Your rights and actions in case of difficulties and problems

Information regarding the procedures for action in the event of a crime or illegal act committed against Bulgarian and foreign citizens in Bulgaria

A Crime or an Illegal Act

IN CASE YOU HAVE SUFFERED A CRIME OR AN ILLEGAL ACT COMMITTED AGAINST YOU OR YOUR PROPERTY:

  •  A "Citizens’ reports" or "Police on-duty officer" member of staff will talk to you, in order to establish and clarify the facts and circumstances in regards to the claimed case of a crime or an illegal act committed against you or your property.
  •  In accordance with the established procedures for citizens’ report handling in the police station (under order 2263— 212/2016 of the chief of respective LocalPolice Station), the interview with you will be held in "Citizens’ reports" office, instead of the foyer of the police station.
  • Please, wait patiently. Do not knock at the door, you will be invited as soon as possible by a member of the staff of the "Citizens reports" office or the "Police on-duty officer ".
  •  During the interview, you will need to fill in a blank application form and a report will be taken (or a witness interrogation protocol will be produced), in order to have your statements registered and filed as witness material.
  • As regards the citizens who bring complaints/application forms written by themselves in advance: their complaints/application forms will be reviewed by the "Citizens’ reports" officer or the "Police on-duty officer" so as to check whether the documents contain the required minimum of information regarding the applicant and the case, afterwards the applicants sign personally the application form;
  • Based on the application form, the report or the witness interrogation protocol, an application material will be filed, which, based on the legislation in force, will be distributed to a police inspector, police operative or investigating police officer at the local police station.
  • For the filed witness material, you will receive a file number by the "Citizens’ reports" officer or the "Police on-duty officer".
  • To receive information on the name of the officer who is handling your case, you can contact the phone number, which will be provided to you by the „Citizens’ reports“ office, the „Police on- duty officer“, or by the Registry at therespective localPolice station (working days, between 8.30 a.m. and 7:30 p.m. — phone number: 02/9827453).
  • After the file check is completed, you will be notified of the result in writing by the head of the RU at your place of residence.

A Certificate Attesting an Established Crime or Illegal Act

IF YOU NEED A CERTIFICATE ATTESTING AN ESTABLISHED CRIME OR ILLEGAL ACT, COMMITED AGAINST YOU OR YOUR PROPERTY, YOU SHOULD:

  • Following the above mentioned order of filing witness material at the localPolice Station (by filling in an application form and a report), you need to state that you need a certificate issued for a crime or illegal act committed against you or your property;
  • The certificate is issued based on the filed application form and following payment of the calculated fee stated in Art.31b and Art.31c of Tariff 4 on the fees collected in the system of the Ministry of Interior in accordance with the State Fees Law;
  • The fee can be paid at a desk in the building of the respective local police station;
  • The certificate is issued within a period of 10 days after the date of its registration at the localPolice station.

Bulgarian Identity Documents Missing

IF YOU ARE A BULGARIAN CITIZEN AND YOU HAVE FOUND OUT THAT YOUR BULGARIAN IDENTITY DOCUMENTS ARE MISSING, YOU NEED TO:

  • Following the above mentioned order of filing witness material at the local Police Station (by filling in an application form and a report), you need to fill in a Declaration under Article 17, paragraph 1 of the Bulgarian Identity Documents Act, by which the status of your Bulgarian identity document, depending on its type (be it an identity card, a passport or a driving license) will be changed from "valid" to "invalid".
  • Stating that the Bulgarian identity document is missing in the application form and the report, is not by itself grounds for changing the status of your identity documents. The change of status is possible only after you fill in a Declaration under Article 17, paragraph 1 of the Bulgarian Identity Documents Act. The declaration can also be filled in by a person who is duly authorized to do so via a power of attorney;
  •  It is important to note that you must fill in the Declaration under Article 17, paragraph 1 of the Bulgarian Identity Documents Act within three (3) days from the date you find out that the document is missing.
  • If an identity document of a minor (aged under 16) is missing, the Declaration under Article 17 should be filled in by their parent;
  • If an identity document of underage persons (aged between 16 to 18) is missing, the Declaration under Article 17 should be filled in by the underage themselves in the presence of a parent or a legal guardian.

A Foreign Citizen with Missing Bulgarian Documents

IN CASE YOU ARE NOT A BULGARIAN CITIZEN BUT YOU HOLD A BULGARIAN IDENTITY DOCUMENT AND YOU HAVE ESTABLISHED THIS DOCUMENT MISSING, YOU NEED TO:

  • Following the above mentioned order of filing witness material at the localPolice Station (by filling in an application form and a report), state that you have established your Bulgarian identity document missing;
  • State that you need a certificate attesting that you have declared that a crime or illegal act has been committed against you or your property;
  • Fill in a Declaration under Article 17, paragraph 1 of the Bulgarian Identity Documents Act at the "Migration" Directorate, located at 48 “Knjaginja Maria Luisa” Bul. It is important to note that you need to fill in the Declaration under Article 17 within three (3) days from the date you have established the document missing;
  • After you receive the issued certificate, you can apply for a new Bulgarian identity document at the "Migration" Directorate.

A Foreign Citizen With a Missing National Identity Document

IN CASE YOU ARE NOT A BULGARIAN CITIZEN AND YOU HAVE ESTABLISHED THAT YOUR NATIONAL IDENTITY DOCUMENT IS MISSING, YOU NEED TO:

  • Following the above mentioned order of filing witness material at the localPolice Station (by filling in an application form and a report), state that you have established that your national identity document is missing by filling in an application form and a report (if you don´t speak and write in Bulgarian, you will be assigned an interpreter);
  •  State that you need a certificate to testify that you have stated that a crime or illegal act has been committed against you or your property;
  • Contact the diplomatic or consular representative of your country to the Republic of Bulgaria, so that they can issue a temporary identity document for you.

Documents lost under unclear circumstances

IF YOUR BULGARIAN PERSONAL DOCUMENTS ARE LOST OR ARE MISSING UNDER INCLEAR CIRCUMSTANCES, YOU NEED TO FILL IN ONLY A DECLARATION UNDER ARTICLE 17, PARAGRAPH 1 OF THE BULGARIAN IDENTITY DOCUMENTS ACT, IN ORDER TO HAVE THE DOCUMENTS DECLARED INVALID.

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