Updated on 25.07.2023

As a non-Bulgarian national, there are some options through which you can get a residence permit in Bulgaria without the need to apply for visa. This article will list some of these opportunities and will mention some of the basic requirements.

The information in this article is not exhaustive. To determine which is the best option for your situation, you can request assistance from FAR’s lawyers via our Request assitance form.

Options for non-EU nationals

If you are a national of a country outside of the EU, you may reside in Bulgaria on several legal grounds without a type D visa. Here are some options:

Options related to work

If you already have a residence permit in Bulgaria (e.g. as a family member etc.), but you want to change the ground for your residence with another one related to work, you can do that without applying for a visa D. Here are some of your options:

  1. A Single Work and Residence Permit (SWRP) or a Blue card of the European Union without applying for a visa D

Read more about the requirements here:

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

  1. If you want to perform seasonal work (e.g in the hotel industry) for up to 90 days and you are a national of a country exempted from the short-term visa requirement.

You can find a list of the countries for which Bulgaria does and does not require visa on this link.

  1. If you are a foreigner who already has a long-term residence permit for another EU Member State, here are some options through which you can receive a continuous residence permit in Bulgaria:
  • if you are a worker, employee of a self-employed person in Bulgaria;
  • if you want to study, including professional training in an educational establishment;

People in specific situations

  1. If you are a victim of human trafficking and are granted a special protection status you can be issued a continuous residence permit. Keep in mind that you will not be issued such a residence permit if you do not have any identity document.
  2. You may be granted a residence permit in Bulgaria, without meeting other conditions in case you have rendered services to Bulgaria in the public and economic sphere, in the area of national security, science, technology, culture or sports, or a national interest is involved.
  3. If you have come to Bulgaria under the conditions of a visa-free regime, the period of your stay can be extended only once if there are humanitarian reasons in relation to extraordinary circumstances (e.g. the war in Ukraine) or in case of national interest. You can find a list of the countries for which Bulgaria requires or does not require visa on this link.

If you are a Ukrainian citizen read more here:

Residence of Ukrainian citizens under the Law on Foreigners in the Republic of Bulgaria

Children

You can receive a residence permit, without applying for visa D if you are a child born in Bulgaria

  1. whose parents are foreigners holding a continuous, long-term or permanent residence permit.
  2. whose parents are staff members of a diplomatic mission/consular post/a representation of an international organisation accredited in Bulgaria.

Family members of а Bulgarian citizen or a foreigner (non-EU national) with a continuous, long-term or permanent residence permit or international protection in Bulgaria

  1. If you have a continuous or long-term residence permit as a family member of a Bulgarian citizen, or of a foreigner with a continuous or permanent residence permit or international protection in Bulgaria you can apply for a separate one-time continuous residence permit for up to 1 year in case you get divorced or your spouse is deceased. One of the requirements is for the family to have resided in Bulgaria for  at least 2 years.
     
  2. If you are a family member of a Bulgarian citizen, or a foreigner granted continuous, long-term or permanent residence permit, you can be issued a one-time continuous residence permit for extraordinary reasons.

You can read more about this option here:

Continuous residence permit for extraordinary reasons as an alternative to international protection for Ukrainians

Family members of foreigners according to the Bulgarian law are their:

  • spouses;
  • children of one or both spouses, including adopted children who are under 18 years old and are not married and dependent on their parents, or over 18 years old but have serious health problems and cannot provide for themselves.

Family member of Bulgarian citizens are their:

  • spouses;
  • children of one or both spouses who are under 21 years old years old and not married, or over 21 in case of serious health problems or inability to provide for themselves;
  • a parent of the Bulgarian citizen/the other spouse;
  • other member of the household who is entirely dependent on the Bulgarian citizen.

Non – EU family members of EU citizens

If you are a non-EU national who is a spouse/child/parent of an EU citizen (including a Bulgarian citizen who have enjoyed their right of free movement in the EU), you may come to Bulgaria without a visa in case:

  • you accompany or join your EU family member, and
  • you already hold a residence card as an EU citizen's family member issued by another EU Member State different than Bulgaria.

As a family member of an EU citizen, you should submit an application to the respective Migration Directorate of the Ministry of Interior, depending on the city/region in which you want to settle, to be issued a residence permit. When you apply, you need to present a document certifying that you are a member of the family or are in an actual cohabitation with the EU citizen.

You should submit your application within 3 months after you come to Bulgaria.

The duration of your residence card depends on the duration of the continuous residence of your EU citizen family member. However, there are some exceptions to this rule:

  1. In case your family member who is an EU citizen (incl. a Bulgarian national) dies, you can keep your continuous residence permit if you have resided in Bulgaria as their family member for at least 1 year before their death.
  2. If you have not lived in Bulgaria for at least 1 year before the death of your EU family member, you can still keep your continuous residence permit if your children are studying in Bulgaria. In this case you can renew your residence permit until your children finish their studies.
  3. In case of a divorce or end of the actual cohabitation, you can continue your continuous residence permit if you are employed or self-employed in Bulgaria, have health insurance and enough financial resources to cover your residence-related expenses, and one of the following circumstances is present:
  • The duration of the marriage/the actual cohabitation was at least three years of which one in Bulgaria;
  • You exercise parental rights as a result of a court decision or agreement;
  • You have suffered from domestic violence, or in other cases where preserving the right to continuous residence is justified by particularly difficult circumstances which have occurred against your will and which you could not have foreseen or prevented;
  • You are entitled to visit your underage child as a result of a court decision or agreement providing that the visits will be carried out in Bulgaria.

University students

There are also options for university students in which you will not need to apply for visa D:

  1. If you are enrolled as a full-time student in a Bulgarian university and you have Bulgarian origin – in this case you need to present a document verifying your Bulgarian origin (e.g. a birth certificate).

For more information on the application procedure for Bulgarian universities, read:

Access to higher education in Bulgaria

  1. If you are a university student studying abroad and holding a valid residence permit in another EU Member State, but you will take part of your training in Bulgaria according to an EU program/multilateral program/an agreement between two or more higher educational institutions, one of which is Bulgarian.

In this case, you can get a continuous residence permit, without the need to apply for visa, for the duration of your training, but not more than 2 years.

  1. When you complete your university education as a full-time student in Bulgaria, you can obtain a continuous residence permit for up to 9 months after registering at your local Labour Bureau of the Employment Agency.

Read more about the procedure in- this article:

Access to higher education in Bulgaria

Researchers

  1. If you work as a researcher:
  • under a contract for the development of a research project
  • hold a valid residence permit issued by another Member State: and
  • you intend to conduct part of your research in a Bulgarian research organization

You can be issued a residence permit in Bulgaria, valid from 180 days to 2 years. Such a permit without a prior visa requirement can also be issued to your family members.

  1. If you already have a residence permit as a researcher conducting a research project in Bulgaria, you can apply for a continuous residence permit within 7 working days following the completion of the project. In that case, you can submit an application to the Territorial Labour Bureau of the Employment Agency and register as a job seeker at least 30 days before your current residence permit expires. Your new residence permit will be valid for up to 9 months.