Draft amendments to the ZChRB — the Law on Foreigners in Bulgaria — approved

The amendments approved by the government will this time affect, first and foremost, people who come to Bulgaria for work.

For those who come to Bulgaria for work

The procedure will change for obtaining the single permit for residence and work (Art. 24и of the Law on Foreigners), the “Blue Card” (Art. 33к), the permit for those who have arrived on the basis of an intra-corporate transfer (Art. 33) and the residence permit for seasonal workers (Art. 24к). From now on, it will be enough for employers or foreign workers to submit an application to the migration service in order to obtain the document authorising residence and work in Bulgaria. Previously, a permit first had to be obtained from the Employment Agency at the Ministry of Labour and Social Policy, and only after that could one approach the migration service. In this way, the interaction between authorities is streamlined and the procedure itself becomes simpler.

The period within which the State Agency for National Security must provide the migration service with its opinion is also being reduced in cases where the application is submitted by an employer in respect of a foreigner who is outside Bulgaria. Previously this took 10 days, which complicated dealings with the migration service.

Employers will no longer need to provide evidence that the worker has accommodation when submitting the initial set of documents — a permanent address will be required only after the foreign worker enters the country.

The draft amendments also address the procedure for granting long-term residence permits to foreign specialists. It is envisaged that they will receive special personal documents, and in connection with this it is also planned to amend the laws on personal documents in Bulgaria and on the residence in Bulgaria of EU citizens and members of their families.

What lies ahead for representatives

The approved draft amendments will also affect those who obtain a Bulgarian residence permit on the basis of “Trade representative of a foreign company”. They will now have to provide documentary proof that the annual turnover of the company that opened the representative office was not less than 500 thousand leva, converted into Bulgarian currency, during the two years preceding registration. The number of representatives receiving a residence permit from a single company is limited to two. At present, three foreigners from one representative office can obtain a long-term residence permit; earlier the number was limited to four representatives, and before that it was not limited at all.

These changes, which threaten to lead to the closure of a number of representative offices and to make life noticeably more difficult for those applying for a long-term residence permit on this basis, are being adopted in connection with information gathered showing that this basis is currently a route of legal migration that brings the country no economic benefit but, on the contrary, creates conditions for the immigration of potentially problematic foreigners. During the public consultation on the amendments, a great many negative comments were left, which were apparently not taken into account.

Other changes

• The requirements for applicants for a permanent residence permit will now be the same for everyone.
• The procedure for granting long-term residence permits to investors has been streamlined, with checks on whether an investment meets the conditions set out in the law assigned to the Bulgarian Investment Agency.
• Penalties are provided for administrative offences by foreigners who have breached the laws governing the right to reside and work in Bulgaria.
• The rules for issuing visas (mainly short-term ones) have been slightly changed.

For any questions, get in touch via Contacts.

Residence permit in Bulgaria (long-term residence permit)

Trade representative office

The procedure for obtaining residence permits for an entire family in Bulgaria