Dear ladies and gentlemen,
the current Travel Advice section aims to present to all stakeholders the opportunities to travel from Bulgaria to Romania and vice versa. The section is purely informative. It is the responsibility of travelers to check in due time the current traffic situation as well as changes in the legislation governing travel and movement in the cross-border region of Bulgaria and Romania.
Restrictive measures for Bulgarian citizens, entering Romania:
• As of March 11, 2022, there are no restrictions (no COVID-19 or PLF documents required).
• There is no mandatory quarantine for Bulgarian citizens.
• No curfew. The public transport is functioning normally.
• Wearing protective masks is optional, but recommended indoors, in public transport, and outdoors when there are crowds.
Driving in Romania
To be able to drive in Romania, you must have a valid driver’s license, vehicle documents, and green card. The main roads are in good condition, the secondary ones not so much. Road reconstruction works are not always well marked and rural roads are sometimes not paved with asphalt.
The city speed limit is 50 km/h, outside the urban areas the speed limit is 90 km/h and on the highway – 130 km/h.
Note: there is no tolerance for drinking and driving as the restriction is 0g/l – even a glass of wine or a beer can bring you a hefty fine, and if you’re drunk it will cost you your driver’s license.
Ferry
The Svishtov – Zimnicea Ferry shortens the route from Bulgaria /Romania to Central and Western Europe compared to the route across the Danube bridge at Ruse/Giurgiu. The time is shortened by almost 4 hours as it avoids the heavy traffic in Bucharest. The Ferry Svishtov – Zimnicea is operated by two ships and it crosses the river in 15 minutes. The routes leading to the ferry Svishtov – Zimnicea are:
• Polski Trambesh to Svishtov
• Gara Byala via Tsenovo to Svishtov
• from the main road Sofia – Ruse, near the village of Balgarene to Svishtov.
In Romania, the route goes through Alexandria or Rosiori de Vede to Zimnicea.
The first ferry of the day leaves at 10:00 a.m. from Svishtov.
Crossing via bridge:
• Danube Bridge 1 (The Friendship Bridge) between Ruse(Bulgaria) and Giurgiu (Romania)
• Danube Bridge 2 between Vidin (Bulgaria) and Calafat (Romania)
1.Main contacts:
Embassy of the Republic of Bulgaria in Bucharest, Romania Address: Bucuresti, sector 1, str. Rabat nr. 5 Tel .: +40 21 230 21 50; +40 21 230 21 59 Fax: +40 21 230 7654 Out-of-hours telephone numbers: +40 21 230 21 50; +40 21 230 21 59 E-mail: Embassy.Bucharest@mfa.bg Website: www.mfa.bg/embassies/romania
Consular Service Address: Bucuresti, sector 2, str. Vasile Lascar nr. 32 Tel .: +40 21 318 79 78 Fax: +40 21 318 79 79 E-mail: Consular.Bucharest@mfa.bg Website: www.mfa.bg/embassies/romania
Honorary Consul of the Republic of Bulgaria in TimisoaraGeorgi Nakov
Address: Timisoara, 1900, Unirii Square. 14 Tel./Fax: +4 0256 490 697 E-mail: uniuneabulgaradinbanat_romania@hotmail.com
Honorary Consul of the Republic of Bulgaria in PloseRosen Russev
Address: Ploiesti, Prahova, Marasesti Str. 19 Tel .: +40 744 430 045
Embassy of Romania in Sofia Address: 1111 Sofia, 4 Mihai Eminescu Blvd Phone: +359 2 971 28 58; +359 2 973 30 81 Fax: +359 2 973 34 12 E-mail: ambsofro@vip.bgПочетни консули на Румъния в България
Ms. Evgenia Popescu Address: 8000 Burgas, Serdika Street, 4 Tel .: +359 56 840 572 Fax: +359 56 840 0455 E-mail: ep-com@unacs.bgГ-н Стефан Райчев Адрес: 7500 Силистра, хотел “Дръстър” Тел.: +359 86 812 200 Мобилен тел.: +359 888 45 40 39
2. General information:
Local currency
Romanian Leu (RON)
Ley can be purchased from bank branches in the country or exchange bureaus, on presentation of a personal document (passport or ID card).
