Bulgaria to speed decisions on applications for visas by non-EU seasonal workers
A decision on an application for a long-term visa from a third-country – meaning, non-EU – national who wants to come to Bulgaria as a seasonal worker should be taken within 15 calendar days, Bulgaria’s Cabinet decided on January 9.
The government agreed to amend the ordinance on terms and procedures for issuing visas, to effect the change.
Previously, the deadline was 35 working days, a government statement said.
“The change will create the conditions for faster processing of the applications of persons wishing to work as seasonal workers in our country and will help to better meet the needs of Bulgarian employers for labour for the purpose of seasonal employment,” the statement said.
In recent years, Bulgaria’s hospitality and tourism industry has come to rely heavily on non-EU nationals, from countries such as Ukraine, the Republic of Macedonia and Moldova, who work in summer and winter holiday resorts to make up the shortfall of Bulgarian workforce.
Qualified Bulgarians, who also have the benefit of labour rights as citizens of an EU country, tend to prefer to work in the hospitality industries of countries to the west where salaries are higher.
(Photo: Gjdejan via Wikimedia Commons)
