stating that the child is allowed to travel and that the adults accompanying the child are fully responsible for the child during the journey. It is advisable to further investigate the requirements of the airline or carrier company the under-aged child will be travelling with.

Issuance of identity documents:
The Embassy in Sweden accepts applications for passports, identity cards and Emergency Travel Documents, as it has the equipment to take biometric data (fingerprints and a picture of the iris of the eye). The new identity documents issued are received at the Consular Office with the Embassy in Stockholm in three ways — in person, by a pre-authorised person or by a courier company. The authorisation is made when the application is submitted to the Embassy by entering the personal data of the authorised person in a special section of the form.
In order to send the new identity document by courier, the applicant must first register on the DHL Express website at the following address: https://mydhl.express.dhl/se/sv/home.html#/getQuoteTab 

The applicant must fill in the details of the Embassy as sender and the address where he/she wishes to receive his/her new identity document as recipient. In the ‘Notes’ (Reference) field, the applicant's name in Latin (e.g: Petar Ivanov Petrov) and personal document type (e.g.: LK or PASS, for identity card and passport respectively). Upon successful completion of the order, the website generates a barcode to be sent to the Embassy's Consular Office email: [email protected]
It is important to note that the old ID must be returned to the Embassy's Consular Office and receipt of the returned ID must be confirmed by telephone by an Embassy official before the citizen can make the electronic request for the new ID to be sent via the courier company.

Delivery of new ID documents abroad with DHL:
Payment for the courier service to DHL is made only after the application has been approved and payment for the service for issuing the requested identity document has been made through the virtual POS terminal of the Automated Information System for Electronic Services of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs. The DHL courier service should only be paid by bank transfer when you have opted for the ‘Express Service’.
The service can be paid for by one person and up to 8 people can benefit from it. The prepaid courier service does not imply and does not include the faster preparation of your requested personal documents.
The price for delivery by DHL to the Bulgarian Embassy in Stockholm is BGN 90.69 (EUR 46.37). The price is fixed in a contract between the Ministry of Foreign Affairs in Sofia and DHL.
The amounts for the service are transferred to the following bank account:

1. For payment in euro (EUR):
Beneficiary: DHL EXPRESS BULGARIA EOOD
Beneficiary’s IBAN No: BG40UNCR70001523563800
Beneficiary’s Bank: UniCredit Bulbank AD
BIC/SWIFT Code: UNCRBGSF
Beneficiary’s Bank Address: 7, Sveta Nedelya square, Sofia 1000, Bulgaria

2. For payment in leva (BGN):
Beneficiary: DHL EXPRESS BULGARIA EOOD
Beneficiary’s IBAN No: BG94UNCR70001523563798
Beneficiary’s Bank: UniCredit Bulbank AD
BIC/SWIFT Code: UNCRBGSF
Beneficiary’s Bank Address: 7, Sveta Nedelya square, Sofia 1000, Bulgaria
As information (reason) for the payment you must write: BDS_city_name_your name (example: BDS Stockholmm_Ivan Ivanov Ivanov). This is necessary for the payment to be recognized as your payment for sending prepared personal documents and to be confirmed by the courier company's finance department.
A payment order should be emailed to the Consular Office with the Embassy in Stockholm: [email protected].

Certifications and legalizations:
In order for a document issued by the Swedish Civil Registry to be recognized in Bulgaria and vice versa, a Bulgarian document to be recognized in Sweden, it must be legalized with a special Apostille certificate and translated. The translation must be carried out by a translator who has a contract with the Ministry of Foreign Affairs to carry out official translations. The full list of companies which have contracts with the Ministry of Foreign Affairs for official translations can be found at HERE.

