Criminal record certificates for residence files

Visas and residence · Last reviewed: 2026-10-10

Which country issues it

As a rule the registers of your country of citizenship and of the country where you have been living are relevant. If you live in Bulgaria, the Bulgarian certificate is issued under national procedure; otherwise the competent authority abroad issues it. Where you have lived in several countries, the receiving office decides the scope — ask for that list in writing rather than assuming.

The legalisation chain

1. 1

   Obtain it from the competent authority

   An electronically issued certificate may have a separate format for use abroad; check in advance which format is accepted.
2. 2

   Apostille or consular legalisation

   Between states party to the Hague Apostille Convention an apostille suffices; outside it, consular legalisation is required.
3. 3

   Translation into Bulgarian

   The accepted form of translation and the translator's authorisation follow the guidance of the foreign ministry and the receiving office.
4. 4

   Attach it to the file

   The certificate has a currency window relative to the filing date; one issued long beforehand may not be accepted.

Where files can stall

• •The apostille is placed on a copy or on the translation instead of the original document.
• •The spelling of names does not match the Latin transliteration in the passport.
• •The certificate was issued too long before the filing date.
• •Only one country's record is supplied while a second is also required.
• •The translation was produced by a route that is not accepted.

If the record is not clean

An entry does not automatically mean refusal — the authority assesses against statutory criteria. In such files, however, completeness of what you declare is decisive: a discrepancy discovered later weighs more heavily than the entry itself. This is a situation where working with a lawyer before filing genuinely changes outcomes.

What the official service record requires

In the state register of administrative services (ИИСДА), service 238 for extended residence lists a criminal record certificate issued by the country of citizenship or habitual residence "on the initial application". Under the general conditions of the same record, foreigners aged 18 or over — except people with stateless status in Bulgaria — submit criminal or police record documents issued under the law of their country of citizenship, origin or habitual residence.

The Bulgarian criminal record certificate (свидетелство за съдимост)

For people born outside Bulgaria — Bulgarian citizens or foreigners — the Central Criminal Records Bureau keeps the records. A foreign applicant shows the original identity document or a residence document issued under the Bulgarian Identity Documents Act. The procedure is based on Ordinance No. 8 of 26 Feb 2008 on criminal records bureaus.

Using a foreign document in Bulgaria

According to the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, documents from a country party to the Hague Apostille Convention receive an apostille from that country's authorities and need no further legalisation. Documents from countries that have a legal assistance treaty with Bulgaria need only a Bulgarian translation and its certification; documents from countries in neither group are legalised through consular channels. The translation is made either by an accredited translator appointed by the Bulgarian mission or by a translator whose signature is notarised by a Bulgarian notary. Since 1 Jan 2019, apostilles on municipal documents in Bulgaria are issued by the regional administrations.

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