Samples of coins and banknotes can be found HERE.
The current exchange rate of the Romanian National Bank to the main currencies can be seen HERE.
Crime and security
When traveling in the country, petty crime should be taken into account – pickpockets and car thefts of documents, money, mobile phones, etc.
Bulgarian citizens should be particularly careful when visiting large shops, markets, stations, bus stations, stopping petrol stations and at the roadside (for rest or car repair).
We recommend not leaving unattended car bags and objects attracting the attention of thieves.
In case of theft, Bulgarian citizens should contact the nearest police station or the Embassy of the Republic of Bulgaria.
Customs requirements
Upon entry into Romania from a non-EU country, up to 40 cigarettes (two cans) per person may be imported.
Upon entry from a Member State, the permitted quantity is up to 800 cigarettes (4 stacks).
Details of the customs regime of Romania can be found here HERE.
Road traffic
When entering a vehicle in the country, a vignette must be purchased in return for a coupon on the vehicle. Vignettes can be purchased from the relevant points of sale at border checkpoints or gas stations in the country.
Particular attention is paid to the fact that the vignette should cover the entire period of the vehicle’s stay on the territory of the country. Upon leaving Romania, the driver of the vehicle shall provide a vignette valid at the time of the last checkpoint. If it is missing or expired, a toll is charged for use of the road network without a vignette, (paid on site) as well as a fine. Vignette fees can be verified HERE.
Drivers of vehicles should also pay attention to the validity of the vehicle’s technical inspection. The same is one calendar year from the date indicated in the technical check.
Under the current Romanian legislation, the Driver’s Driving License (ELV) may be revoked for any violation committed. The most common misconduct by drivers is over-speeding, unauthorized overtaking or intersection of a continuous axle line, failure to take advantage of pedestrians, passing a red signal to a traffic light.
With the abolition of the ELV, a “driving ban on the territory of Romania” is imposed for a period of 30 to 90 days, which enters into force after 15 calendar days from the date of the ELV withdrawal. Upon withdrawal of the ELV, the driver shall be issued a certificate, “proof”, describing when the ELV was taken and the driver may appeal against the penalty imposed within 15 days.
To get the ELVs back, the driver has the following options:
- To present a notarized declaration in Romanian language that he will not be driving on the territory of Romania for the period stipulated in the penal decree against which he / she receives back ELS. The declaration shall be submitted to the District Road Police Directorate on the territory of which the ELV (or the Road Police Brigade when the ELV was taken to Bucharest) was removed within 15 calendar days from the date of withdrawal. The statement is also attached to the statement.
- Appeal before the County Court (Judecatoria Judeteana) to abolish the ELV within 15 days. Against the incoming number of the appeal and the statement submitted to the District Road Police Directorate, in the territory of which the ELV is taken, it is returned to the driver.
- After the expiry of the 15-day period, ELVs are sent by the Regional Directorates of Road Police to the General Directorate for Road Police, from where they are forwarded to a consular service at the Embassy of the Republic of Bulgaria in Bucharest. The Embassy sends them to Bulgaria, where the driver receives the ELV from the Police Department where he was issued.
We note that driving during a temporary ban on driving is punishable by imprisonment.
Upon abolition of the ELV in the case of road traffic accidents and driving with expired transit numbers, the same remains with the Regional Police Directorate until a prosecutor has been pronounced on the case. Obtained personally by the driver, against a copy of the decision of the Prosecutor’s Office, when no criminal proceedings have been initiated.
Healthcare
Romanian citizens traveling and short-lived on Romanian territory should have a European Health Insurance Card. It covers emergency and urgent medical care.
According to the current legislation in Romania, there are only recommended vaccinations, but not mandatory. / The list of recommended vaccinations is published in Law 649 of 2001. – http://www.legex.ro/Legea-649-2001-27291.aspx
3. Travel and visa documents:
Bulgarian citizens can enter and stay on the territory of Romania visa-free for a period of 90 days within 6 months with a valid identity card or passport.
