Permanent residence permit for those born in Bulgaria who lost their citizenship

Foreign nationals who are not of Bulgarian ethnic origin (roots) but were born on the territory of Bulgaria and in the past lost their Bulgarian citizenship (of their own accord or on the basis of intergovernmental migration agreements, for example with countries of the former socialist bloc or with Turkey) have the right to restore their permanent residence in their homeland via a simplified track.

Step-by-step algorithm: from the type D visa to filing the documents

The procedure for obtaining the status is strictly divided into two consecutive stages.

Step 1. Obtaining a type D visa

Since at this point the applicant is legally a foreigner, entry into Bulgaria for the purpose of applying for a permanent residence permit is made strictly on a long-term type D visa issued by a Bulgarian consulate abroad.

For the visa the same package of documents is submitted as for the migration service, but in addition medical insurance for foreigners is purchased with coverage of at least €30 000 for the entire validity of the visa corridor.

Step 2. Applying for the permanent residence permit inside Bulgaria

After lawful entry into the country, the foreigner must apply in person to the regional branch of the Migration Directorate at the Regional Directorate of the Ministry of Interior (ОДМВР) at the place of the future permanent address.

Filing deadlines: the documents must be submitted no later than 2 months before the expiry of the type D visa.

Processing time: the standard term is 2 months. Where archive checks or interdepartmental enquiries are needed, the head of the migration service has the right to extend the review by another 2 months.

Package of documents for the Migration Service

In addition to the application in the prescribed form, the applicant must provide two groups of documents: specific ones (confirming the ground) and standard ones (everyday ones).

1. Documents confirming the ground (чл. 25, ал. 1, т. 9 ЗЧРБ):

Birth certificate: the original or a duplicate confirming the fact of birth on the territory of Bulgaria. If the document was issued abroad (in the case of repeated replacements), a legalised translation is required.

Certificate of absence of citizenship: an official certificate issued by the Ministry of Justice of Bulgaria (Дирекция «Българско гражданство») confirming that at present the applicant is not a citizen of Bulgaria and recording the date and ground of the loss of the passport.

Archive certificate from the municipality: an official certificate from the municipality of the applicant's last place of residence before leaving Bulgaria. The document must contain information on the date, the destination and the legal method (agreement) of departure from the country.

1. Standard package of documents:

Foreign passport: valid for at least 3 months at the time of filing + plain copies of the photo page, the type D visa and the border control stamp.

Processing fee: a receipt for payment of the case handling fee of €5 (the equivalent of 10 leva).

Financial means: a certificate from a Bulgarian bank confirming that the personal account holds funds sufficient for living without recourse to the social assistance system. The amount is calculated a year ahead on the basis of the current Bulgarian minimum wage in euro.

Secured housing: a notarial title deed to real estate or a notarised lease agreement, supported by the owner's notarised declaration providing the address (адресна декларация).

Criminal record certificate: from the country of current citizenship or permanent residence. The document must have been issued no earlier than 5 months before filing, translated into Bulgarian and legalised (apostilled). Stateless persons are exempt from this certificate.

Administrative simplification: the criminal record certificate for the territory of Bulgaria itself does not need to be provided on paper. The migration service requests it electronically (ex officio) from the Ministry of Justice.

Final processing, ЕГН and the new fees in euro (€)

After a positive decision is issued by the Migration Directorate, the foreigner goes through the final stages of legalisation:

Fee for granting the status: the one-off state fee for obtaining the permanent residence permit is fixed in euro and amounts to €512 (the equivalent of the former 1000 leva).

Registration with the municipality (ЕСГРАОН): with the original decision of the migration service, the applicant applies to the municipality of the place of residence. The person is registered in the unified national system, a permanent address is assigned to them and they are given an ЕГН (Единен граждански номер).

Ordering the plastic ID card: biometric data are submitted at the migration service and a plastic permanent residence permit (Карта на постоянно пребиваващ чужденец) is issued. The cost of standard production (30 days) is about €23 (45 leva). The validity of the plastic card itself is 5 years, after which the card is simply reissued without a repeated check of the grounds for the permanent residence permit.