Documents for a Bulgarian residence application

Visas and residence · Last reviewed: 2026-08-23

The core of every file

The Interior Ministry's published list for continued residence names a regular travel document, an application, proof of payment of the state fee, a photocopy of the passport pages with photograph and personal data, proof of secured accommodation, compulsory health insurance and sufficient means of subsistence. These items do not substitute for one another: a strong showing on one does not cover a gap in another.

Means of subsistence: why we print no figure

The question usually arrives as 'how many euros a month', and the legislation gives no fixed answer. What is required is a showing that you can support yourself throughout the stay without recourse to social assistance, and the threshold cannot fall below the minimum monthly wage, the minimum stipend or the minimum pension. The minimum monthly wage was set at 620.20 € by Council of Ministers Decree No. 243 of 13 November 2025. The total the administration expects may sit well above that, depending on the type of residence, the period requested and the size of the household.

Fees

The fee must be paid for the file to be accepted; it is not an item that can be completed later. The amendment to Tariff No. 4 provides, with effect from 1 January 2026, a fee of 102.26 € for granting the right of continued residence for up to six months and 255.65 € where the period runs from six months to one year. Card production is a separate tariff item. Foreigners of Bulgarian origin benefit from a reduced rate under the tariff.

Foreign documents: apostille and translation

Every official document from abroad passes three stages: issue of the original, apostille or consular certification, and certified translation into Bulgarian. If one link is missing the document is treated as unreadable, however genuine the original. For documents from Turkey the apostille is affixed by the administrative body to which the issuing authority belongs, and different document types are certified in different places, so do not plan on a single counter handling everything.

• •Civil status records, marriage and birth certificates: apostille first, certified translation second.
• •Criminal record certificate: short-lived, so it belongs near the end of the sequence.
• •Diploma and transcript: in regulated professions a separate recognition procedure begins.
• •Bank and income documents: in a form the administration can read, preferably on official letterhead.
• •Company records: Bulgarian ones need no translation, foreign ones do.

Sequencing

1. 1

   Start with the slow documents

   Passport renewal, diploma recognition and civil status records take longest and should be launched on day one.
2. 2

   Settle accommodation early

   Notarising the tenancy and obtaining a title copy from the landlord take time; without housing the file cannot close.
3. 3

   Time the insurance start date

   The insurance start date must not fall after the date of application.
4. 4

   Leave short-lived documents to last

   Criminal record certificates and some bank letters expire, and an early copy has to be reissued.
5. 5

   Pay the fee last

   The payment line depends on the period requested, so pay once that period is settled.

Five details that send files back

Files come back even when the list looks complete. The five most common reasons are: a tenancy agreement without notarisation, insurance that is not valid in the country, a translation not produced by a certified translator, a fee paid on the wrong line, and a passport whose validity does not cover the requested period. None of these is a refusal on the merits, but each converts into a lost month on the residence calendar.

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