1/ENTRANCE OF FOREIGNERS IN THE REUBLIC OF BULGARIA:

A foreigner may enter the Republic of Bulgaria if he or she holds a regular travel document or another substitute document issued, as well as a visa if required. No visa is required when the foreigner holds a valid prolonged-stay, long-term or permanent residence permit for the Republic of Bulgaria either.

A visa is an entry, residence, transit or airport transit permit issued by the Republic of Bulgaria.

The type of visa is determined by the purpose it is issued for. The types of visas are:

• air transit visa (type “A” visa)
• short-stay visa (type “C” visa)
• long-term residence visa (type “D” visa)

Issuing, refusal, annulment and revocation of visas is performed by the diplomatic and consular missions of the Republic of Bulgaria abroad and by border control authorities. To obtain a visa, an applicant must, no more than three months prior to the start of the intended visit, submit a filled-in and signed application in a standard form. The applicant shall enclose with the application documents specified in an act by the Council of Ministers and proving the purpose of the trip.

A long-term residence visa (type D visa) with a validity term of up to six months and entitlement to reside of up to 180 days is issued to a foreigner who wishes to settle on a prolonged or permanent basis in the Republic of Bulgaria. The long-term residence visa entitles the holder to multiple entries to the territory of the Republic of Bulgaria within its validity term. The long-term residence visa is cancelled when a residence permit is issued by the authorities for administrative control of foreigners.

Any foreigner who enters the Republic of Bulgaria or who transits the country, depending on the purpose of the travel, must be in possession of:

• a standard travel document or another substituting document as well as a visa if required;

• sufficient financial means to ensure his/her subsistence according to the length and conditions of the residence in the Republic of Bulgaria as well as to return in the state of his/her permanent residence or to pass through the Republic of Bulgaria;

• medical insurance and other insurances, where required;

• sample invitation if required;

• any other documents proving the purpose of the journey and the conditions of the planned stay.

2/ STAY OF FOREIGNERS IN THE REPUBLIC OF BULGARIA:

Stay of foreigners in the Republic of Bulgaria is only admissible on the grounds of an issued visa or gained residence permit.

Foreigners may reside in the Republic of Bulgaria:

on a short-term basis – for up to three months within any six-month period from the date of entry into Bulgaria; the term of a short stay based on an issued visa may be prolonged once by the foreigners administrative control services for reasons of a humanitarian nature or for reasons related to extraordinary circumstances or for serious personal reasons;

• on a prolonged basis – where the period authorised is up to 1 /one/ year;
• on a long-term basis – where the initial period authorised is 5 years, with a possibility of renewal after the submission of an application;
• on a permanent basis – where the authorised period is unlimited.

A/ A prolonged residence permit /up to 1 year/ may be granted to foreigners who possess a type D visa and:

1. are willing to work under an employment agreement, having been granted a work permit by the authorities of the Ministry of Labor and Social Policy;

2. engage in commercial activities in Bulgaria according to the statutory procedure and at least ten jobs for Bulgarian citizens have been created as a result of the said activities and maintained during the period of stay;

3. have grounds to be permitted permanent residence;

4. serve as the representatives of foreign companies duly registered with the Bulgarian Chamber of Commerce and Industry;

5. have received the right to pension in accordance with the legislation of the Republic of Bulgaria, their country of origin or another country and possess sufficient means to subsist in Bulgaria;

6. are willing to work on a free-lance basis, having been granted a permit by the authorities of the Ministry of Labor and Social Policy.

7. are willing to engage in not-for profit activities, having been granted a permit by the Ministry of Justice under terms and conditions set out in a Regulation issued by the Minister of Justice in consultation with the Minister of Interior and with the Chairperson of the State Agency for National Security;

8. have invested no less than BGN 600,000 per foreigner in order to obtain title on real estate on the territory of the Republic of Bulgaria or the foreigner is the owner of over 50 percent of the capital of a Bulgarian commercial company, has invested this same amount in the capital of the company and as a result of that the company obtained title on real estate at this value in Bulgaria; on the date of the application for a long-term residence permit, the foreigner or the legal entity must have remitted the full amount and the payment must have appeared in an account in a licensed Bulgarian credit institution and if the property was acquired with loan money, the outstanding portion of the loan shall not exceed 25 percent.

9. have invested in an economically disadvantaged region in the meaning of the Investment Promotion Act by contributing no less than BGN 250,000 to the capital of a Bulgarian commercial company, whereas the foreigner is a partner or a shareholder with registered stock and owns at least 50 percent of the company’s capital and as a result of the investment new tangible and intangible fixed assets at the value of no less than BGN 250,000 are acquired and at least 5 jobs are created for Bulgarian nationals, which must be maintained for the duration of the residence as certified by the Ministry of Economy, Energy and Tourism.

To obtain a prolonged-stay permit, persons shall have a residence secured, mandatory health insurance, means of subsistence sufficient not to resort to the national social assistance system and amounting to at least the minimum national monthly salary, the minimum scholarship or the minimum national pension under the laws of the Republic of Bulgaria for the period of stay. Upon the initial submission of a residence permit application, persons aged 18 or more, except for those holding no citizenship, shall also present a certificate of previous convictions issued by the state whose citizens they are or by their country of usual residence.

