Bulgarian consulate in Moldova gets new headquarters

The consular division of the Bulgarian Embassy in Moldova moved to a new building which was officially opened today on #4 Eminescu Street in Chisinau. It is expected to start work on February 2, Info-Prim Neo reports. Bulgaria's Ambassador to Moldova Nikolay Iliev said at the ribbon cutting ceremony that the previous location of the consular service – inside the the embassy's headquarters – wasn't roomy enough to accommodate all the visa applicants, who had to wait in long queues outside. “We decided to double the capacity of the consular division, and I think the quality and the volume of the offered services will improve significantly”, said the ambassador. Attending the ceremony, Bulgarian Deputy Foreign Minister Milen Keremedchiev said that besides visa services, the consular division will also have travel agents of its own to provide a wide range of services, including consular paperwork, and starting next month all the travel agents will operate on-line, too. The cost of a Bulgarian visa is €35, and it is issued in 7 to 10 days. Moreover, each year the consular division gives some 30 percent of visas for free, mainly to students and youngsters who travel to Bulgaria for tourism or educational purposes. All visa applicants are expected at the new address of the consular division, without a prior appointment, between 9:00 and 12:30 on workdays. Before moving to the new location, the consular division of the Bulgarian Embassy was processing 20,000 to 31,000 visa applications a year.