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Sat, Feb 11 2012
Up to 300 leva fine for not carrying an ID
Photo: Anelia Nikolova
Fines levied for failing to present ID documents to police when demanded could increase to 300 leva, Oleg Bankin, head of Security Police told Bulgarian news agency BTA on August 16 2009.
Bankin said every police officer had the right to ask people for their ID documents. If people fail to present these, they could be fined and taken to the nearest police station for further questioning, where they could be asked to provide fingerprints.
A common excuse offered people who did not have their ID documents on them was a fear of pickpockets. This, however, would no longer be accepted as an excuse, Bankin said.
An international passport or driver's licence was a valid substitute for the ID document, known in Bulgarian as Lichna Karta, Bankin said.
The fine for losing or destroying one's documents was up to 150 leva, he said. Bankin asked people not to invent stories of robbery to police in order to avoid the fine when, in reality, they had lost their documents.
Bankin said every police officer had the right to ask people for their ID documents. If people fail to present these, they could be fined and taken to the nearest police station for further questioning, where they could be asked to provide fingerprints.
A common excuse offered people who did not have their ID documents on them was a fear of pickpockets. This, however, would no longer be accepted as an excuse, Bankin said.
An international passport or driver's licence was a valid substitute for the ID document, known in Bulgarian as Lichna Karta, Bankin said.
The fine for losing or destroying one's documents was up to 150 leva, he said. Bankin asked people not to invent stories of robbery to police in order to avoid the fine when, in reality, they had lost their documents.
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The Sofia Echo
BEING BRITISH I AM A MR NOBODY. I COME, I GO, I STAY, I DONT STAY,NO BODY KNOWS WHERE I AM. MY COVERMENT ARE NOT INTERESTED.I MAY BE HERE, I MAY BE THERE.THATS HOW I LIKE IT. ITS CALLED FREEDOM.
The most backwards, police state I've ever seen in my life. They will take money from you anyway they can and most police will just pocket the money anyway.
vv "this law is racist!"
How?
this law is racist!
Jordan, you are the Bay Gano, here people are talking about lichna carta but not about shoferska knizshka.
I would rather carry and produce them rather than have to make a seperate journey to the Police Station as in the UK when given a producer, and when your stopped in the UK we live in such a big brother survellence society they already have the information stored on databases so where is the privacy problem?
Incredible! To be fined and, even worse, to be taken to a police station because you have forgotten your identity card! I don't believe such a regime exists in any other EU country! In fact, in Britain there are no identity carts at all. The majority of the British people are always against the introduction of identity cards because they seem them as a violation of human dignity and a characteristic of a police state. But to fine and arrest people because they have forgotten their identity cards is really both incredible and anachronistic. I thought Bulgaria has become a [...]
Read the full comment democratic country and a member of the EU. It's about time to get rid of such anachronistic laws.
The current "photocard" UK driving licence is - in my personal experience - accepted everywhere in Central / Eastern Europe as the equivalent of an ID card / Lichna Karta. It is preferable to use this instead of one's UK passport as it is a great deal easier to replace it if lost. (It is also relatively easy in the UK to get a duplicate photo ID driving licence without too much bother, whereas with a passport this is frankly impossible.)
Having lived outside the UK for more than 10 yrs now (6yrs Non E.U.) i carry my pasport everywhere i go, as a matter of fact really.So i dont see this as a problem at all.
There I was thinking that the era of the Police State had passed. I can see the point of carrying a drivers licence when driving a car but to carry an ID card on a daily basis is just a little regressive. In any case the current ID card issued to 'foreigners' is worse than useless in terms of identification.
I read this article with interest. As a Brit living in BG for 4 years and seeing Police powers being re-enforced is good news for all. Nobody is above the Law and people who think they are - should find out they are not.
Can foreigners who are resident in BG have a liychna karta ?
Yet again the police state, at least in the UK we are given time to produce them .
What kind of a bulshit excuse is that. Fear of pickpockets. Everyone should carry an ID with them when driving a car. Only in Bulgaria would that happen.