Long-term residence permit for pensioners in Bulgaria: conditions and documents

The Foreigners in the Republic of Bulgaria Act (ЗЧРБ) grants foreign nationals who receive a pension in their own country the legal right to obtain a residence permit (продължително пребиваване). The main conditions for successfully obtaining the status are confirmation of pensioner status and having sufficient funds to live in the country.

Main requirements and specifics

Type of status: the long-term residence permit is issued for a maximum term of up to 1 year with the right to renew it annually.

Two-stage process: first a long-term type D visa is issued (at the consulate in the country of origin), after which you enter Bulgaria and submit the documents for the long-term residence permit itself.

Submission deadlines: the documents for the long-term residence permit must be submitted to the Migration Directorate at your place of residence no later than two weeks before the expiry of the type D visa or the current long-term residence permit.

List of required documents

All documents issued outside Bulgaria in a foreign language must be translated into Bulgarian by a licensed translator and legalised (bearing an apostille, if there is no legal assistance treaty between the countries). Notarised copies are required for submission.

1. Documents confirming pensioner status (the grounds):

Pension certificate (notarised copy with translation and legalisation).

A certificate from the pension authority (an extract from the Social/Pension Fund) that pays the pension. The document must state the amount of the pension payments for the last 3 months preceding the submission of documents.

1. General (standard) set of documents:

Foreign passport + a copy of the first double page and the page with the stamp of the last entry into Bulgaria. The passport must be valid for at least 18 months (a year and a half) at the time of submission.

Proof of housing:

For owners: a copy of the notarial deed for the property in Bulgaria.

For tenants: a notarised copy of the lease agreement together with a notarised address declaration from the owner of the property.

Financial means (bank statement): a certificate from a Bulgarian bank confirming that the required amount is held in the applicant's personal account.

For the type D visa (for six months): the amount in the account must be no less than 6 Bulgarian minimum pensions.

For the long-term residence permit (for 1 year): the amount must be twice as large — no less than 12 Bulgarian minimum pensions. All calculations and balances are kept exclusively in euros (€).

Criminal record certificate: required for all adults (except stateless persons). At the time of submission the certificate must be no more than 5 months old (translation and legalisation are mandatory).

Medical insurance: a specialised insurance policy for foreigners («за чужденци») with coverage of no less than 30 000 €, valid throughout Bulgaria for the entire period of stay.

Application: a completed type D visa application form (with a current colour photograph) or an application for a long-term residence permit.

Step-by-step procedure and cost in euros (€)

Stage 1: Obtaining the type D visa (in the country of residence)

The documents are submitted in person at the Bulgarian consulate.

Consular fee: 100 €.

Processing time: a minimum of 30 working days.

Result: a type D visa valid for 6 months is issued.

Stage 2: Obtaining the long-term residence permit (in Bulgaria)

After entering Bulgaria on the type D visa, the applicant applies to the regional Migration Directorate of the Ministry of the Interior at the place of actual residence.

Fee for processing the documents: 5.11 €.

Time for considering the application: up to 14 days.

Fee for the residence permit (after approval): 255.65 € (paid annually).

Production of the personal card: a state fee is additionally payable for the issue of the plastic identity document (лична карта на чужденец) depending on the urgency.

Annual renewal and prospects

When renewing the long-term residence permit for the following year the procedure remains the same, but has one important advantage: there is no need to provide a criminal record certificate again. The original and a plain copy of the valid long-term residence permit card are attached to the standard set of documents (an updated Bulgarian bank statement for 12 pensions, new insurance and the lease agreement). All state duties and fees remain unchanged.

The path to the permanent residence permit / EU long-term resident status: after 5 years of continuous, lawful residence in Bulgaria holding a long-term residence permit, a foreign pensioner obtains the legal right to submit documents for a permanent residence permit in the country or EU long-term resident status