CANADA PREPARES TO PHASE OUT VISA REQUIREMENTS FOR BULGARIANS AS OF MAY 2017

Bulgaria’s Prime Minister Boyko Borissov and his Canadian counterpart Justin Trudeau held a telephone conversation on 6th of October to discuss lifting the visa requirements for Bulgarian citizens. The conversation was at the initiative of the Canadian Prime Minister. The Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Interior Roumyana Bachvarova also took part in the conference call, Bulgarian government’s press office said.

The Canadian Prime Minister Trudeau briefed Prime Minister Borissov on the efforts and the huge volume of work done by the Canadian government in relation with the lifting of the visa requirements for the Bulgarian citizens.

Trudeau pledged to lift entry visas as of 1st of May 2017 for Bulgarian nationals who had already visited Canada, for holders of USA visas and business representatives. The Canadian government will make efforts that all other Bulgarians can travel without visas by the end of 2017, the press office says.

The timeline for full visa-free travel may be extended by 1st of May 2018 only if there are technical obstacles resulting from the huge volume of administrative work and rearranging the entry systems.

The decision of the Canadian government is key as it is considered as a step towards lifting of visa requirements for Bulgarian citizens travelling to the USA.

The Bulgarian and Canadian Prime Ministers assigned the technical preparation of the bilateral agreements to the ministers of foreign affairs and ministers of interior of the two countries. Borisov and Trudeau agreed on exchange of visits in 2017. These will be the first visits at the level of prime minister between the two countries, the press statement says.