Permanent residence permit for minors left by their parents in Bulgaria

Minor foreign nationals who have been left by their parents on the territory of the Republic of Bulgaria and, as a protective measure, placed in social or integrated health and social services have the legal right to obtain a permanent residence permit.

Legal grounds

The Bulgarian Foreigners Act (ЗЧРБ) divides this category of children into two types of grounds:

Article 25, para. 1, item 14 of the ЗЧРБ: Applies to children who were born in Bulgaria and were left by their parents on the territory of the country.

Article 25, para. 1, item 15 of the ЗЧРБ: Applies to children who were born outside Bulgaria (in another country) but were subsequently abandoned by their parents on Bulgarian territory.

⚠️ Important detail: Since the children are already physically in Bulgaria under the care of social services, the procedure does not require them to leave the country beforehand and obtain a long-term immigration type D visa.

Filing procedure and time frames

The procedure for obtaining permanent residence permit status depends on the age of the child, and the application itself is filed with the regional migration service at the place where the child is actually located:

For children under 14: The application to the migration service is filed exclusively by the head of the specialised institution or social service in which the child has been placed.

For minors aged 14 to 18: Children file the application in person, but the head of the specialised institution (social service) must be present. The head officially confirms their consent by signing the application together with the child.

Processing time: The documents are reviewed by the migration authorities within 2 months.

Outcome: Once a positive decision has been issued, the child is granted permanent residence permit status, is registered with the municipality (town hall) at their place of residence and is assigned a Unified Civil Number (ЕГН).

Fees in euros (€)

With Bulgaria's transition to the single European currency, the cost of processing the documents is calculated in euros:

Fee for reviewing the application: €5.11 (the equivalent of 10 leva).

List of required documents

To arrange the permanent residence permit, the administration of the social service, together with the migration authorities, compiles the following set of documents:

An application in the prescribed form.

The child's birth certificate.

A foreign passport or an official document replacing it (if the child has one), together with a copy of the page bearing the photograph and personal details.

A decision of the “Социално подпомагане” Directorate at the actual address where the minor is located and accommodated.

A copy of the court ruling and/or the official administrative decision on placing the child in a specialised institution or social service.

A receipt for payment of the document processing fee of €5.11.