Call 112 in case of emergency
If you are travelling to Bulgaria from anywhere in Europe short-term, less than 90 days, you can use an EHIC (European Health Insurance) card. You apply for this card in your home country from your health service and this allows you to have access to the healthcare services in the country you are travelling to.
You should remember that things that are free in your home country may not be free in Bulgaria and this card will only give you access to the emergency treatments that are free to Bulgarian citizens. You should also not use the EHIC card as a substitute for travel insurance as it will not cover any emergency transport home or other types of costs.
If you are an expat moving to Bulgaria long-term then you will need to register with the Bulgarian health system. When applying for your residence card in Bulgaria you will be asked for an EHIC card but this is not a long term option. As soon as you are a Bulgarian resident you must register and pay for the health service to be covered. You should also consider arranging private health insurance.
If you are working in Bulgaria your employer should pay this for you. If you are starting a business then your accountant will help you manage the payments however if you are not working or covered by retirement, you must pay the monthly minimum health insurance premium yourself to be covered.
There are many cases where people fail to realise that this is needed and trust that they will be covered by an EHIC card or by their own National Health Service but this is not the case. If you do not pay your health insurance, you are not covered and you will end up receiving large hospital bills if you are ever in the unfortunate situation of needing medical care in Bulgaria.
You should also remember that as an expat you are no longer entitled to healthcare in your home country. If you are not paying health insurance there you are not covered there. There are some exceptions but these would be people who have applied under specific circumstances.
To register for the Bulgarian national health system you will need to go to your local National Revenue Agency (also known as NAP) to complete your paperwork. You can find the NAP locations here.
Once you are registered you will be asked to present your Bulgarian residency card each time you visit your Doctor and when going to specialist doctors you will need a letter (or online referal) from your GP to obtain a free consultation or treatment. Of course, this doesn’t apply to private clinics where you would need to pay regardless.
You can search for doctors and make appointments through the app Superdoc.bg
When you arrive in Bulgaria you should also learn where your nearest emergency hospital is.