Hi everyone .......... After several false starts due to vehicle failure we eventually departed UK via Eurotunnel
towing our old caravan through 7 countries before crossing the new bridge from Calafat to Vidin and onwards to Borislav
near Pleven. We arrived at our home on the last day of July and so have been here for a fairly eventful fortnight!
Just got back online this evening ( wonderful ) and have been busy opening bank accounts etc and doing things around the
house. Will have plenty of questions I expect during the coming weeks !! Glad to see Mr &
Mrs Eq settling in so quickly ..... gives
us hope :LMHO:Glad to be back in touch and of course to be in BG at last ! David and Brenda

BGBound wrote:

Hi everyone .......... After several false starts due to vehicle failure we eventually departed UK via Eurotunnel
towing our old caravan through 7 countries before crossing the new bridge from Calafat to Vidin and onwards to Borislav
near Pleven. We arrived at our home on the last day of July and so have been here for a fairly eventful fortnight!
Just got back online this evening ( wonderful ) and have been busy opening bank accounts etc and doing things around the
house. Will have plenty of questions I expect during the coming weeks !! Glad to see Mr &
Mrs Eq settling in so quickly ..... gives
us hope :LMHO:Glad to be back in touch and of course to be in BG at last ! David and Brenda

Sincere congratulations to you both in arriving in BG safely. There is a lot to do when you get here, but I am sure will get all the info and help you require through this forum.

:Welcome3:and happy living in Bulgaria.

::

to bulgaria and your new adventure, get past the red tape and life here is wonderful.

Hi and welcome from us too. I so understand how awful it is to be without proper computer access, especially when you need to know so much about your new life. But we are all here if you need to know anything. The last two and a half months have flown for us and we feel we have been here ages. So much to do.....

Sara and Dave

and

Well done!

It all takes time to settle in, but don't overdo it in this heat.

:Welcome3:we are all here if you need a little help just ask

Enjoy

Welcome to your new home

Welcome to you both so gld you mde it safe and sound. We only arrived ourselves a little while befor you and as you say there is lots to organise but please do keep us up to date on how things are going and most of all relaxand enjoy yourselves and if possible we hope to see you both at the Silistra Garden Party on Sat 14th Sept.

Oddy

Thank you everyone for your kind greetings and good wishes. This is what makes our forum the best ever !!
There does seem to be a lot to do initially but we are taking it one step at a time.
Our S1 forms seem to have disappeared within the BG postal system . . so can anyone recommend a short term private
healthcare insurance until this is resolved?
Also we are about to apply for our Lichna Carta 's . . . . what is required when we do ? Over to you Mr &
Mrs Eq !!
David and Brenda

Hi David and Brenda

When we applied for our Lichna Karta we had to go to Veliko Tarnovo as our village where we live is in the municipality of Veliko Tarnovo.

We arranged for a translator to come with us which was fortunate for when we brought our house we only opened up a Bulgarian bank account in our name although the deeds for our house is in both our names. Therefore we had to go to a notary office to then both sign a declaration to confirm that I would support my wife as she had no Bulgarian bank account.
After returning to the office for applying for our Lichna Karta our translator filled in the relevant forms. We took the deeds of our house, passports (you will need two photocopies of each one for the application form), EHIC cards (although of no use in BG once a resident), bank account details and a document signed by your Bulgarian bank stating the amount of funds in your account - 4000 lev was in ours). We then had to go to another desk to pay 11 lev for each application to then return back to the desk where we got the forms to them submit them. Two days later we went back on our own without the translator to collect our LK's (the white card version). This card does will not have your 10 digit identification number on it which was required for when we arranged for our car the be registered in BG. Although some other forum members had indicated they also received a piece of paper with their ID number we did not.

When we collected the white card we then applied for a photo ID Lichna Karta (22 lev each application). after duly getting the relevant application form we signed, dated it and then went to pay for the application at another desk to then return to the application desk to pay and then have our mugshot taken. We collected this second card two weeks later and this card has your 10 digit identification number on it along with your photo. We have been told this card saves you having to take your passport everywhere with you as proof of ID, although at the moment we still do take ours with us.

Both our Lichna Karta's are valid to the expiry date of our EHIC cards.

I am glad that due to the heat I had my hair cut short, for one thing I have learnt in the short time living here in BG is that you need patience as when getting some things done here it take longer (in some instances) and the amount of paper work/bureaucracy involved makes you want to pull your hair out. It is one of the things I am having trouble coming to terms living with here in BG is to slow down after having such a hectic lifestyle in the UK and getting my head round that not everything needs to be done today, but I am getting there.

Good luck and hope things go smoothly for you when applying for your LK's.

Dave

Guys we are all happy to help when we can. Yes indeed we do have a well controlled and happy forum thanks to our Admin and Mods and our lovely members. Please continue to ask questions as and when you need.

Oddy. ::

Thanks Dave and Sarah for your detailed Lichna Karta experience , most helpful. We haven't got a Ehic card as ours
expired some time ago and we didn't renew. I'm hoping a private insurance plan will suffice.

I used private medical insurance whilst waiting to get on the Bulgarian system..they were quite happy with that. Not being from an EU state, I had to wait almost six years to apply for the permanent LK..at 500 plus leva every year and all the paperwork, fees etc!