As of 16 February 2019 new rules apply regarding the simplifying of the requirements for presenting certain public documents in the European Union, adopted through Regulation 2016/1191 of the European Parliament and of the Council. The main purpose is to encourage the free movement of people in the Union through simplifying the administrative formalities and lowering the existing expenses for the citizens.
Pursuant to the new rules, public documents issued in one EU Member state should be accepted as authentic by the authorities in another Member state without the need to obtain an authenticity stamp (Apostille). Public documents, falling within the scope of the new rules, regulate particularly the civil status, for example birth, death, marriage, divorce, parenthood, adoption, but also domicile or residence and the absence of a criminal record.
The obligation for citizens to provide in all cases a certified copy and translation of their public documents is abolished. For this purpose it is provided that multilingual standard forms shall be issued, which shall be attached to the public documents as translation aid. In Bulgaria multilingual standard forms could be issued for public documents, certifying birth, death, marriage, marriage capacity, marital status, domicile or residence and absence of a criminal record.
The new rules are only applicable to the official documents explicitly mentioned in the regulation. For the other documents, including those concerning the status of the legal entities - excerpts from relevant registers, company documents, as well as powers of attorney - certification and Apostille shall be still required. It is planned that by the beginning of 2021 the European Commission should prepare a report which shall assess the appropriateness of extension of the scope of the rules, in order to include public documents, relating to the legal entities, as well as diplomas, certificates and other evidence of formal qualification.