4. Consular services:
Certification and Legalization
The Consular Office of the Embassy can carry out certification of signatures and legalization of translations.
Signatures are signed on documents in Bulgarian language, which have to produce their action in Bulgaria. For this purpose, a citizen who wants to have his signature signed must appear personally at the Consulate with a valid ID and sign the consul. The same ID should appear in the credentials document.
If you need it, contact the Consular Office in advance at +40 21 3187978 to arrange a meeting with the Consul.
For documents related to dispositional real estate transactions (such as a power of attorney for sale of a dwelling), the content of the document is also authenticated. In this case, it is necessary to present two original copies of the document, one of which remains in the Consular Office archive.
The Consular Service legalizes translations from Romanian into Bulgarian and from Bulgarian into Romanian, made by translators authorized by the embassy. No personal meeting with the Consul is necessary. To check who the authorized translators are, please contact the Consulate at +40 21 3187978.
The Consular Service is not concerned with the cost of translation services. If necessary, the Consular Office may re-authenticate documents legalized by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the Republic of Bulgaria.
Bulgarian personal documents
At present, a consular post at the Embassy of the Republic of Bulgaria in Bucharest can be applied for only by issuing an identity card and a temporary passport.
Civil status
Birth certificate
It is compiled when the birth occurred on the territory of Romania and at least one of the parents is a Bulgarian citizen.
The Bulgarian birth certificate is based on a Romanian birth certificate.
An obligatory condition is that the birth has occurred in the same calendar year as the birth of the Bulgarian birth certificate.
Birth is declared in Consular Service by one or both parents. It is necessary to present valid identification documents to both parents. A certified copy of the birth certificate is to be issued to the parents, to be submitted in Bulgaria, in the municipality by the permanent address of the mother or, if she is not a Bulgarian citizen, to the father.
The service is free of charge. If the birth occurred in a previous year, the Consular Office may legalize the translation of the Romanian birth certificate into Bulgarian. This document was then presented to the municipality in Bulgaria.
- Marriage certificate
Civil marriage can be concluded at the Consular Office if at least one spouse is a Bulgarian citizen. It is a mandatory condition for a spouse who is not a Bulgarian citizen to submit documents that he can marry under the law of his state and that his state will recognize this marriage. The Bulgarian citizen must also present a document from the municipality at his permanent address that there are no obstacles to marry.
For marriage, a consular post must be filed at least 30 days in advance and a fee of EUR 10 is payable.
The details of the ceremony are specified with the consul, to which you can contact: +40 21 3187978.
- Death certificate
The Consular Office may issue an act of death to a Romanian citizen dying on the territory of Romania on the basis of a medical certificate of death issued by a competent Romanian authority or an extract of a death certificate issued by a Romanian civil status authority. A certified copy of the death certificate is issued to the persons concerned. The service is free of charge.
The consular service may also legalize the translation of a Romanian medical document for death or an extract from a Romanian act of death of a Bulgarian citizen.
5. Other information:
Rules for the carriage of goods by road
Right to remeasure / tow
If overweight and over-gauging are found, is the driver entitled to request a new towing / measuring of the vehicle?
- Re-counting and towing are only made on entry into Romania at the request of the carrier.
- On the territory of the country and on leaving the country, no remeasurement or withdrawal is performed.
- The cost of re-counting and withdrawing is € 50 for each transaction (Order No 245/2008 of the Romanian Minister of Transport)
Special permits for oversized loads
In the event of a congestion or oversized load of entry into Romania, what should the carrier pay for? What documents are issued?
Entry into Romania of vehicles carrying differentiated loads and exceeding the weight or gauge weights (according to Council of Ministers Decree No 43/1997, Annexes 2 and 3) is not allowed in Romania – the document is available on the Internet at http://cnadnr.ro/docs/pagini/oug-43-1997.pdf).
Transport of loads exceeding the permissible weight, axle weight and gauges can only be carried out on the basis of a special transport authorization (AST). The special residence permit is issued by the institution responsible for the relevant route (for Romania, in general – the National Road and Motorway Company – CNADNR).
