How to get a Bulgarian residence permit

Visas and residence · Last reviewed: 2026-10-10

You choose a ground, not a permit

The common opening mistake is asking which permit to apply for. Bulgarian practice starts one step earlier, with the legal ground: employment, study, family reunification, business activity, stable income, certain property-related situations, or protection. The permit type is simply the administrative expression of that ground. So the question is not which permit is easiest, but which ground genuinely fits your situation.

The practical consequence is blunt. A file with a weak ground goes nowhere no matter how neat the paperwork is, while a file with a clear ground can usually be completed even if documents are missing at first. Writing your ground down in a single paragraph, together with the document that proves it, is the cheapest step in the whole process.

Three links in the chain

1. 1

   Build and evidence the ground

   An employment contract and, where required, a work authorisation; a university admission letter; a marriage or descent document; a company registration; income records. This is also where you plan apostilles and sworn Bulgarian translations of foreign documents.
2. 2

   Obtain the long-stay visa abroad

   For third-country nationals the in-country residence procedure normally rests on a long-stay visa issued by a Bulgarian diplomatic or consular mission. That visa is not issued inside Bulgaria and no other visa converts into it.
3. 3

   Open the residence file in country

   After entry, the application goes to the Migration Directorate unit covering your place of residence. Domestic conditions enter here: accommodation, registered address, health insurance.

Which institution decides what

The common backbone of a file

• •A passport with enough remaining validity, plus the prescribed application form.
• •The document proving the ground: contract, admission letter, civil-status record, company registration or evidence of income.
• •Proof of accommodation — usually a title deed or a notarised tenancy agreement.
• •Valid health insurance in Bulgaria and, where requested, a criminal-record certificate.
• •Apostille and sworn Bulgarian translation of foreign documents; the translation itself may also need certification.

Address registration is the step most often skipped

The decision does not end the process. Registering your address with the municipality, having the card produced and collecting it are separate acts. Address registration is not a formality either: it determines which municipality the administration sees you through for banking, schooling, a family doctor, vehicle registration and e-services. When you move, updating the record is your obligation.

Extension begins before expiry

Time-limited permits do not renew themselves. An extension is requested before the current permit expires, with documents showing the ground still holds. If the ground has changed — the job ended, the studies finished, the business stopped — this is not an extension but an assessment of a new ground. Filing after expiry usually means leaving the country and rebuilding the chain from the start.

If the application is refused

1. 1

   Read the reasoning, not the outcome

   Administrative decisions state their reasons. If the reason is an incomplete file, complete it and refile; if the ground itself was not accepted, refiling the same file wastes time.
2. 2

   Take the appeal route and deadline from the decision itself

   The body to appeal to and the time limit are written into the act. A missed deadline makes the refusal final, so read the text rather than relying on hearsay.
3. 3

   Assess your right to remain separately

   A refusal can also affect the basis on which you are present. An appeal does not by itself create a right to stay; this is the point to speak to an immigration lawyer.

How status is lost quietly

• •The ground disappears — contract terminated, enrolment cancelled, separation — and the authority is not informed.
• •Time spent outside Bulgaria beyond what the status tolerates; the threshold depends on the permit type and is read from the law.
• •An address record that no longer matches reality; notices are served to the registered address.
• •A gap in health insurance, which surfaces at extension time.
• •An expired card for which no replacement was requested.

Periods, amounts and thresholds in the official service description

The values below were read on 10 October 2026 in the description of the service on long-term residence for foreigners in Bulgaria's administrative services register (IISDA, regime no. 238; page last changed 3 November 2025). They differ by ground, so ask the Migration Directorate in writing which line applies to your file.

The ground-by-ground sections give an examination period of up to 14 days, extendable by one month in complex cases, while the general part of the same page gives longer periods. Read together, the two statements leave the period for your own file unclear, so get it in writing from the Migration Directorate.

After the decision: card, address and visa fee

• •Card: the card service (IISDA, regime 320) runs for 1 month; the state fee is 40 in the old unit (at the fixed rate ≈ €20.45) for the ordinary service and 80 in the old unit (at the fixed rate ≈ €40.90) for the fast service of up to 10 days.
• •The 3-day express card costs 200 in the old unit (at the fixed rate ≈ €102.26); the description counts it only for permanent or long-term permits and only when the application is filed at the Migration Directorate itself.
• •Address: the person or entity that gave the foreigner shelter notifies the authority in writing within 3 days (IISDA, regime 684); the service is completed the same day, no fee is charged and the appeal period is 14 days.
• •Type D visa: the Ministry of Foreign Affairs states that a fee of 100 euro is collected for an application under Article 15(1) of the Foreigners in the Republic of Bulgaria Act; a fee paid is not refunded if the visa is refused.
• •An applicant aged 18 or over must file a criminal record certificate with the first application (description, Article 24(2)).

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