Bulgaria Visa Photo Requirements: A Complete Guide
When you apply for a Bulgaria visa, a key requirement is providing photos that meet the prerequisites set by Bulgarian authorities.
Photo Requirements for Bulgaria Visa Application
To ensure your Bulgaria visa application is accepted, your photo must meet the following specifications::
- Recent Photo: Taken within the last six months.
- Size: 35×45 mm.
- Background: Plain gray ( ), with no shadows.
- Quality: High-resolution, face shown clearly, no edits.
- Quantity: Submit three photos.
Do I Need to Take a Photo for a Bulgaria Visa Application?
You are required to take a Bulgaria visa photo if you are a national of one of the countries listed below:
- Afghanistan
- Algeria
- Angola
- Armenia
- Azerbaijan
- Bahrain
- Bangladesh
- Belarus
- Belize
- Benin
- Bhutan
- Bolivia
- Botswana
- Burkina Faso
- Burundi
- Cabo Verde
- Cambodia
- Cameroon
- Central African Republic
- Chad
- China
- Comoros
- Cuba
- Democratic Republic of the Congo
- Djibouti
- Dominican Republic
- Ecuador
- Egypt
- Equatorial Guinea
- Eritrea
- Eswatini
- Ethiopia
- Fiji
- Gabon
- Gambia
- Ghana
- Guinea
- Guinea-Bissau
- Guyana
- Haiti
- India
- Indonesia
- Iran
- Iraq
- Ivory Coast
- Jamaica
- Jordan
- Kazakhstan
- Kenya
- Kuwait
- Kyrgyzstan
- Laos
- Lebanon
- Lesotho
- Libya
- Madagascar
- Malawi
- Maldives
- Mali
- Mauritania
- Mongolia
- Morocco
- Mozambique
- Myanmar
- Namibia
- Nauru
- Nepal
- Niger
- Nigeria
- North Korea
- Oman
- Pakistan
- Palestine
- Papua New Guinea
- Philippines
- Qatar
- Republic of the Congo
- Russia
- Rwanda
- São Tomé and PrÃncipe
- Saudi Arabia
- Senegal
- Sierra Leone
- Somalia
- South Africa
- South Sudan
- Sri Lanka
- Sudan
- Suriname
- Syria
- Tajikistan
- Tanzania
- Thailand
- Togo
- Tunisia
- Türkiye
- Turkmenistan
- Uganda
- Uzbekistan
- Vanuatu
- Vietnam
- Yemen
- Zambia
- Zimbabwe
Head pose and measurments
Your photo for the Bulgaria visa application must have the following measurements:
- The distance from the chin to the top of the hair must be 34.5mm.
- The distance from the top of the hair to the top of the photo must be 3mm.
Picture Quality
The pictures you submit for your Bulgaria visa application must meet certain standards of quality to be acceptable, which ensure your facial features are visible and recognizable:
- Be sharp without any visible pixels or printer dots.
- Not be blurry so your face in focus and without motion or focus blur.
- In color (not black and white).
- There should be no objects occupying the space behind you and no shadows on you or the background. To prevent shadows, use uniform illumination when taking the photo.
- No flash disruption making your eyes red.
Facial Expression
When you take your Bulgaria visa photo, you must:
- Have a neutral facial expression.
- Look straight at the camera.
- Face the camera with a neutral expression, without or smiling or showing your teeth.
- Keep your eyes open so your pupils and irises (colored portions of the eyes) are clearly visible in the photo.
Posture
You must stand straight and not tilt your head.
Attire
Your clothing in the visa photo affects the visibility of your face and the overall quality of the photo. You should wear clothing that you would typically wear on a daily basis when taking your visa photo. Religious attire is allowed unless it covers important features of your face.
If you are employed at a job that requires you wear a uniform to perform daily activites, (such as construction, police, firefighting, nurse etc.) you should take off your uniform when taking your photo.
Accessories
When taking a Bulgaria visa photo, it’s important to ensure that you are dressed appropriately and that your photo meets specific requirements. Here are some guidelines to keep in mind:
Before taking the photo for your a Bulgaria visa application, bear in mind that any accessories that cover your face in any way are not allowed.
- Hats or head coverings. You must not wear a hat or head covering, unless you are medically or religiously required to wear one all the time.
- Jewelry.You must not wear jewelry that obscures your face.
- Glasses.You must not wear glasses that cover your eyes, cause glare or shadows, or distort your eyes in any way. If your glasses are medically required, and do not interfere with your facial images, you can keep them on.
- Hearing devices or similar articles If you typically wear a hearing device or other similar articles, you may wear it in your visa photo.
Note: If you must wear a hat or glasses for medical reasons, you must provide a doctor’s statement as valid proof.
How Many Photos Should I Submit for Visa Application
You should provide three identical photos which were taken in the last six months. If the application is online, one copy of a photo will suffice.
Note: Although for most visa types, three pictures are required, for certain visas, the Bulgarian embassy may request more or fewer copies of the same picture.
Can I Upload a Scanned Photo?
Yes, you can scan your existing physical photo and use it for your visa application. Make sure you follow the listed directions when you scan the visa photo:
- You must scan one photo at a time.
- The photos must be scanned in color.
- Scan photos clearly so the front and the back are seen.
- Do not put the photo on another piece of paper.
Requirements for Toddlers and Babies
Taking a picture for a visa application of a baby or toddler comes with its own difficulties. They move a lot, and it may be challenging to keep them straight and without closing their eyes or opening their mouth. No matter how difficult it may be, their photo must meet the standard requirements for the Bulgaria visa photo. You cannot be in the photo holding them, but you can:
- Place the baby on a white sheet if they cannot stand on their own so they face directly the camera.
- Grab their attention with a toy to make them look straight at the camera and keep their eyes open. It’s okay if they have a soft smile, but they must not be laughing because an open mouth is not allowed in the picture
Although, the same requirements apply for toddlers and babies, the rigidity of the requirements is somewhat more relaxed compared to photos of adults.
Also read: Photo requirments for babies
Should I Print Out the Pictures?
You must print three photos for your Bulgaria visa visa application that meet all the requirements for a Bulgaria visa application and must be printed on high-quality photo paper.
Should I Retake a Photo for Bulgarian Visa if I Already Have One?
You’ll need to take a new photo if your current photo is older than six months, or:
- You have gained or lost a considerable amount of weight.
- You have undergone surgery because you:
- Experienced facial trauma
- Changed your gender
- Removed numerous tattoos
- Removed numerous piercings
Keep in mind that even if your photo is not more than 6 months old, the embassy or consulate may ask you to submit a new one if it doesn’t represent your current look. Minor changes such as growing a beard or coloring your hair won’t require a new photo submission as long as you can still be identified from the photo in your visa application.
Passport and Residence Permit Photo Requirements
If you are applying for a Bulgarian passport, you should check the Bulgaria passport photo requirements.
If you are applying for a residence permit, you should check the residence permit photo requirements.