According to Art. 41, para. 4 of the cited decree 43/1997
“(4) AST is issued for transport only with the following vehicles:
(a) vehicles carrying indivisible loads. “Indivisible load” means cargo which, for the purposes of road transport, can not be divided into two or more parts without incurring undue costs or risk of damage and which, by reason of its size and weight, can not be carried with a car, trailer or auto train complying with the standard maximum permissible weight and dimensions.
(b) unladen vehicles which are of a more structural weight or size;
All other cargoes that do not meet the above definitions are considered divisible.
In cases where entry into Romania establishes that the weight / dimensions of the vehicle or load exceed the maximum permissible for the respective route and the load is indivisible, proceed as follows:
- Additional rates apply for the use of the roads referred to in paragraphs 2, 3, 4 and 5 of Annex 1 to Order 245/2008 of the Minister of Transport. Tariffs can be verified
- A special transport authorization (AST) is required. The document is issued on site by employees of the Company for Roads and Motorways (CNADNR) for about 5 minutes.
- An invoice and a receipt for the value of AST are issued
- An additional document is issued to CNADNR, which contains data about the carrier (weight, dimensions, vehicle number) and goods carried, the fees paid, the permits issued, the starting point and the end point of the trip in Romania, the crossing point through which it passes. The document is issued on site by CNADNR employees for about 2 minutes.
The driver is required to keep the documents listed during his trip through Romania and submit them to the control authorities when requested.
The soonest in the site the CNADNR will publish a map of roads with a maximum allowable weight of 40 tonnes. The document (Order 355 / 04.05.2010) with the list of these roads was published on 14.05.2010 in the Official Gazette of Romania.
Fees and fines. payment and appeal procedures
In the event of a fine, the driver may pay it within 15 days of signing the infringement report. The driver is not required to pay the fine on the spot. It is, however, obliged to sign the protocol. The record of an offense can be attacked by administrative court before the regional court within 15 days from the date of its service (Article 31, paragraph 1 of Council of Ministers Decree No. 2/2001). The amount of the fines is defined in Art. 61 of Council of Ministers Decree 43/1997 http://cnadnr.ro/docs/pagini/oug-43-1997.pdf. and in Annex 2 to Council of Ministers Decree 15/2002
Overbook charges, gauge, etc., which are not fines (for which no minutes are drawn) are necessarily paid on site. They can be found HERE.
In the event that a departure from Romania or within the country is found to be carrying an indivisible load of dimensions or weight exceeding the limit or above AST, the driver shall be penalized with a fine and surcharges for:
(A) over-weight or gauge movement; In this case, AST is issued and the additional fees for the trip and the remaining time in the territory of Romania are recalculated
(B) movement with a weight or gauge exceeding those specified in the special permit. In this case, a new AST is issued and the additional fees for the trip and the remaining time in the territory of Romania are recalculated
For vehicles that cross Romania and have not been measured / towed on entry into the country for objective reasons (lack of installations, damaged installations, etc.), if they are transporting divisible goods, only a fine is imposed. No additional charges are payable.
If congestion / over-gauge is found in the case of transportable fares,
a. At entrance to Romania – motor vehicles are not allowed in the country. Re-counting or towing is allowed. If the overload / overstrips are confirmed, the vehicle is not allowed in Romania.
b. On exit from Romania, an infringement report is drawn up. After signing (including by the driver) and service of the record, the vehicle can continue its journey.
c. On the territory of Romania – the vehicle stops to tranship the goods on several vehicles or unload it. A report is drawn up for violations of the distance from the entrance border to the place where the congestion is detected.
In all cases during the stay, the driver is responsible for the vehicle and the load.
Payment of fees
Fees are paid in the following ways:
- cash, leu, euro or other convertible currency;
- by bank transfer, via POS terminals, at Giurgiu, Nadlak, Varsand, Borsch, Petya and Halmeu. It is necessary for the respective POS Terminal to recognize and accept the bank card. The transaction is carried out in lei (that is, it is possible for the bank to charge an additional fee for exchange of currency).
In the case of a bribe request, the driver must immediately alert the head of the relevant bureau and the Embassy of the Republic of Bulgaria. Late complaints are not considered.