# Overstayed Bulgaria/Married/UK resident/NZ citizen



## vickymary (Jan 7, 2017)

I married a Bulgarian in England a few years ago, and I received a Residence Card for the UK. for the past 6 months I have been living in Bulgaria, with an extension on my visa issued in order to get an apostille stamp on the UK marriage certificate in order to legalize it here.

Every time I head to the passport office, I receive a different account on what the situation is. Recently we took an appointment with the big boss, who relieved all fears by saying that the residence card allows me to be treated as a UK (citizen..? which is not true, a resident), but anyway, with a few documents legalized I could be someone who can live and work freely throughout Europe/Bulgaria, no worries. 
However, the extension on my visa ran out a few days ago, and my marriage documents have yet to come back.
So I rocked up to the passport office, to now be told "you must leave the country, it is likely you will encounter a fine, it does not matter that you a married to a Bulgarian, you must apply for a type D visa, this must happen outside of Bulgaria anyway, so there is no reason for you to be here, and even if there was, there is no way to extend your visa again". With some sweet talking from my partner, she confessed to say that if I was to exit the country for just 10 minutes, lets say to Serbia or Greece, and reenter, my 90 days in 180 will be reset (now.. this is not right). But perhaps due to the fact I have had an extension of 90 days, I have been informed that the clock starts from the first day ever of entry. 
To be told this from an official... we want to try... But perhaps it is not the case. We cross the border, we are fined, I am not allowed to reenter and I am stuck in Serbia.
The weather lately has been horrible, so we can argue this point for not making it on time, but it is a scary situation to be stranded in this snow and cold. 

So I am 2 days overstayed, I am married, we are in the process of obtaining legalized documentation however have no real proof of that, I have a UK residence card. I don't know what to do right now.

Thanks for deciphering my fearful ramble, hopefully someone can enlighten me with something. We have contacted several lawyers, although its Saturday and have resigned to not hear back until Monday, every day increasing the risk of some problems.


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## Bevdeforges (Nov 16, 2007)

OK - as a UK resident, you don't have any particular "right" to live in Bulgaria (unless you're an EU national, which I take it you are not). And, even within the EU, the fact that you are married to a Bulgarian national means that Bulgarian immigration laws come into play if you want to live with your spouse in Bulgaria.

Is your UK residence card still valid? Because you'd do best to try and get back to the UK if it is. You would be able to apply for a spouse visa for Bulgaria from the UK (because you're "resident" there). 

Like you say, though, exiting Bulgaria for "even 10 minutes¨ isn't going to help in your case. (Bulgaria isn't part of Schengen is it?)
Cheers,
Bev


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## vickymary (Jan 7, 2017)

Yes, my residence card is valid, perhaps its best to try figure out in the UK, by driving to Greece and flying from there, as i think border patrols for cars are a little less strict than by plane.

I have not heard of a spouse visa, all i have been offered is type D, or like i tried to explain, as a UK resident who is living in Europe. (I'm not sure your point on this).


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## vickymary (Jan 7, 2017)

Ok i took another read and i get you, just thrown off with the """"s,
No... BG not yet in schengen, its still quite corrupted and bribes are frequently in play, perhaps a reason why its yet to be accepted.
Perhaps to my advantage this.


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## Crawford (Jan 23, 2011)

Keep in mind that your UK residence card is dependent on your EU partner exercising treaty rights by he/she working in the UK as a qualified person.

If the EU partner is not living/working in the UK then you might have issues when trying to enter the UK (especially if your spouse is not with you) as anything other than a visitor.


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