Study Medicine in Bulgaria: Entry Requirements

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In short. Yes, at Sofia and Plovdiv you take an entrance exam.

• Both test biology and chemistry. Both score you out of 42.
• Plovdiv also needs biology and chemistry to average at least 62% of your country's top mark.
• Below: grades, English, documents, dates and costs, from the 2026/27 rules.

MBBS in Bulgaria: is there really no entrance exam?

Not at Sofia or Plovdiv. Both set an exam for direct entry (2026/27 rules).

• Medical University Sofia: English, biology and chemistry. You must pass all three.
• Medical University of Plovdiv: biology, then chemistry. There is an English test only if you have no accepted certificate.

Both exams were online in 2026. Dentistry and pharmacy applicants take the same exams. Medical University Sofia is not Sofia University: they are two different universities.

Plovdiv also runs a one-year preparatory course. It has its own exams, so it is not a way to skip study. See the preparatory year below.

MBBS is what some countries call a medicine degree. This guide covers Sofia and Plovdiv. Our guides to Pleven and Varna are not ready yet.

What grades do you need?

At Plovdiv, your school grades must pass one rule:

• Biology and chemistry must both be in your school diploma.
• Their average must be at least 62% of the top mark in your country.
• Plovdiv's guide says elective biology or chemistry marks do not count.

Your grades are not added to your exam score. They only need to pass this rule.

What counts as "elective"? Plovdiv's guide does not say. It does not mention A-levels or the IB either. So if you took biology and chemistry as A-levels or IB subjects, do not guess. Email your grades to entry_tests@mu-plovdiv.bg and ask two things:

• Do my biology and chemistry marks count, or are they elective?
• How does the 62% rule apply to my grades?

Our Plovdiv guide has an email we wrote for you, with these questions.

At Sofia, the admissions page states no minimum grade. That does not mean there is none, so ask Sofia before you apply. You also need a NACID certificate. It shows your grades on the Bulgarian scale.

What English level do you need?

At Sofia, everyone takes the English part of the exam. It counts once in your score. If you fail it, you fail the whole exam. Sofia's page names no certificate that lets you skip it.

At Plovdiv, you have two ways to prove your English:

• Show an accepted certificate. These include IELTS Academic, TOEFL iBT, Cambridge FCE, CAE or CPE, PTE Academic, MET and Trinity ISE. Schooling in English, or an IB in English, also counts.
• No accepted certificate? Take Plovdiv's 45-minute English test on exam day. It has 10 reading questions and 30 grammar and word questions.

Plovdiv's Admission Guide asks for level B1 (intermediate English). Its FAQ says B2 (upper-intermediate). Ask the university which one applies to you: entry_tests@mu-plovdiv.bg.

If you show a certificate, the guide does not say which English mark goes into your score. Ask about that too.

Which documents do you need?

The chart shows each school's documents and how to hand them in (2026). Four things it does not show:

• Apostille or legalisation depends on your country. Countries in the Hague Apostille Convention use an apostille. In other countries, your Ministry of Education, your Ministry of Foreign Affairs and the Bulgarian embassy each stamp it.
• Who translates. At Plovdiv, the translator is an embassy or consulate official, or an agency approved by Bulgaria's foreign ministry.
• Someone can hand them in for you. They need a power of attorney: a stamped letter that lets them act for you. Plovdiv wants all stamps as originals. It accepts no documents after its deadline.
• Sofia's "proof you may go on to higher education". Sofia does not say what this is for each country. Ask Sofia.

Plovdiv's FAQ sets no age limit: you need a valid secondary school diploma. Sofia's page states no rule on which subjects must be on it, so ask Sofia.

Extra steps if you are from outside the EU and EEA

At Plovdiv, the university lists these steps:

1. The university checks your file, including your NACID certificate.
2. If all is in order, it sends your file to Bulgaria's Ministry of Education and Science.
3. The ministry approves it. The guide says the ministry's certificate comes within a month.
4. You collect that certificate from the Office of Admissions. You need it for your visa.
5. You apply for a type D visa at a Bulgarian consulate. This is a long-stay study visa.

