EU long-term resident status and permanent residence permit in Bulgaria: what is the difference?

Similarities

Even though ПМЖ stands for “permanent place of residence” and ДВЖ for “long-term residence”, both statuses are in essence permanent, and the Bulgarian Foreigners Act says so unambiguously.

Foreign nationals receive the same rights under both statuses. They are assigned an ЕГН (unified civil number), they gain access to the compulsory health insurance system (“Здравна каса”), they can take up employment, and if they lose their job they can register with the labour office and receive benefits (only for those who work legally and pay social insurance contributions).

In neither case can you travel visa-free throughout the European Union — for that you need Bulgarian citizenship. In addition, you cannot vote or stand for election, nor work in certain positions open only to citizens. You cannot buy land in your own name.

Differences

The permanent residence permit is a purely Bulgarian status, while EU long-term resident status is European. Obtaining an authorisation for long-term residence is somewhat harder than obtaining permanent residence. To do so you must reside in the country lawfully and without interruption for 5 years, leaving Bulgaria for no more than 10 months over that entire period. No single period of absence from the country may exceed six months.

To obtain a permanent residence permit you must also spend five years in Bulgaria, but you may be absent for up to half of that period, and the length of each individual absence is not regulated.

It is important to spend at least 1 day on Bulgarian territory within every 12 consecutive months so as not to lose your residence status.

You can obtain a long-term residence permit, leave Bulgaria and return only for the next renewal — this will not affect your ability to obtain permanent residence, provided the total period of absence is less than 30 months over 5 years. Moreover, a permanent residence permit can be obtained not only after five years of living in the country, but also on other grounds — by descent, by investment, or as a family member of a Bulgarian citizen or of a foreigner holding a permanent residence permit.

The cost of EU long-term resident status is 110 leva. For a permanent residence permit you have to pay 1000 leva.

Five years after obtaining EU long-term resident status, the status must be renewed by filing an application with the migration service. The fee does not have to be paid again. Holders of a permanent residence permit merely obtain a new identity card.

Family members of a foreigner with EU long-term resident status can obtain a residence permit for up to one year. The children of a foreign national who has obtained a permanent residence permit are entitled to permanent residence too, but the state fee for each child will likewise be 1000 lv. The exception is a permanent residence permit by descent, where the fee is only 50 lv.

EU long-term resident status appeared in Bulgaria back in 2011, but at first it was not popular — it was harder to obtain than a permanent residence permit, and the price was the same. When the fee for the authorisation for long-term residence was reduced, foreigners began actively obtaining EU long-term resident status. And then it turned out that by no means everyone is prepared to recognise this status as permanent, despite what the law says.

Particularly important differences

For example, while students with permanent residence pay the same university tuition as Bulgarian citizens, students with EU long-term resident status often have to pay the higher rate for foreigners. There are exceptions to this rule — it all depends on the university, and if you look you can find one where tuition is cheaper. However, students holding a permanent residence permit never face such problems and can choose any educational institution.

On the other hand, EU long-term resident status makes it easier for its holders to obtain a residence permit in other EU countries. For that, the laws of the chosen state must provide for such a possibility.

There are reports that some offices of КАТ (the traffic police) refuse to register cars to foreigners with EU long-term resident status, on the grounds that it is a temporary status, so a car can only be registered in the capital and for a limited period, with blue plates. At the same time, holders of a permanent residence permit register cars everywhere, just like Bulgarian citizens.

How can you lose a permanent residence permit in Bulgaria?

Permanent residence permit in Bulgaria

EU long-term resident status in Bulgaria and the “Blue Card”

Authorisation for long-term residence — EU long-term resident status