Moving to Bulgaria

Labour Migration and Labour Mobility Act, Art. 17(2): (1) a high professional qualification, meaning a higher-education degree after at least three academic years of study; or, for managers and specialists in information and communication technology, at least three years of relevant professional experience within the 7 years before the application; or, for any other post, at least 5 years of professional experience in a post that requires higher education; (2) a gross salary in the employment contract of at least 1.5 times the average salary in Bulgaria, on the latest National Statistical Institute figures for the 12 months before the contract is signed; (3) an employment contract of at least 6 months. Art. 17(1) waives only the cap on how many third-country workers an employer may already have (Art. 7(1) pt 1: 20 per cent of its average headcount, 35 per cent for a small or medium-sized enterprise). The employer still files a justification for hiring from abroad, explaining why it did not hire a Bulgarian, EU, EEA or Swiss citizen who meets the requirements advertised for the vacancy (Foreigners Act Art. 33k(5) pt 4). The permit runs for at least 24 months and at most 5 years; where the contract is shorter than 24 months it runs for the contract's term plus three months (Art. 33k(2)). Family members of a Blue Card holder may work with the Employment Agency's permission (Labour Migration and Labour Mobility Act Art. 19). The EU, EEA and Swiss citizens this route does not cover live in Bulgaria under a separate law (Foreigners Act Art. 1(3)).

Access to the labour market is allowed only where the employer's third-country workers over the previous 12 months are no more than 20 per cent of its average headcount (35 per cent for a small or medium-sized enterprise), the pay and working conditions are no less favourable than a Bulgarian citizen's in the same category of work, and the worker has the specialised knowledge, skills and professional experience the post needs (Labour Migration and Labour Mobility Act Art. 7(1)). The application to the Migration Directorate of the Ministry of the Interior carries the employer's justification for hiring from abroad, with copies of vacancy advertisements in local and national media and on the internet and its reasons for not hiring a Bulgarian, EU, EEA or Swiss citizen who meets the advertised requirements; evidence of secured accommodation; and mandatory medical insurance valid in Bulgaria for at least three months where the worker is not insured under the Health Insurance Act (Foreigners Act Art. 24i(5) pts 3, 4 and 11). The permit is issued for three years, or for the contract's term where it is shorter (Art. 24i(2)). The procedure may not take longer than two months, extendable by two months where the case is legally or factually complex (Art. 24i(18)). Family members of a foreigner with a long-stay permit may apply for long-stay residence (Art. 24(1) pt 13). The EU, EEA and Swiss citizens this route does not cover live in Bulgaria under a separate law (Foreigners Act Art. 1(3)).

The lowest threshold in Art. 25(1) pt 6 is BGN 1,000,000, in either of two forms (the Act gives no euro amount; this site screens against EUR 512,000). The first is units or shares of a Bulgarian collective investment scheme whose net assets are at least BGN 5,000,000, which holds a licence or authorisation from the Financial Supervision Commission, and whose investment strategy is aimed mainly at shares or bonds of Bulgarian companies traded on a regulated market or multilateral trading facility in Bulgaria (pt 6(c)). The second is units or shares of a Bulgarian alternative investment fund with assets of at least BGN 3,000,000 that invests only in Bulgarian companies' units, shares and bonds (pt 6(d)). Concession rights worth at least BGN 1,000,000 also qualify (pt 6(b)). Higher thresholds: BGN 2,000,000 in shares or bonds of Bulgarian companies traded on a regulated market or multilateral trading facility (pt 6(a)); BGN 2,000,000 paid into a Bulgarian company's capital for a certified priority investment project (pt 7); BGN 6,000,000 paid into the capital of a Bulgarian company whose shares are not traded on a regulated market (pt 8). An investment under pt 6 or pt 8 must be kept above the statutory minimum for 5 years from the grant of permanent residence (Art. 25(11)). The Act states these amounts in leva. This route confers residence only: citizenship then follows the ordinary naturalisation conditions of the Citizenship Act, Art. 12(1), five years after the permanent-residence permit. The spouse of a foreigner holding permanent residence under pt 6, 7 or 8 may obtain permanent residence five years after the civil marriage without the five years of residence in Bulgaria otherwise required of a spouse (Art. 25(1) pt 2), and the minor, unmarried children of a permanently resident foreigner may also obtain it (pt 3). The EU, EEA and Swiss citizens this route does not cover live in Bulgaria under a separate law (Foreigners Act Art. 1(3)).

Foreigners Act Art. 24(1) pt 6: the foreign company must have filed documents showing tax compliance, an annual turnover of at least BGN 100,000 (or the equivalent in foreign currency) in each of the two consecutive years before its trade representation was registered, and a certificate of good standing from its own registry issued no more than 6 months earlier. The Bulgarian Chamber of Commerce and Industry certifies these facts from official documents of the company's home country. At most two representatives of the company may hold a residence permit on this ground. To renew, the Chamber issues a new certificate after the representative declares the activity carried out during the previous stay under the representation's programme, with evidence of an office, representative actions or dealings with Bulgarian partners, and a fresh certificate of good standing. The representation must declare any change in its registered facts to the Chamber within 7 days. As with every long-stay permit under Art. 24(1), the applicant first needs a long-stay visa (Art. 15(1)). Family members of a foreigner with a long-stay permit may apply for long-stay residence (Art. 24(1) pt 13). The EU, EEA and Swiss citizens this route does not cover live in Bulgaria under a separate law (Foreigners Act Art. 1(3)).