Ministry of Foreign Affairs with an awareness campaign on the visa waiver for Bulgarian citizens to the USA

Several institutions in Bulgaria are actively working to meet the criteria for visa waivers for Bulgarian citizens travelling to the US for tourism purposes.

In December 2024, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs launched a three-month awareness campaign featuring Oscar-nominated Bulgarian actress Maria Bakalova as its face.

According to the latest data released by the U.S. Department of State just days ago, the refusal rate for Bulgarian tourist visas last year was only 6.02%—the lowest in the past 18 years.

In other words, nearly 95% of Bulgarian applicants for U.S. visas in 2024 were approved. By comparison, the refusal rate in 2023 was 11.6%.

The campaign's slogan, “You Don’t Need an Oscar to Get a US Visa”, aims to encourage more Bulgarians to apply for U.S. visas in order to reduce the overall refusal rate and help Bulgaria qualify for the Visa Waiver Programme. Entry into this programme requires a visa refusal rate below 3%. According to the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, the campaign is targeted at Bulgarian citizens planning to visit the U.S. this year on B1 and B2 visas, which are for tourism or short business trips.

Eleonora Dimitrova, Director of the Strategic Communications and Public Diplomacy Directorate at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, explained, "We are trying, through this joint effort of institutions and society, to help Bulgarian citizens prepare in the best possible way for the visa application process by providing useful advice on how to choose the right visa type, how to fill out their visa application, how to pay the fee, and most importantly, how to behave during the interview at the consulate."

Similar campaigns have been launched in other European countries, such as Poland and Croatia. The Bulgarian Ministry of Foreign Affairs is working diligently to ensure the effects of this campaign—and future ones—come to fruition as soon as possible.

Eleonora Dimitrova - Director of the Strategic Communications and Public Diplomacy Directorate - MFA: "I am optimistic and I think this would be possible in early 2026."

Whether Bulgaria will meet the 3% visa refusal rate criterion will be known by the end of this year when the U.S. Department of State releases new data. The main information hub for the Ministry of Foreign Affairs’ campaign is a specially developed website: VizaAcademy.com.