Admission Requirements for Bachelor’s Degree Programs for NON EU Students

Foreign students, who apply for study in Bulgarian higher education institutes, must have a document for completed secondary education, providing access to the higher education institutions in the country of graduating secondary education, or a document for completed higher education, or a higher education degree.

The minimum required grades of the school disciplines from the document for completed secondary education, which are forming the entrance grade for the chosen programme, should be no lower than 62 percent of the maximum value of the grading system in the country of acquired education.

Please follow the steps below to find the program.

Step 1: Please, make your registration here https://online.ibsedu.bg/?go=login&p=register&lang=en. 

Step 2:  After you made it you will see the field  “Student Recruitment Bachelor”on the page: 

Step 3: Please, click over it and you will see an application form where you need to fill in your Personal and Contact Information and below these on the same page you can select the program. 

=> On the same page, below Personal and Contact information you can select the program. Just click over the grey field of Program 1 and you will see a fall-down menu with all the programs. 

=> Choose from the fall-down menu

• BА Business Administration or
• BA Digital Marketing

1. Please send us the copy of the supplement thereof with the grades and the copy of the Diploma of secondary education.

Copy of the Diploma should be certified by a Notary Public and stamped by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the country where the documents were issued and by the Bulgarian Embassy or to have a stamp Apostille.

2. A certificate from the Regional Department of Education (RDE) in the city of residence or the Ministry of Education for recognized secondary education, certifying that the candidate is entitled to continue his/her education at the higher education institutions in the country where the secondary education was acquired (original). The documents should be translated in Bulgarian language and have a stamp of Apostille.  

3. A document for proficiency in the English language.

It has to be a copy without any additional stamps.

We can accept the following English language certificates:

• For studies in English language, students need to provide a valid certificate of a minimum B2 level of proficiency in English.
• Cambridge – grades from A to C, with no expiry date.
  Cambridge-FCE (First Certificate of English),
  Cambridge-CAE (Certificate Advanced in English) and
  CPE (Certificate Proficiency in English).
• TOEFL – scores of 80-100, validity for two years after the test date.
• IELTS level – grades from 6 to 9, validity for 3 years after the test date.
• TOEIC – scores of more than 600, validity for two years after the test date.
• Trinity College
• Integrated Skills in English (ISE), CEFR- Levels according to the Common European Framework of Reference for Languages: we recognize B2–C2, with no expiry date.
• ECCE – The Examination for the Certificate of Competency in English – Level B2 according to the Common European Framework of Reference for Languages, with no expiry date.

If you do not have such a certificate, you can sit an exam in English language at the University’s Foreign Language Department and receive a certificate. The Exam is provided online and it costs 50 euros. 

In case that English language is official in the Country of the Citizenship, then the Applicant does not need to provide an English language certificate or to certify it.

IMPORTANT: 

Translation and Legalization in Bulgaria – The documents referred to item 1 and item 2 should be translated into Bulgarian. The translation of the documents in Bulgarian language can be done here in Bulgaria, since the Ministry of Foreign Affairs has a list of the approved translation agencies located in Bulgaria and translations made from other agencies in other countries are not accepted. IBS has an official partner agency supporting the translation and validation of our students documents and the cost for such service is 200 euro.

If an applicant’s diploma for higher education is issued in a country, part of the Apostille Convention (Hague Treaty Convention 12), it does not need legalization and certification with the APOSTILLE stamp. It needs a translation to Bulgarian ONLY. Translation to Bulgarian should be made abroad or in Bulgaria.

When you are ready with your Documents, please continue with the application form in the e-IBS platform and upload them.  

If you need to upload any additional documents, after you completed your application form, please send them to: [email protected] 

In Bulgaria, the Government should recognize every Diploma for secondary Education. For the Foreign Students the University can do that in the regional department of Education. 

Duration: 20-30 days

After that we send the Documents to the Ministry of Education and Science in Bulgaria and if everything’s fine, they issue a Certificate for Admission. The University issues a Certificate for Admission too. Those two Documents we send to the Applicant for a Visa by e-mail (it is not needed to have originals).

When the Ministry of education in Bulgaria issues the certificate, the students need to go to the Bulgarian embassy and apply for their visa.

