BULGARIA | Emergency | General information
Emergency Services
Emergency phone number: 112
In Bulgaria you dial 112 to be connected to an Emergency Service. You are then asked which service you require:
- Ambulance
- Fire Brigade
- Police
This combined service was recently introduced in Bulgaria. Besides Bulgarian it will be possible to speak English or French when you call. You could also call directly each of the emergency services - the number is the same in all big cities:
- Ambulance 150
- Fire Brigade 160
- Police 166
- Road Police (KAT) 165
Please remember to give precise locations and addresses when calling the emergency service. Calls to this service are free of charge and are recorded.
The number for the Mountain Rescue service is 02 963 2000 or, if you are using the service of the MTel mobile provider, the number you can call is 14 70. Coastal Rescue service has a different number in each of the places where provided. For the exact number please check
- http://www.redcross.bg/activities_water_blue.htm
Medical emergencies
In Bulgaria doctors are called GPs (General Practitioners). First you have to make an appointment to visit them and they can refer you to a specialist in a certain area if needed. Normally EU citizens don't have to pay for health services provided, except for certain consumer taxes, if they have a document proving they have health insurance in their home countries (see EHIC details below). To receive healthcare services with your EHIC, you must use medical and dental care facilities which have agreements with the National Health Insurance Fund. The dental treatment in Bulgaria is not covered fully by the National Health Insurance Fund and you may be charged extra for this treatment. If you attend a specialist without a referral from a GP or another specialist, you will have to meet the cost of the care yourself. If you have had an accident you can go the Emergency unit of a hospital, but treatment can be slow and you might have to wait for hours. For more information please visit the website of Bulgarian National Health Insurance Fund:
- http://www.nhif.bg
It’s particularly advisable to check on this page the article called Медицинска помощ, оказвана в България на граждани на Европейския съюз (Medical Care Provided in Bulgaria to the Citizens of EU).
You should obtain a European Health Insurance Card (EHIC) from the health service in your own country and bring it with you. If you have to pay any costs up front, this document guarantees reimbursement of health care costs after your return home. For more information about EHIC please visit
- http://www.ehic.ie/othereu.htm
The European Health Insurance Card replaces the forms (E111 - holidays and E128 - study and employees posted to another country) that were used to authorize the treatment of the nationals of one Member State in another Member State of the EU.
You are strongly advised to check out the details before arrival in Bulgaria. There are also several companies which offer private insurance to cover personal accident, personal liability, repatriation and serious illness cover. It is recommended that the trainee is adequately insured prior to departure.
Important Documents
You should photocopy the relevant pages of your passport in case of loss or theft and should note the contact number of the relevant embassy/consulate in Sofia. Loss of credit cards should be reported immediately to the hotline of the appropriate bank.