Bulgaria Opens a Consulate in Barcelona

The Council of Ministers has made a decision to open a consulate of the Republic of Bulgaria in the Kingdom of Spain, headed by a consul, with a seat in the city of Barcelona and a consular district covering the territory of the autonomous communities of Catalonia and Aragon, said the government press office.

According to data from the National Statistical Institute of Spain, as of 2018, 125,244 Bulgarians are permanent residents in the country. Of these, 11,229 people, or 9% of the entire Bulgarian diaspora in Spain, are in Catalonia. This makes the region the third largest recipient of Bulgarians in the kingdom after Madrid and the autonomous community of Valencia.

The consulate in Barcelona will be opened as a result of an internal analysis of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and the efforts of the government to improve the service for Bulgarian citizens abroad. The consulate will provide easier and quicker access to consular services such as filing applications for Bulgarian identity documents, notarial attestations of powers of attorney or obtaining civil status documents. At present, Bulgarians living in Catalonia and Aragon have to travel to Valencia or Madrid for consular services.