Where the Bulgarian foreigner personal number (ЛНЧ) appears on official pages
ЛНЧ — „личен номер на чужденец“ — is the name of the personal number a foreign national has in Bulgarian registers. This page does not describe how an ЛНЧ is issued or in which cases it is required in general, because no official page explaining this could be read; it only collects the places where ЛНЧ is mentioned on the pages of the National Revenue Agency, the Registry Agency and the Ministry of the Interior, with the reading date.
Visas and residence · Last reviewed: 2026-10-10
This is not legal or financial advice
Where ЛНЧ appears on the official pages
The rows below were read from the pages of НАП, the Registry Agency and the Interior Ministry on 10 October 2026. No official page describing how an ЛНЧ is assigned was found in this reading, so the assignment itself is not described further here.
| Page | What was read about ЛНЧ |
|---|---|
| НАП — VAT-number announcement | until 1 January 2024 the VAT number of VAT-registered individuals not entered in the commercial register or BULSTAT was “BG” plus the ЕГН or ЛН/ЛНЧ; from 1 January 2024 it is “BG” plus a service number generated by НАП (register under Art. 94(1) of the VAT Act) |
| Registry Agency — BULSTAT | foreign individuals with no ЕГН or ЛНЧ are entered if they carry on trade or independent personal services, own real estate or are insurers; EU and EEA persons working only under the freedom to provide services are not entered |
| Interior Ministry — service 320 (residence card) | issued to non-EU, non-EEA and non-Swiss foreigners with a right of continued, permanent or long-term residence; period 1 month; the application is filed in person at the counter of the Migration Directorate or at the migration units of the regional MVR directorates |
| Interior Ministry — address registration (Art. 28(3) of the Foreigners in the Republic of Bulgaria Act) | the person providing lodging to a foreigner notifies in writing within 3 days; no fee is charged; the record is valid for the foreigner's period of stay |
Two practical conclusions follow from these rows: the old VAT-number format built on the ЕГН/ЛНЧ was dropped in 2024 for individuals not entered in the commercial register or BULSTAT, and BULSTAT is a fallback route of identification for foreigners without an ЛНЧ. НАП's announcement ties the change to regulation amendments published in State Gazette No 55 of 2023 and in force from 27.06.2023.
No fee amounts; timescales are a dated reading
Frequently asked questions
Is my VAT number still based on my ЛНЧ?
According to НАП's announcement, for individuals not entered in the commercial register or BULSTAT, no, not since 1 January 2024: the number is “BG” plus a service number generated by НАП. The old format was “BG” plus the ЕГН or ЛН/ЛНЧ.
Sources
The information on this page is based on the official sources listed below. Legislation changes — open the links and verify the current position.
- НАП — От 1 януари 2024 г. НАП променя служебно идентификационните номера по ЗДДС на физически лица — https://nra.bg/wps/portal/nra/actualno/NAP-promenia-slujebno-DDS-nomer-naFL · 2026-10-10
- Агенция по вписванията — Кои лица подлежат на вписване в Регистър БУЛСТАТ — https://www.registryagency.bg/bg/registri/registar-bulstat/koi-litsa-podlezhat-na-vpisvane-v-registr-bulstat/ · 2026-10-10
- ИИСДА — Издаване на документ за пребиваване — разрешение за пребиваване на чужденци (МВР, услуга 320) — https://iisda.government.bg/adm_services/services/service_provision/21820 · 2026-10-10
- ИИСДА — Адресна регистрация на чужденци (МВР) — https://iisda.government.bg/adm_services/services/service_provision/22005 · 2026-10-10
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