Civil status:
Registration in the Republic of Bulgaria of a child born in the Kingdom of Sweden:
In order for a child born in the Kingdom of Sweden to obtain an UCN and a Bulgarian birth certificate, it is first necessary to register the child with the civil registry in the Republic of Bulgaria. Registration in the Republic of Bulgaria is carried out in the municipality of the permanent address of the mother, and when only the father is a Bulgarian citizen- in the municipality of the permanent address of the father.
1. It is necessary to obtain from the Swedish Tax Office (Skatteverket) a Personbevis Födelse as well as Annex 1 (bilaga 1) thereto issued under Regulation (EU) 2016/1191 of the European Parliament and of the Council. The Annex is a multilingual standard certificate (tvåspråkigt formulär) in the official languages of the Member States of the European Union. In the Annex there is also a Bulgarian version of the child's and parents' details. You can order a multilingual certificate electronically using the contact form on Scateverket or by calling their phone numbers. Thus issued, this document does not need an Apostille stamp from a notary public, nor a translation by a licensed translator. Depositing the registration documents with the respective municipality shall be done in person or through an authorized person.
If you are not able to personally deposit the child's registration documents in the Republic of Bulgaria or to authorize a representative to do this for you, then you can send the child's registration documents you have obtained from Skateverket, together with a free text application and a copy of the parents' identity documents, to the Bulgarian Embassy in Stockholm (Bulgariens ambassad, Karlavägen 29, 114 31 Stockholm).
2. If you are unable to obtain the standard multilingual certificate referred to in point 1 above, you may register under the following procedure:
If the child was born in Sweden, Skateverket should have issued a birth certificate, which is called either Registerutdrag för barnsfödelse or Personbevis. Check carefully that the document contains the following information:
- the child's full name;
- date of birth;
- place of birth;
- sex (very important, if missing, contact Scateverket again to issue a supplement to the document or issue a new document with the sex information filled in);
- parents' details, at least the mother's name.
Go to a local notary public to affix the Apostille on the document. Once you have an Apostille, you must translate the document with the Apostille into Bulgarian. In terms of translation, there are two options:
1. have the translation done in the Republic of Bulgaria, through a sworn translator of your choice. You need translation and legalization.
2. have the translation done in Sweden by contacting the sworn translators at the Embassy.
Their contacts are:
Janette Doncheva - 086496514; 0709749311 - Stockholm; after 18:00;
Jasmine Panayotova - 0708949356 - Gothenburg.
If you choose to have your translation done by the Embassy's sworn translators, it is obligatory to have the translation certified by the Embassy's Consular Office in Stockholm. If both parents have Bulgarian citizenship, choose the municipality where the mother is registered. If you decide to travel with your child to Bulgaria, you will need proof of your child's identity. If you do not have one issued by another country, e.g. Sweden, come to the Embassy in Stockholm with your child so that we can issue an Emergency Travel Document. The presence of both parents is required for an Emergency Travel Document to be issued. If one of them cannot be present, he or she must make a power of attorney to the other giving his or her consent for the other parent to apply for and receive the child's Emergency Travel Document. The photo is taken on the spot, the fee is SEK 500 (for obtaining the Emergency Travel Document within the next day) or SEK 1,000 (for obtaining the Emergency Travel Document within the same working day). Payment is made via POS terminal or in cash.

Registration of a civil marriage contracted in the Kingdom of Sweden:
The following documents are required to register a marriage contracted by a Bulgarian citizen in the Kingdom of Sweden:
• The original marriage certificate (äktenskapsbevis) or the original duplicate;
• The certificate of change of name (if there is a change);
• The Vigselbevis in which the place of the civil marriage is written;
• A multilingual standard certificate issued in accordance with Regulation (EU) 2016/1191 of the European Parliament and of the Council.
The documents are issued by the Swedish Tax Office (Skatteverket) and must be on paper, with original signatures and seals. The registration in the Republic of Bulgaria of a marriage contracted in the Kingdom of Sweden shall take place in the municipality of the permanent address.

Registration of a death occurring in the Kingdom of Sweden:
The following documents are required for the registration of the death of a Bulgarian citizen in the Kingdom of Sweden:
A death certificate (dödsfallsintyg) accompanied by a multilingual standard certificate (Bilaga III) issued under Regulation (EU) 2016/1191 of the European Parliament and of the Council.

In the Kingdom of Sweden, civil status certificates are issued and legalized with a special Apostille certificate.
On the Embassy's website are the contacts of the sworn translators.

In Bulgaria, the Apostille is issued by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, the Ministry of Justice and the Ministry of Education and Science, and the authorised authority in Sweden is the Notarius Publicus.