At Sofia, applicants from outside the EU, the EEA and Switzerland also need a type D visa. In 2026 the non-EU exam date was 9 September.

Start early. The ministry step alone can take up to a month.

Applying from the UK

The UK is not in the EU or the EEA (the EU plus Iceland, Liechtenstein and Norway). Plovdiv's guide puts citizens of such countries in their own group. So you most likely follow the extra steps above. Confirm your group with each university.

Which papers count as your diploma? Neither university says which UK certificates count: A-levels, GCSEs or both. Ask each one before you order stamps.

The apostille. For how to get one in the UK, see Get your document legalised (GOV.UK).

The NACID check. Neither university gives a processing time for it. Ask each university when it needs the NACID certificate. For NACID's own times, check its website or ask NACID.

Your deadlines, worked back from the 2026 dates:

1. Now: ask each university which certificates count. Send Plovdiv the email we wrote for you.
2. Before results day: get apostilles and translations for the papers you already hold.
3. Sofia: documents closed on 31 August, in person. If your final results arrive in August, ask Sofia if you can still hand in on time.
4. Plovdiv: documents closed on 11 September. If your final results come out close to that date, ask Plovdiv how and when to send them.
5. Then: allow up to a month for Plovdiv's ministry certificate, and apply for your type D visa.

For parents: Sofia's in-person deadline is the earliest. Do not plan on it until Sofia confirms the timing.

The 2026 deadlines

At Plovdiv, registration closed about a week before each date: 8 April for 15 April, and 30 August for the 4 September re-sit date. At Sofia, the 2026/27 academic year starts on 19 October 2026.

The 2027/28 dates and fees are not published yet. In 2026, Plovdiv had a date about every month from April, plus a re-sit date in September. Plovdiv does not say if first-time applicants may book that re-sit date. Sofia's page listed one date per group, in early to mid September.

What it costs

Cost	Sofia	Plovdiv
Each exam try	€265: documents €55, exam €210 (2026/27)	€300, or €400 on 4 Sep (2026)
Refunds	Exam fee not refunded (2026/27)	€270 back if you cancel in time. €30 never (2026/27 guide)
On admission	Not stated	€2,000, counts toward tuition (2026/27 guide)
Medicine, a year	€9,950 (2026/27)	€10,000 (2025/26)
Preparatory year	€4,800 (2026/27)	€4,000 (2025/26)

At Plovdiv, "in time" means during the registration period. Plovdiv's fees for tuition and the preparatory year come from its 2025/26 fee sheet, the latest published. Sofia also sells a training manual for €15.34 (2026/27).

For parents: the fees come from different years, so we do not add them up. Translation, apostille and NACID costs depend on your country. Plovdiv's €2,000 is part of the tuition, and it is not refunded if your child quits. Sofia listed one date per group in 2026 and states no retake rule, so plan for one try.

Not ready yet? The preparatory year

Both schools list a preparatory year.

At Plovdiv (2026/27, from its FAQ):

• It lasts one year, in two semesters.
• You study English, biology, chemistry, physics and Latin.
• Classes run from 1 October 2026 to 15 July 2027.
• Non-EU applicants had to enrol by 11 September 2026. EU applicants had until the end of September.
• Pass all its exams and show your certificate. Then you go straight into the programme you put first. This rule has applied since 2024/25.

At Sofia, the preparatory year in English costs €4,800 (2026/27).

Will the degree be recognised?

Plovdiv's own FAQ says its diploma has been recognised in all EU and EEA states since 2007. That is the university's own claim. For Medical University Sofia, ask the university.

Outside the EU and EEA, check with your own country's medical regulator before you commit. UK readers: see the General Medical Council's guide to medical degrees from abroad.

Your next step

1. Check the grade and English rules above for your school.
2. Start your documents early. Each step takes time.
3. Read our free Sofia guide and Plovdiv guide for the exam itself.
4. Compare the two schools in one table.

Sofia facts checked against its admissions page on 27 August and 5 September 2026. Its Visa D notice was read on 5 October 2026. Plovdiv facts checked against its own documents between 27 August and 5 October 2026.