OBTAINING PERMANENT RESIDENCE IN
BULGARIA BY PARENTS OF A BULGARIAN CITIZEN

For example, a parent of a child who has acquired Bulgarian citizenship "by descent" from another parent can obtain permanent residence on this basis. In such a situation, even if the marriage was not concluded officially or broke up ahead of time, the foreign parent still has the opportunity to live with the child in Bulgaria - of course, subject to other conditions, such as a three-year stay and child support. You can support not only a minor child. According to Art. 144 of the Family Code of Bulgaria, parents must also support adult children studying full-time in secondary and higher educational institutions during the period of study. When studying in a gymnasium or other secondary educational institution, this obligation remains with the parents until the child reaches the age of twenty. If we are talking about higher education, then you need to support a child up to 25 years old. An important clarification: in this case, parents should support adult children only if they cannot support themselves from their own income and property, and the payment of alimony does not present any particular difficulties for parents. Thus, foreign parents who support minor children, as well as adult children under 25 who receive higher education, can apply for permanent residence. Before that, they must have stayed in Bulgaria continuously and legally for at least three years (with a residence permit).

To obtain a permanent residence, you need to appear at the migration service department at the regional police department in person and provide:

• application;
• foreign passport valid for at least three months, as well as simple copies of spreads with personal data and with a stamp of the last entry into the country;
• certificate from the bank about the availability of funds on the account;
• proof of the presence of housing in Bulgaria (own or rented; in the second case, in addition to a notarized copy of the lease agreement, you must also provide a notarized copy of the address declaration);
• a declaration on the support of a child who is a citizen of Bulgaria "Financial and shelter support Declaration";
• if the child is an adult, then additionally documents are provided confirming the fact of his studies in a secondary or higher educational institution.

It is necessary to submit documents after the expiration of a three-year period of stay in Bulgaria, but no later than 2 months before the termination of the period of legal stay in the country. The cost of processing an application is 10 levs. The documents are processed within two months, if necessary, the employees of the migration service can request additional papers and extend the period for another two months. After obtaining a permit, you must pay a fee of 1000 levs, and then register with the Community (city administration), get a permanent address and ID number. After that, a plastic permit card is ordered. The cost of its production is 45 levs, the production time is 30 days.