Divorce and a long-term residence permit in Bulgaria: what happens to the reunified spouse's status?

When a marriage ends, the legal basis on which the identity card (карта за пребиваване) was issued ceases to apply. Below is a detailed breakdown of the procedure, the risks and the legal ways to keep your status in Bulgaria.

What happens to the long-term residence permit immediately after a divorce?

Under Bulgarian migration law, when marital relations end, the conditions for extending or keeping a valid long-term residence permit no longer exist:

• Duty to notify: Under Art. 21 of the ЗЧРБ, the foreign national or their former spouse must notify the Migration Directorate of the dissolution of the marriage as soon as possible and submit the court decision that has entered into force.
• Revocation of status: The Migration Directorate is entitled to issue an administrative act revoking the right of long-term residence (отнемане на правото на пребиваване).
• Validity of the card: Even if the plastic residence card is valid for another six months or a year, the permit’s actual legal force is annulled from the moment the migration service issues the relevant decision.

Are there any exceptions? (Autonomous right to a long-term residence permit)

The Bulgarian Foreigners Act provides safeguards for people in difficult personal circumstances, allowing them, under certain conditions, to obtain an independent (autonomous) long-term residence permit:

• Long marriage and uninterrupted residence (Art. 25b of the ЗЧРБ): If the spouse has lived in Bulgaria on the basis of family reunification for at least 2–3 consecutive years (depending on the category of the main status holder), the migration service may grant a one-off autonomous long-term residence permit for up to 1 year.
• Joint minor children: If the marriage produced joint children who hold Bulgarian citizenship or a permanent residence permit / EU long-term resident status in Bulgaria, the foreign spouse is entitled to apply for a long-term residence permit as the parent of an EU/Republic of Bulgaria citizen or on the grounds of safeguarding the child’s rights.
• Special humanitarian circumstances: In cases of proven domestic violence (official court acts, medical examination reports or police reports will be required), the law allows the right of residence to be retained on humanitarian grounds.

Strategies for preserving legal status

If the conditions for an autonomous long-term residence permit are not met, the spouse losing their status must re-register their documents on another independent basis in advance:

• Registration of a Trade Representative Office (TRO): One of the most common routes is to become the representative of a foreign company and submit a document package for an independent long-term residence permit.
• Employment or the EU Blue Card: Finding an employer in Bulgaria willing to arrange a work permit.
• Studies: Enrolling in a full-time programme at a Bulgarian university (grants the right to a long-term residence permit for study).
• Business registration (OOD (LLC)/EOOD (single-member LLC) with the creation of 10 jobs): Setting up your own business and employing at least 10 Bulgarian citizens.

An important detail: In most cases, changing the basis requires leaving the country to obtain a new type D visa at the Bulgarian embassy/consulate in the country of permanent residence or citizenship, if the law does not allow the switch to be made inside the country.

Checklist: steps when a marriage is dissolved