As of September 1st, 2010, the student loans in Bulgaria are officially settled and there is no need of proving income or other warranty except the student status.
Who can apply for student loan?
Students in undergraduate and postgraduate programmes under the age of 35. They have to be citizens of an EU member state or part of the European Economic Zone (EU + Switzerland, Norway, Iceland and Lichtenstein). Their student status has to be uninterrupted (no years out, no second higher education for the same graduate level).
Banks authorized to lend student loans
At present, there are three banks in Bulgaria that have signed the contract with the Bulgarian Ministry of Education and are allowed to lend student loans:
• Bank DSK EAD
• Raiffeisenbank EAD
• Allianz Bank AD
How to apply for a student loan?
The students apply for loans directly at a chosen branch around Bulgaria of one of the two bank institutions. In order to apply for a student loan, a student has to prove his status with a document issued by the educational institution.
This document presents:
• Student details: name, birth date, programme of study, year of study, student faculty number
• Financial details: Tuition fee
• Date of graduation: the official date of the final exam for graduation of the student
This document is given to the student in the bank branch chosen and is filled in with all the details at the Student Affairs department.
How fast is the amount transferred by the bank?
Typically, it takes less than a week after presenting the needed documents by the student at the bank office.
It is important to know that students do not receive the money into their bank account but the bank transfers the tuition fee into the bank account of the educational institution.
In case, the student is in his first semester of study and has already paid their tuition fee to the educational institution, the bank refunds the amount to a bank account stated by the student.
This is proved by a payment receipt presented to the bank by the student, applying for loan.
Term and interest information
The annual interest rate is fixed into the agreement signed by the two bank institutions at 7%, which can not be exceeded and the borrower will not be involved in paying management fees and will not need a loan guarantee from parents and other parties.
Students decide on their own whether they apply for a loan for one semester tuition fee or more. In any case, the gratis period (non-payment term) lasts until one calendar year has passed after the date of the final graduation exam of the student.
For further information, please contact us!