How can long-term residence permit holders work in Bulgaria?

Who has the right to work?

Holders of the EU Blue Card, spouses of Bulgarian citizens and of legally residing foreigners, researchers, students and certain other categories have the right to take up employment in Bulgaria. In some cases (for example, in the case of the spouse of a foreigner legally residing in Bulgaria) a special permit from the Employment Agency is required for this. As a rule, the permit is arranged by the employer who is interested in the foreign employee.

This, however, does not apply to the two most common categories of immigrants – pensioners and those who obtained a long-term residence permit on the basis of a trade representative office.

Under Art. 8 of the Labour Migration and Labour Mobility Act, foreigners who have obtained a long-term residence permit on the following grounds may not take up employment:

• on business grounds, i.e. on the basis of setting up a company and providing jobs for 10 citizens of the country (Art. 24, para. 1, item 2);
• on the basis of a trade representative office (Art. 24, para. 1, item 6);
• as financially secure parents of Bulgarians or of foreigners with a permanent residence permit (Art. 24, para. 1, item 7);
• those who have come for medical treatment (Art. 24, para. 1, item 8);
• pensioners (Art. 24, para. 1, item 10);
• certain family members or domestic helpers of foreigners (Art. 24, para. 1, item 14);
• those wishing to carry out non-commercial activity (Art. 24, para. 1, item 16);
• investors (Art. 24, para. 1, items 19 and 20).

In these cases foreigners have no right to take a job until they obtain a permanent residence permit / EU long-term resident status.

Self-employed persons in Bulgaria (“freelance practice”)

Foreigners may work in Bulgaria for themselves. Such work is a ground for obtaining a type D visa and subsequently a residence permit, but a special authorisation — a licence — must be obtained first. To obtain it you need to submit a business plan, documents on your education and previous work experience, and also pass an examination in Bulgarian. The licence is renewed once a year. On renewal you must report on your activity over the past period and provide information on the taxes paid.

Providing services through your own company

Any foreigner (including one without a residence permit) may register a company in Bulgaria (for example, an OOD (LLC) or an EOOD (single-member LLC)) and provide services on its behalf. This is quite a popular option, but you should bear in mind that in this case you will have to pay not only income tax but also social security contributions. Foreigners with a long-term residence permit do not pay health insurance contributions. In any case you will have to work closely with an accountant, who will make sure that all the paperwork is drawn up correctly.

Employers, as a rule, are happy to agree to such an arrangement – it is usually more advantageous for them to work with another legal entity than to hire an employee for whom social security contributions must be paid.

Registering a company in Bulgaria is fairly simple and takes about a week. The hardest part is opening a bank account; at the other stages difficulties usually do not arise. After that you can offer your services to companies or private individuals.

Owning your own company can also serve as a ground for obtaining a long-term residence permit. In this case you must employ (full-time) at least 10 Bulgarian citizens. As a rule, few people choose this route to a residence permit, but if you already have a business in Bulgaria and it is successful, then this ground will be an excellent solution.

Illegal work

There are two possible scenarios here. Sometimes the employer simply does not know that the foreigner has no right to paid employment. In other cases the law is broken quite deliberately, and unscrupulous employers often have no intention of paying illegal workers a salary at all, knowing that they will not be able to defend their rights.

After the very first inspection, trouble awaits both the foreigner and the person who gave him illegal work. And while the employer may get off with just a fine, in such a situation the immigrant is often also threatened with deportation.

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