Right to long-term or permanent residence permit in Bulgaria

Published on 5 August 2024

In Bulgaria there are several legal residence permits for foreigners who are not nationals of a European Union country. They are: 

• Short-term - foreigners may stay up to 90 days in Bulgaria within each 180-day period from the date of their entry to the country. This is the case, for example, if you come to Bulgaria for tourism, holidays or to visit friends/family

• Continuous - with an authorised stay of up to 1 year; 

Access to the labour market for foreigners in Bulgaria and the relevant residence permits

• Long-term - with a residence period of up to 5 years;

• Permanent- indefinitely authorized stay. 

This article will review the the grounds to obtain long-term or permanent residence permit and the legal procedure for obtaining these permits. 

Permanent residence permit

Who can apply for a permanent residence permit?

You can be granted permanent residence permit only if you are a foreigner, who: 

1. Has resided legally and continuously in Bulgaria for the last 5 years. 

2. Is of Bulgarian origin.

3. Has resided legally and continuously in Bulgaria for 5 years after marrying to another foreigner with a permanent resident permit in Bulgaria.

4. Children under the age of 18 of a Bulgarian citizen or of a foreign national permanently residing in Bulgaria, if these children are not married.

5. Children under the age of 18 who have been abandoned by foreign parents on the territory of Bulgaria, who are placed in a social care institution

6. Parent of a Bulgarian citizen if he/she supports his/her child who is a Bulgarian citizen and has resided in Bulgaria legally and continuously for at least 3 years;

7. Made a financial investment between 500 000 and 6 million BGN. The law provides for different investment options, according to which the amount of investment varies. 

8. Is not of Bulgarian origin but once had a Bulgarian citizenship which he lost and wants to settle again in Bulgaria.

9. Entered, resided or was born in Bulgaria until 27 December 1998 and whose parent is married to a Bulgarian citizen;

10. Family members of a Bulgarian citizen if they have resided legally and continuously in Bulgaria for the last 5 years;

11. Until 27 December 1998, they entered, resided and did not leave the territory of Bulgaria or were born on the territory of Bulgaria and were not recognized as citizens of the former Soviet republics. You can read more about this type of residence in this article. 

In practice, this means that you previously had a lengthy residency that you have renewed regularly. To have resided continuously in Bulgaria does not mean that you have never left the country, but that you must NOT have been absent from the country for more than 30 months during those 5 years. 

Important! If you have previously resided in the country with a continuous residence permit on the grounds that you are a student or trainee in Bulgaria, then only half of your residence time is counted for the purposes of obtaining permanent residence - i.e. 2 years equals 1 year.

Important! If you are a person with temporary protection, the period you stay in Bulgaria does not count towards the 5 years needed to obtain a permanent residence permit.

In this case, there is no requirement to have previously resided in Bulgaria. 

If the marriage is to a foreigner who has a permanent residence permit due to investments made in the country, then there is no requirement to reside in the country for 5 years;

Required documents

To apply for a permanent residence permit in Bulgaria, you must submit to the Migration Directorate (48 Knyaginya Maria Luisa Blvd., 1202 Sofia) or to the Regional Police Department according to your address of residence. the following documents: 

1.  Аpplication form; 

2. Document for paid state fee for processing the documents - BGN 10; 

3. A copy of a valid passport or a replacement document with pages that contain the photo and the personal details and the visa if it required (bring the original passport with you so they can compare it with the copy);

4. Proof that you have stable, regular, predictable and sufficient means of financial support, in an amount no less than the minimum monthly salary  or pension in the country. 

5. Criminal record issued by the country of your nationality or country of your habitual residence (e.g. Bulgaria); 

6. Evidence of secured accommodation, e.g. a tenancy agreement, and a declaration from the landlord that a residential address has been provided. If the owner of the property does not submit this declaration in person, but you submit it for them, it must first be notarised. 

7. You need a long-stay visa (type D visa) ONLY if you are applying for residence in Bulgaria for the first time and have not previously lived here on other legal grounds (e.g. persons of Bulgarian origin, persons who have lost their Bulgarian citizenship but want to settle in Bulgaria) or were not born in Bulgaria. You can find out how to get such a visa here. 

Depending on the grounds for obtaining a permanent residence permit, other documents may also be required such as:

• Birth certificate - to prove Bulgarian origin or relationship with a relative. 

• An official document issued by a diplomatic or consular mission of the former Soviet republic concerned stating that you are not recognized as a national of that country.

• An official document certifying the person's entry into the territory of the Republic of Bulgaria until 27 December 1998;

• Marriage certificate.

