Is Bulgaria in Schengen? Yes, and here is what changed

What changed, and when

Bulgaria and Romania were the last two countries to join the Schengen area, and the European Commission's own page now lists them as members from 1 January 2025. Anything you read that describes Bulgaria as "partially in Schengen" or "air borders only" was written before that date and is stale.

What it means for a student in Bulgaria

You can travel. Once you hold a Bulgarian student residence permit, you may move in the other Schengen countries for up to 90 days in any rolling 180-day period without a separate visa. That covers a week in Greece, a conference in Italy or a family visit in Hungary. The counting rules — which trip people up more than the rule itself — are in the 90/180 rule for students.

Your money is in euro now. Bulgarian tuition and living costs used to be quoted in lev. Since January 2026 they are in euro, at a fixed conversion. If a website still quotes a Bulgarian medical programme at "14,000 lev a year", divide by 1.95583 to get roughly EUR 7,160 — and then check the university's own current fee page, because fees moved as well as currency.

Your budget got easier to compare. One of the practical annoyances of choosing between Bulgaria and, say, Hungary was comparing lev against forint against euro. Bulgaria is now directly comparable with Italy, Greece, Cyprus and Malta. The cost calculator uses the current figures.

What did not change

This is the part that matters most, and it is the opposite of what most people assume.

The visa is not easier. Bulgaria issues its own national long-stay visa for study. You apply to the Bulgarian authorities, under Bulgarian rules, with a Bulgarian university's admission letter and Bulgaria's own financial requirement. Schengen membership pools *travel*, not *admission decisions*. A refusal from another Schengen country still matters, because refusals are recorded in the shared system — but an approval elsewhere does not carry over either.

You still need to know where you file. Not every one of the nine has a mission in Dhaka, and the answer changes from year to year as missions open, close and change their outsourcing arrangements. Confirm it on the ministry's own page before you book a flight, a courier or an appointment: which countries have no embassy in Dhaka.

Your Bulgarian permit is still a Bulgarian permit. You may travel in Schengen for up to 90 days in 180; you may not enrol, take a job, or settle in another member state on it. Doing so is how students lose their status — see losing your status in Europe.

And the borders are now counted, not stamped. The EU Entry/Exit System has been fully operational since 10 April 2026, so every crossing into and out of the zone is registered against your passport automatically. Bulgaria's accession put its borders inside that system. An overstay that a border officer might once have missed is now a database record that follows you into every renewal and every future visa application.

What the euro changeover means for a file already in progress

If you started a Bulgarian application before January 2026, three practical things follow.

Old quotes need converting, not guessing. Divide any lev figure by 1.95583. A fee listed as 15,600 lev is EUR 7,976 — then check the university's current page, because institutions used the changeover to restate fees and some rounded upward.

Your proof of funds is assessed in euro. If a bank statement or sponsorship letter was drafted in lev, ask the bank to reissue it, and make sure the amount clears the current threshold rather than the one that applied when you started. The general rules are in proof of funds for a European student visa.

Comparisons across the nine are now like-for-like. Bulgaria used to require a second conversion step every time you compared it with Italy or Greece. It no longer does, which makes the honest cost comparison easier to do and harder to fudge.

The honest picture of Bulgaria as a destination

Bulgaria is the cheapest of the nine on total first-year cost, and its medical universities in Sofia, Plovdiv, Varna and Pleven are the reason most Bangladeshi applicants look at it. What Schengen membership adds is convenience and a slightly better post-study story, because Bulgaria is no longer the awkward outlier on a European map.

What it does not add is a shortcut. Bulgarian universities still expect the same documents, the visa still takes the time it takes, and — the part nobody enjoys hearing — a Bulgarian degree taught in English still leaves you needing Bulgarian for most local part-time work. Read the full country picture before deciding: studying in Bulgaria from Bangladesh and the Bulgaria country guide.

Before you rely on any of this

Schengen and euro status are political facts that change by Council decision, and they have changed twice for Bulgaria in two years. Every figure in this article carries a September 2026 date. Before you make a decision that costs money, open the European Commission's Schengen page and the university's own fee page rather than trusting any article, including this one.