Intra-corporate transfer of an employee to Bulgaria (ICT)

This ground is governed by Art. 24к of the Foreigners Act (ЗЧРБ) and by the provisions of the Labour Migration and Labour Mobility Act (ЗТМТМ). It was created specifically for international holdings that need to temporarily transfer their key people, top managers or trainees from a foreign office to a Bulgarian branch or subsidiary.

Who is eligible for a transfer (ICT categories)

The legislation clearly divides the employees who may use this procedure into three categories:

Managers (Ръководители): Persons in managerial positions who run the Bulgarian subdivision, report to the board of directors or to the shareholders and are entitled to take strategic decisions.

Key specialists (Експерти): Employees with unique knowledge that is critically important for the company's services, research equipment, techniques or management.

Trainees with higher education (Служители-стажанти): Young professionals transferred for the purposes of career development or of training in the holding's business methods.

Duration of the status

The ICT permit is temporary in nature, but it is issued for convenient long periods:

For managers and key specialists: The permit is issued for a period of up to 3 years.

For trainees: The maximum period is 1 year.

After these periods expire the employee must leave the country (or change the ground), however within this period the permit can be renewed annually.

Requirements for the companies and the employee

For the Employment Agency and the Migration Directorate to approve the transfer, strict conditions must be met:

Link between the companies: The host party in Bulgaria and the foreign employer must officially belong to the same group of companies (parent/subsidiary company, branch or representative office).

Service in the foreign office: The employee must have worked continuously in this international group of companies (outside Bulgaria) immediately before the transfer:

At least 12 consecutive months — for managers and specialists.

At least 6 consecutive months — for trainees.

Equality of conditions: The salary of the transferred employee in Bulgaria must not be lower than that of Bulgarian citizens in comparable positions and must correspond to market conditions.

List of documents for the application

The procedure is largely centralised. As with the Single Permit, the Bulgarian office submits the initial package in Bulgaria, after which the employee obtains a type D visa and enters the country.

Documents from the employer (the host party):

An application and a justification of the transfer from the Bulgarian legal entity.

Evidence of belonging to the same group: Legalised extracts from the commercial registers of both countries confirming that the Bulgarian and the foreign company are legally linked.

The employment contract with the foreign company (confirming the required length of service before the transfer).

Transfer letter (Документ за командироване): An official document from the head office stating:

The duration of the transfer and the address of the Bulgarian branch.

The position (manager/specialist/trainee).

The amount of remuneration and the working conditions.

A guarantee that upon expiry of the transfer period the employee will be returned to the original subdivision of the holding.

Documents from the employee (for the type D visa and Migration):

Foreign passport (valid for at least 18 months).

Certificate of no criminal record (legalised and with a certified translation, only for the first submission).

Proof of housing in Bulgaria (title deed or lease agreement + address declaration).

Medical insurance with coverage from €30,000.

A diploma or certificates confirming high qualifications (for specialists) or higher education (for trainees).

Financial costs and fees (in Euro)

In 2026, in connection with Bulgaria's transition to the euro, all fees are fixed as follows:

Stage / Service | Cost in €

Visa fee (type D visa) | 100 €

Fee for consideration of the application at the Migration Directorate | 5 €

Annual fee for the long-term residence permit | 255 €

Issuance of the ID card (standard, 30 days) | 23 €

Issuance of the ID card (express, 15 days) | 46 €

The main advantage: intra-European mobility (ICT Mobile)

The great advantage of this status is that if a foreigner has obtained an ICT permit in another EU country (for example, in Germany), he can be temporarily transferred to a Bulgarian branch under the simplified "Mobility under an intra-corporate transfer" scheme (Art. 24к, para. 6 of ЗЧРБ).

If the move is planned for a period of up to 90 days, a simple notification of the authorities is often sufficient. If the period is longer, a long-term permit is issued, but under a considerably easier procedure than standard entry from third countries.