Bulgarian Residence for non-Europeans

What We Offer

It is one of our Law Firm’s priorities to assist potential assignors of ours who are not nationals of an EU member-state in their effort to obtain a Bulgarian residence permit via the purchase of a real estate property in this certain country of Northeastern Europe.

However and before elaborating further with regards to the aforementioned procedure, better establish first the process of obtaining a D-type visa which works in the below detailed ways:

1) The long-term residence visa which is of six-month duration and which fundamentally allows for a residence of up to 180 days within the sovereign soil of Bulgaria
2) The long-term residence visa which is of twelve-month duration and which fundamentally allows for a residence of up to 360 days; this is considered to be the easiest to deploy residence status for people who wish to conduct scientific research such as students, professors, scholars of any sort, even foreign nationals who are involved in the performance of specific tasks as described in a tourist services contract, or in projects which abide and comply to the Investment Promotion Act of the Bulgarian State

Our Services

The documentation which is considered necessary for both of the aforementioned procedures reads as follows:

1) Evidence of national insurance, or of similar status type within the applicant’s country of residence (local national insurance office is the eligible one for the issuance of such an official certificate)

2) Evidence of an insurance policy worth of 30.000, 00€ which is to be issued by a respective legal entity, i.e. an insurance company, eligible to operate as such within the premises of any member-state of the EU. It is of critical importance that the said insurance policy shall be able to cover all relevant expenses in case of an urgent medical incident during the time-period as described in the visa itself.

3) Evidence of income able to support both the housing and living conditions of the applicant in Bulgaria

In terms of the so-called Long-term Stay Permit this is to be granted only to foreign nationals who after having obtained a D-type visa also meet at least one of the below set of criteria:

a. They wish to get employed by way of a Contract of Employment, thus they are also in need of certain certificate issued by the eligible Ministry of Labor and Social Policy;

b. They were to engage in such entrepreneurial activities thanks to which at least ten new vacancies have already been created, unless an international treaty has provided differently and has already been validly under way in Bulgaria

c. They have been accepted by recognized academic institutions within the sovereign state of Bulgaria but only for full-time studies

d. They have been undoubtedly perceived as experts according to an international treaty already validated as such by the official state of Bulgaria

e. Their spouse is a foreign national who has already been granted with the status of permanent resident, otherwise there are necessary and enough grounds to substantiate the issuance of a permanent residence status

f. They happen to be parents of an already acclaimed permanent resident in Bulgaria, be him/ her foreign national or Bulgarian national

g. For some reason they happen to have been admitted for an extended period of time into a medical facility and they are able to prove income/ resources enough for such a medical treatment

h. They are press- correspondents accredited as such into Bulgaria

i. They are already pensioners, thus their income resources is undisputed, and this pension of theirs suffices for their everyday living conditions and expenses

j. They already fall under the provisions of the Investment Promotion Act, by already having invested an amount of at least 500.000, 00€

k. They are able to prove family bonds with a natural person who has already been granted with a valid residence permit

l. They have been granted with the protection status of Article 25 regarding the Human Being Act Related to the Combating of Trafficking

How We Can Help

All of the aforementioned instances constitute parts of the case where the long-term stay is to be granted for a year, and even renewed for the same time period. The respective document someone gets in case of these instances is a Bulgarian ID which more or less resembles that of a proper Bulgarian national. It is only after the completion of a five-year period that this certain person shall be eligible for the application of a permanent residence permit.

In light of all the aforementioned please always bear in mind the fact that any application holds better chances to be considered valid when a D-Type visa has already been issued even by a Bulgarian Embassy given that they are also eligible to accept such applications. Always take into consideration the fact that Interpol, Europol and other police authorities of the sort shall be eligible to perform checks and controls whenever they deem it necessary. Penal records shall be under scrutiny at all times and it goes without saying that if anything worth accusing is to be revealed, the respective person’s application shall be instantly rejected.

There is one last occasion where granting of long-stay residence permit may occur and this is to happen only if a person has proven himself/ herself worthy only after having achieved exceptionally within the realm of the socioeconomic sphere, and in terms of national security, technology and sciences, and culture or sports.

Key Contacts