New Rules to Acquire Residency in Bulgaria

For foreigners-pensioners, Bulgaria provides the easiest basis for obtaining a residency permit, without requiring any family or economic ties with the country, or prior coordination with the Ministries. Permission for long-term residence in the country can be obtained by any foreigner – pensioner who has sufficient means of subsistence in the country. 

Necessary documents:

1. a copy of a passport or a document substituting it with the pages of the photo, the personal data, a visa (when required) and the stamp for the last entry into the country; to verify the authenticity of the copy, the original of the passport or the document substituting it shall also be presented;
2. a document for paid state fee, when the payment is not made electronically;
3. proof for provided housing;
4. compulsory medical insurance, valid on the territory of the Republic of Bulgaria, when the person is not insured under the Health Insurance Act;
5. evidence of stable, regular, predictable and sufficient means of subsistence, without resorting to the social assistance system, in an amount not less than the minimum monthly salary or the minimum pension for the country, for the period of residence on the territory of the Republic of Bulgaria;
6. a certificate of criminal record, issued by the state of which the foreigner is a citizen, or by the state of his habitual residence – upon initial submission of the application.
7. a document issued by the competent authorities of the respective state, certifying that he has received the right to a pension;
8. a document issued by a bank on the territory of the Republic of Bulgaria, certifying that there is a cash account on which the respective transfers from the pension will be received.

Taxes:
for the requested service – 10 leva.

upon provision

• up to 6 months – 200 leva
• up to 1 year – 500 leva

Keep in mind there will be other taxes as well, such as taxes for bank statements, notary services, translator, etc.

The deadline for submission of the needed documents is no later than 14 days before the expiration of the permitted period of residence (for those who do not need a visa) or the period of the issued visa type “D”. The deadline for consideration is up to 14 days from the date of submission. In case of legal and factual complexity and the need to submit additional documents, this period may be extended by one month.

There are other changes to the rules to acquire a residency in Bulgaria but they will be covered in future publications.

For more information and to download the Application for granting the right to long-term residence of a foreigner in the Republic of Bulgaria visit the Migration department of the Ministry of the Interiors’ website.