A prolonged-stay permit application must be considered within 14 days from the date of its submission. In legally and factually complicated cases and in case additional documents need to be presented, such time-limit may be prolonged by one month.

B/ Long-term resident status /initial permission of 5 years/ may be granted to any foreigner who has legally and continually resided in the territory of the Republic of Bulgaria for 5 years prior to submitting the application for permission to stay on a long-term basis. After the long-term resident status is obtained, it is permanent, insofar as no grounds for its withdrawal have arisen.

To obtain long-term resident status, a foreigner must furnish evidence that he/she has means of subsistence sufficient for him/her and the members of his/her family not to resort to the national social assistance system and amounting to at least the minimum national salary or the minimum national pension, and that he/she holds mandatory health insurance for the period of stay in accordance with the laws of the Republic of Bulgaria. The competent body of the Ministry of Interior adopts a decision on an application for long-term resident status within three months after its submission. In legally and factually complicated cases and in case additional documents need to be presented, such time-limit may be prolonged by two months.

A foreigner who has been granted long-term resident status is issued a European Union long-term residence permit. The period of validity of such permit is 5 years, and is be renewable upon expiry, after an application is submitted. The expiry of the period of validity of a European Union long-term residence permit does not constitute grounds for withdrawal or loss of such status. A European Union long-term residence permit is issued based on a personally submitted application. The permit is issued in accordance with the requirements of Council Regulation (EC) No 1030/2002 of 13 June 2002 laying down a uniform format for residence permits for third-country nationals. In the “permit type” field, “EU long-term residence” is noted.

С/ A permanent residence permit /the period authorised is unlimited/ may be granted to foreigners that:

1. have resided lawfully and continuously within the territory of the Republic of Bulgaria for 5 years immediately prior to the submission of the permanent residence application and, for the said period, have not been away for more than 30 months.

2. have invested in Bulgaria more than BGN 1,000,000 or increased their investment by such an amount by acquisition of:

a) shares of Bulgarian commercial corporations traded in a regulated Bulgarian market;

b) bonds and treasury bills, as well as derivative instruments thereof, issued by the State or the municipalities, with at least 6 months to maturity;

c) title to a separate part of the property of a Bulgarian commercial corporation wherein the State or the municipalities hold more than 50 percent of the capital in accordance with the privatisation and post – privatization Control Act;

d) shares in a Bulgarian commercial corporation held by the State or the municipalities in accordance with the privatisation and post-privatisation Control Act;

e) Bulgarian intellectual property – objects of copyright and neighboring rights, patent-protected inventions, utility models, trademarks, service marks and industrial design;

f) rights under concession contracts within the territory of the Republic of Bulgaria;

3. who have invested at least BGN 6,000,000 in the capital of a Bulgarian commercial corporation the shares whereof are not traded in a regulated market

4. who pursue business and are certified in accordance with the procedure provided for in the Investment Promotion Act, as certified by the Ministry of Economy, Energy and Tourism.

5. who have made an investment in Bulgaria by contributing no less than BGN 500,000 to the capital of a Bulgarian commercial company, whereas the foreigner is a partner or a shareholder with registered stock and owns at least 50 percent of the company’s capital and as a result of the investment new tangible and intangible fixed assets at the value of no less than BGN 500,000 are acquired and at least 10 jobs are created for Bulgarian nationals, which must be maintained for the duration of the residence as certified by the Ministry of Economy, Energy and Tourism.

The competent body of the Ministry of Interior adopts a decision on an application for a permanent residence permit within three months after its submission. In legally and factually complicated cases and in case additional documents need to be presented, such time-limit may be prolonged by two months.

Every foreigner is obliged to leave Republic of Bulgaria no later than the expiration of his authorised duration of stay.

Any foreigner who holds a prolonged-stay permit may leave and re-enter Bulgaria without a visa until expiry of the authorised duration of residence.

Any foreigner who holds a long-termor permanent residence permit may leave and re-enter Bulgaria without a visa.

Conclusion:

A foreigner who wishes to stay in Republic of Bulgaria on a long – term or permanent basis must enter the country with type D visa. After entrance in country and in the period of the permitted stay by the visa, he/she must issue an application before Bulgarian authorities in order to receive a prolonged residence permit. After a prolonged residence permit is issued the foreigner must undertake the necessary actions to get a long – term or permanent residence permit /depending on his personal purposes and wishes/. A foreigner may receive directly a permanent residence permit but in this case he/she must have made considerable investments in Republic of Bulgaria /listed above/. The foreigner is approved if he/she corresponds to any of the upper – listed requirements, depending on the type of stay he/she wishes to achieve.

The thing of importance is that a foreigner who holds a prolonged-stay permit may leave and re-enter Bulgaria without a visa until expiry of the authorised duration of residence.

A foreigner who holds a long-term or permanent residence permit may leave and re-enter Bulgaria without a visa.