• A copy of the court order and/or child placement order.

You must submit the documents at least 2 months before your current residence permit or visa expires.

You should receive a reply within 2 months. If your case is more complicated and you need more documents, the authorities may extend the deadline by another 2 months. If this happens, they will inform you in writing.

If you are granted permanent residence, you must pay the fee for the residence permit, which in most cases is 1000 BGN, except for:

• foreigners of Bulgarian origin who pay a fee of BGN 50; and

• foreigners who are family members of a Bulgarian citizen - BGN 150.

Long-term residence permit

The long-term residence permit is granted to foreigners who have resided legally and without interruption in Bulgaria for the last 5 years before applying for this permit. 

To have an uninterrupted stay, your periods of absence from Bulgaria must not have exceeded a total of 10 months in these last 5 years and must be less than 6 consecutive months.

Important! If you have humanitarian or refugee status in Bulgaria, you can also obtain such a residence permit. In this case, the 5 years also include half of the period, from the date of application for international protection to the date of issue of your Bulgarian identity document as refugee or humanitarian status holder, or the entire period of residence between these dates if the procedure continued for more than 18 months. The mere existence of a pending international protection procedure is not a ground for granting long-term residence permit.

Important! If you have previously resided in the country with a continuous residence permit on the grounds that you are a student or trainee in Bulgaria, then only half of your residence time is counted for the purposes of obtaining long-term residence - i.e. 2 years equals 1 year.

      The periods of residence of persons who have also resided in Bulgaria:

• with temporary protection;

• as members of the staff of a diplomatic or consular mission, or of a mission of an international organisation accredited in Bulgaria, and their family members;

• on a temporary basis, such as au pairs, seasonal workers, cross-border service providers, employees seconded by a service provider to provide cross-border services, or where their residence permit is formally limited.

ARE NOT CONCIDERED for the purposes of obtaining a long-term residence permit.

Required documents

You must apply for a long-term residence permit  and sumit at the Migration Directorate (48 Knyaginya Maria Luisa Blvd., 1202 Sofia) or at the Regional Directorate of the Ministry of Interior where you are located. the following documents: 

1. Application form.

2. A copy of your valid passport or a replacement document with the pages containing your photo and personal details (bring the original with you so they can compare it with the copy).

3. Proof that you have stable, regular, predictable and sufficient means of subsistence (e.g. employment contract) for a period of at least 1 year, taking into account the minimum monthly wage and pension for the Republic of Bulgaria.

4. Compulsory medical insurance if you are not insured in Bulgaria;

5. Evidence of secured accommodation, e.g. a rental agreement, and a declaration from the owner of your place of residence  (certified by a notary if not submitted in person by the owner). 

6. A copy of the decision granting you refugee or humanitarian status, if applicable.

You must submit these documents at least 2 months before the expiry of the permit on the basis of which you are legally residing in Bulgaria. 

You should get a decision within  2 months. If your case is more complicated and you need more documents, the authorities may extend the deadline by another 2 months. If this happens, they will inform you in writing.

If you are granted long-term residence, you will be issued with a long-term residence permit. The permit is valid for 5 years. When it expires, you must renew it by reapplying. 

This procedure is subject to a fee of 110 BGN.

What to do if you are refused? 

If the authorities refuse to grant you a long-term or permanent residence permit, you can challenge this refusal in court. You have 14 days from the time you are informed of the refusal to do so. You should consult a lawyer to prepare your appeal against the refusal. If you need legal help, you can fill in the following form: 

Request assistance 

Revocation of permanent or long-term residence

There are various grounds under Bulgarian law on which your permanent or long-term residence can be revoked. Some of them are for example if:

• it is established that the details you provided to obtain your residence permit  are false;
• your marriage was dissolved before the end of 7 years from when you were granted permanent residence permit, if you have been married to a foreigner with a permanent residence permit in Bulgaria;
• it is established that your marriage to a Bulgarian citizen was terminated before the expiry of 5 years from the date you got married.
• you are found to have been absent from the territory of the Member States of the European Union for 12 consecutive months. If you have been within the European Union this rule does not apply. 
• as an EU Blue Card holder, you have obtained a long-term residence permit in Bulgaria and have been absent for 24 consecutive months from the territory of the EU Member States.
• Your humanitarian or refugee status is revoked.
• as a foreigner with a long-term residence permit, you have acquired long-term resident permit in another EU country;
• in any case,if you are absent from Bulgaria for a period of 6 years.

The list is not exhaustive and contains only some of the more common grounds. For the full list, see Article 40 of the Law on Foreigners in the Republic of Bulgaria.