The issuance of passports with privileges is limited by law
17 February 2021 News
The government is proposing changes that restrict the issuance of passports, giving holders the right to travel abroad more easily and visa-free. It is about the so-called diplomatic and service passports.
With the draft law amending and supplementing the Bulgarian Personal Documents Act proposed by the Council of Ministers, only the members of the managements of the licensed sports federations, entered in the register under the Physical Education and Sports Act, as well as those of the managements of the employees' representative organizations and of employers' representative organizations at national level, will have the right to official passports.
The changes will minimize the possibility of abuse, as the current legislation provides a practical opportunity for every able-bodied Bulgarian citizen to obtain an official passport if he/she registers a non-profit legal entity representing an association, federation or branch organization and is elected in its management.
Also, the current law refers only to the types of services and deadlines for issuing an ID card and passport: ordinary, fast and express, and those for a driving license are regulated by the Regulations for issuing Bulgarian personal documents. The amendments to the Act include the existing services for issuing a driver's license: ordinary and fast, and introduce a new type of service: accelerated, which will be performed within 3 days of acceptance of the application. It will be applied in case of replacement of the driving license due to expiration of the validity period, in case of expired validity period, in case of change in the driver's data: change of surname and transliteration, as well as in case of issuance of a duplicate.