Long-term residence permit in Bulgaria for entrepreneurs: 10 jobs

Among the grounds for obtaining a Bulgarian long-term residence permit, one of the classic options for businesspeople is “Carrying out business activity while providing at least 10 jobs for Bulgarian citizens” (Art. 24, para. 1, item 2 of the ZChRB).

This basis is intended for foreign nationals who have registered a commercial company in Bulgaria (for example, an OOD or an EOOD) and have provided real employment to citizens of the country.

⚠️ Important quota rule: The requirement to hire at least 10 Bulgarian citizens applies to each founder of the company who plans to apply for a long-term residence permit on this basis. If there are two founders and both want to obtain the status, the company must hire at least 20 Bulgarian citizens.

General procedure and financial costs

Obtaining the status consists of two consecutive stages: obtaining a long-term type D visa in the country of residence and then issuing a personal residence permit card in Bulgaria.

Type D visa: Issued by a Bulgarian diplomatic or consular mission abroad. Valid for 180 days.

Visa fee: €100.

Processing time: from 30 working days.

Issuance of the long-term residence permit: Submitted in person to the Migration Directorate at the Regional Directorate of the Ministry of the Interior (МВР) at the place of residence in Bulgaria. The documents must be submitted no later than 14 days before the expiry of the type D visa. The status is granted for up to 1 year with the right to annual renewal.

State fees in Bulgaria (in euro):

With Bulgaria’s switch to the euro, all fees are fixed in the common European currency:

Fee for reviewing the application at the Migration Directorate — €5 (the equivalent of the former 10 lv).

Annual state fee for the authorised residence (after approval) — €255 (the equivalent of the former 500 lv).

Production of the personal plastic card (residence permit) — from €23 (depending on urgency).

List of standard documents for the type D visa and the long-term residence permit

The document packages for the consulate and the Migration Directorate are practically identical. All documents not in Bulgarian must have a certified translation and legalisation/apostille.

Visa application form with a colour photo (for Bulgaria — the residence permit application of the established form).

Valid international passport (original and copies of the first page, the stamp of the last entry and the type D visa when applying for the long-term residence permit). The passport must be valid for at least 18 months on the day of submission.

Proof of accommodation in Bulgaria: a copy of the title deed (for owners) or a notarised copy of the lease agreement together with a notarised declaration from the property owner providing the address.

Medical insurance: for foreigners, with coverage of at least €30,000, valid on the territory of Bulgaria for the entire period of the requested stay.

Certificate of no criminal record: provided by all adult applicants at the first submission (for annual renewal of the long-term residence permit in Bulgaria this certificate is no longer required). The certificate is valid for no more than 5 months from the date of issue to the moment of submission to the consulate.

Proof of financial means: a statement from a Bulgarian bank confirming the availability of funds in the applicant’s personal account. The minimum amount is calculated strictly on the basis of the current minimum wage (MW) in euro:

For the type D visa: at least 6 MW.

For the long-term residence permit and its renewal: at least 12 MW for the year ahead.

Special (company-specific) documents

To confirm compliance with the conditions of Art. 24, para. 1, item 2 of the ZChRB, specific documents proving that a real business is being run and that the hiring quota is met are added to the standard package:

Certificate of current status (Удостоверение за актуално състояние): a printout or electronic extract from the Commercial Register (Търговски регистр) at the Registry Agency, issued no earlier than 3 months before submission.

Certificate of no tax liabilities: an official document from the National Revenue Agency (NAP) (Удостоверение за наличие или липса на задължения по чл. 87, ал. 11 от ДОПК от НАП). The company must have no debts to the budget for taxes or social security contributions.

Documents on the hiring of employees from NAP:

An official certificate from NAP on registered and active employment contracts (Справка за приети и отхвърлени уведомления по чл. 62, ал. 5 от КТ).

A current list of insured persons confirming that at least 10 Bulgarian citizens are actually employed by the company.

⚠️ Critically important for retaining the status: All 10 Bulgarian citizens must be hired full-time (the standard 8 hours) under open-ended or long-term employment contracts.

The migration service and the General Labour Inspectorate carefully verify this data through NAP’s electronic databases. If one of the employees resigns during the year, their job must be promptly filled by another Bulgarian citizen, otherwise the basis is annulled, which entails early termination of the long-term residence permit for the foreign entrepreneur.