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With amendments to the Civil Aviation Act (promulgated in State Gazette No. 87/17.10.2025), the operation of unmanned aerial vehicles without authorisation was prohibited in:

1. the geographic zones of unmanned aircraft systems where their operation is restricted or prohibited;
2. controlled airspace structures;
3. the secured perimeters of public-use airports.

In case of infringement of this prohibition, the unmanned aerial vehicle shall be forced to land, or coercive measures shall be applied for its removal.

It is noteworthy that any damages resulting from the forced landing or removal shall be borne by the infringer.

The amendments became effective as of 21 October 2025.

The conditions and procedures for forced landing and for applying coercive measures for removal of drones shall be determined by a regulation of the Council of Ministers.

As of 31 January 2026, criminal liability shall also be introduced for any person who operates an unmanned aerial vehicle in breach of the established procedure and thereby endangers the safety of an aircraft in flight. The envisaged penalty is imprisonment for a term of three to ten years.

 

This publication is provided for informational purposes only and does not constitute legal advice. For any enquiries or questions regarding this matter, please feel free to contact me at office@thlegal.eu.

 

As of 00.00 a.m. on 18 March 2020, persons arriving from China, Iran, Bangladesh, India, the Maldives, Nepal, Sri Lanka, Spain, Italy, South Korea, North Korea, the UK, France, Germany, the Netherlands and Switzerland are prohibited from entering the territory of Bulgaria. This does not apply for: Bulgarian nationals, the members of their families, persons granted permanent and long-term residence in the Republic of Bulgaria and the members of their families.
The prohibition was imposed with Order No. РД-01-127/16 March 2020 of the Minister of Health of the Republic of Bulgaria and shall remain in force until its explicit cancellation.

In addition, all Bulgarian nationals, all persons granted permanent, long-term or continuous residence in Bulgaria and the members of their families, arriving from the mentioned countries shall remain in mandatory 14-day quarantine after their arrival. Some exceptions are provided in regard to international transport services. The measure was imposed with Order of the Minister of Health РД-01-130/17 March 2020

The entry in (passing through) the territory of Bulgaria of heavy-duty vehicles arriving from Iran was prohibited with Order No. РД-01-133/18.03.2020 г. of the Minister of Health.

The aforementioned orders of the Minister of Health are available here http://www.mh.government.bg/bg/normativni-aktove/zapovedi-pravilnitsi-instruktsii/

We recommend you to follow the website of the Ministry of Health and the official websites of Bulgarian institutions for full and up-to-date information on the measures implemented in Bulgaria against Covid-19.

This publication does not represent legal advice!

Owing to the outbreak of Covid-19, Bulgaria declared state of emergency for the period 13 March – 13 May 2020.

For compliance with sanitary and preventive measures advised by national health authorities, during the state of emergency, all meetings in the office are suspended and new meetings will not be organised.

Despite this, I remain available to assist you with legal matters.

Please address your queries to me via e-mail: office@thlegal.eu or over the phone at +35929924067.