VISA Documents:

1. A completed visa application form
2. Certificate for Admission issued by Ministry of Education
3. Certificate for Admission issued by IBS
4. A full color photograph 3,5 cm х 4,5 cm against light-colored background (the same holds for a child entered in the passport) – a full-face photo with clear, large enough face which takes up 70-80% of the photo; eyes must be red; the following is ineligible: photos with dark glasses; non-professional photos or cut out of amateur photos
5. A photocopy of the first page of the foreign travel document
6. A photocopy of the last Bulgarian and Schengen visas or visas for the UK and the US, if any
7. A medical insurance valid for the EU member states for the whole period of the trip, covering all costs for repatriation and for urgent medical care and emergency hospital treatment for the period of the stay indicated in the visa. The insurance amount cannot be less than 30 thousand euro
8. A proof of accommodation – lease agreement issued by the your landward, or accommodation provider on Bulgaria.
9. Evidence of sufficient funds to support themselves while in Bulgaria. This should be provided in the form of a bank statement (equal to at least 6 minimum monthly Bulgarian salaries, approximately 3000-4000 euros).
10. Tickets (original and copy) or ticket booking conformation or financial means
11. Criminal background check – details of any immigration, criminal or civil offenses you might have committed
12. Paid visa fee

**Translation and Legalization in Bulgarian language – 200 euro

Semester Fees for Programs Taught in Bulgarian

Winter Semester

• One-time payment – upon enrollment in the semester – 1956 BGN / 1000 EUR
• Payment in installments:

– First installment – upon enrollment in the semester – 1037 BGN / 530 EUR

– Second installment – payment deadline: 30th November – 1037 BGN / 530 EUR

Summer Semester

• One-time payment – payment deadline: 31st January – 1956 BGN / 1000 EUR
• Payment in installments:

          – First installment – payment deadline: 31st January – 1037 BGN / 530 EUR

          – Second installment – payment deadline: 31st March – 1037 BGN / 530 EUR

Semester Fees for Programs thought in English

1. Bulgarian and EU citizens 

Winter Semester

• One-time payment – upon enrollment in the semester – 1500 EUR / 2934 BGN

Summer Semester

• One-time payment – payment deadline: 31st January – 1500 EUR / 2934 BGN

2. Non-EU citizens 

Winter Semester

• One-time payment – upon enrollment in the semester – 2100 EUR

Summer Semester

• One-time payment – payment deadline: 31st January – 2100 EUR

Individual Study Plan

• Enrollment in an additional course – 250 EUR / 489 BGN

Administrative Fees

• Application fee / competitive entrance exam fee for Bulgarian and EU citizens – 30 EUR.
• Academic recognition, through NACID, of a degree of higher education acquired abroad, with the aim of continuing studies at MVBU – 110 EUR.

Administrative fees are not refundable in case of refusal of the student or applicant from the service.

Tuition Fee Discounts

1. Students enrolled in full-time Bachelor’s programs who meet one of the following conditions:

– Persons with reduced working capacity (with TELK certificate of 75% or above)

– Orphans (full) up to 22 years of age

Receive a 50% discount on the semester fee for the entire duration of their studies

2. Family members studying at IBSB in any program, for all applicants from the EU and outside the EU (including Bulgarian citizens):

• 10% discount for the second and each subsequent family member (spouses, siblings, parents and children) who completed their education at VUZF no more than five years ago
• 25% discount for each second family member studying in the same academic year

3. One-time payment of the full annual tuition fee

• 10% discount on the total annual fee

4. Early Admission for Bachelor’s Programs

• 10% discount for all students who pay the semester tuition fee in full between January 2 and May 31, 2026
• For conditional admission contracts signed by applicants graduating high school in the current year:

        – Advance payment of 1000 BGN upon signing the contract

       – 10% discount on the total semester fee upon final enrollment

5. Corporate partners, private and non-governmental organizations with a signed agreement:

• 10% discount on the annual tuition fee for the first academic year, including for employees wishing to enroll in Bachelor’s, Master’s, or Doctoral programs

Each enrolled student or PhD candidate at IBSB has the right to use only one discount per academic year.

Payment Methods

• By bank card using a POS terminal – at IBS when submitting documents
• By bank transfer – The fee is deposited into the IBS bank account.

OBB – Office Botevgrad

IBAN: BG76UBBS81551089856718

SWIFT BIC: UBBSBGSF

Reference: …………… Name: …………… Personal ID: ……………

1. Is the Tuition fee paid at one time-payment or in instalments?

• It can be paid in max two instalments for one calendar year (one payment per 6 months).

2. How long does the procedure in Bulgaria takes?

• 2-3 months

3. Is the Health Insurance paid at the beginning of the application process?

• No, it is paid when the visa documents are prepared, as it expires in 1 year. The insurance must be valid only when the visa documents are submitted.

4. Can I pay higher fee for health insurance?

• Yes, you can, however no less than 30 000-euro coverage

5. Do I need to go to a language course, If I have an English Proficiency Certificate?

• If required English Certificate is available, no need of language course to be taken

6. If I do not possess an English Certificate, do I need to be physically in Bulgaria for the course?

• It can be taken online, when there is a group of at least 5 students enrolled for the course