Today, many Russians express a desire to move permanently to friendly Bulgaria. Linguistic similarities, a harmonious climate, the proximity of the sea, friendly residents - all this largely contributes to its popularization not only as a tourist country, but also in the direction of migration. Residence permit in Bulgaria can be obtained quite simply. Naturally, if you follow all the rules and know some of the nuances in the preparation of documents.
The main advantages of a residence permit
First you need to decide what gives the residence permit in Bulgaria to the applicant? Why are many so willing to change their place of residence? In fact, life in this Balkan country has a number of obvious advantages:
- solving health problems - the seaside climate has turned Bulgaria into one of the most popular resort areas;
- reunion with relatives - if the applicant has family ties with the Bulgarian side or family in Bulgaria;
- study at local universities;
- language training - the Bulgarian language is close in structure to Russian and attracts very many as a communication tool;
- employment - a long-term residence permit allows you not to worry about the validity of a work visa;
- affordable real estate - you can regularly come on vacation to your own house in a calm and comfortable country;
- low prices, abundance of fruits and proximity to other European countries - economic freedoms make it easy to travel around Europe;
- the opportunity to live in Bulgaria for a long time - 6-12 months.
Bulgaria has become part of the European Union, but is not yet part of the Schengen zone. If this happens, a residence permit will help to easily find work in other countries of the Schengen territory without a work visa. Today, a foreigner with a residence permit in Bulgaria receives such a visa quite easily.
Full rights of a citizen, of course, can only be Bulgarian citizens, and not foreigners with a residence permit. For example, with a residence permit you can conduct your own business, but you cannot work for hire.
Grounds for issuing a Bulgarian residence permit
In many respects, Bulgaria’s popularity among applicants is also explained by the relative ease of obtaining a residence permit in this country. The reason for this is the law on foreigners, which allows you to quickly get a visa from category "D".
How to get a residence permit in Bulgaria? The following conditions must be met:
1. Have a work permit obtained in the Ministry of Labor of Bulgaria, or to conduct free labor practice.
2. To be a foreign specialist located in the country under an international treaty.
3. Engage in entrepreneurship, commercial activity in which at least 10 Bulgarian citizens are employed (that is, create jobs), be registered with the Chamber of Commerce through the mediation of other foreign companies.
4. Marry a Bulgarian citizen or a foreigner with a local residence permit.
5. Have other reasons for a long stay in the country: to undergo treatment, to be a representative of the media with accreditation, to be a member of the family of a foreigner with a residence permit or parent thereof, as well as a member of the family of a Bulgarian citizen.
6. To be a well-to-do pensioner with the means to live in Bulgaria.
7. Have refugee status for political or other reasons (Article 25 of the Law, which discloses methods of combating illegal migrants).
8. Obtain permission from the Ministry of Internal Affairs of Bulgaria and the National Security Agency for conducting activities for non-economic purposes.
Although there are a lot of reasons for submitting applications, only a few are popular - each point has its own “pitfalls”, moreover, life dictates its own rules, and not everyone is a refugee or an entrepreneur.
From practice, it is known that the easiest way to apply is for pensioners with collateral. It is also quite convenient and simple to obtain a residence permit in Bulgaria for entrepreneurs and property owners.
List of documents
Now let's talk about the list of documents. Documents for residence permits in Bulgaria are officially listed on the website of the government and the Ministry of Foreign Affairs. The regulated list can be supplemented, therefore, it is imperative to clarify the composition of the package of documents immediately before submission. In any case, Russian documents must be translated and notarized through a lawyer and a translator with a license, signatures must be certified at a consulate at the Bulgarian Foreign Ministry in Russia.
The official list of required securities consists of:
- applications for residence permit;
- copies of the passport with stamps;
- lease agreement or certificate of ownership of real estate;
- bank account statements confirming the existence of a minimum amount for each applicant - 2000 euros;
- criminal records;
- an insurance policy with a reimbursement of at least 30 thousand euros during the year;
- paid state duty in the amount of 10 lev and receipts.
The grounds for issuing a residence permit may be different for pensioners, businessmen and students, family people. For this reason, additional documents may be required: from a pension certificate to a marriage certificate or the birth of children, copies of pension certificates.
It is important to remember that when applying for a “D” type visa, copies of all documents can be brought to the office, but notary certified copies are required for a residence permit.
Representative office opening
A residence permit in Bulgaria through a representative office is an easy option for obtaining documents for the right to reside in the country through the intermediary of a sales representative. According to Bulgarian laws, it is enough to collect the necessary documents and be a legal entity ready to engage in commercial or entrepreneurial activities in Bulgaria. Individual entrepreneurs cannot open sales offices.
Registration of the trade mission in the CCI of Bulgaria is required - after that you can get visas for sales representatives.
A residence permit in Bulgaria for a representative office allows a company employee to enter the territory of Bulgaria and carry out business activities after registration with the migration service. It is important to know that a representative of a foreign company in Bulgaria does not conduct business and is not considered a legal entity - that is, it is not responsible to the local tax system.
To open a representative office, it is necessary to prepare, collect and translate the following certified documents:
1. Protocol with the decision of the founders' council on the establishment of a trade representative office in Bulgaria, where future trade representatives will be invited.
2. Certified documentary consent of trade representatives to represent the interests of the company in this country.
3. Fresh extract from the Russian register.
4. Notarized copies of documents: certificate of registration in the PSRN and TIN.
5. The signatures of all representatives certified by the consul.
6. All powers of attorney of the Director General certified by the consul addressed to representatives from the legal entity and powers of attorney from the representatives themselves to the registrar of the representative office are already in Bulgaria.
7. Lease agreement in the name of the representative and a power of attorney from the bank for the right to open personal accounts for company representatives.
How to get a residence permit in Bulgaria? It is necessary to translate all documents from Russian into Bulgarian with an apostille and legalize them in the consular departments. The collected package of documents is transmitted to Bulgaria to the address of the persons who register the representative office. Typically, the procedure for registering legal entities takes 7 days (workers).
What does the procedure for registering a representative office include?
It consists of the following actions:
- An application and the whole package of documents is submitted to the Bulgarian CCI;
- the CCI decision and the corresponding certificate with a validity period of 30 days are issued within the prescribed period;
- a trade representative office is registered in the Bulstat organization, where notarial representations are issued for each representative;
- in the absence of housing, representatives must submit a lease;
- also provide bank statements on the amount of money in the accounts of each of the representatives in the amount of at least 1200 euros.
Registration of residence permit in Bulgaria after a visa type "D" for representatives
After the registration procedure, each representative is entitled to obtain a residence permit in Bulgaria. For this, the relevant documents are submitted to the consulate:
- decision on registration of TP;
- certificate;
- documents from the Bulstat;
- documents on the availability of housing or a lease;
- insurance policies with a coverage of 30 thousand euros for 180 days;
- booking tickets to Bulgaria;
- applications from each representative for a “D” visa with consent to the processing of personal information;
- 2 photos;
- Additional documents for family members if they are going to reside in Bulgaria with a representative;
- passport valid for at least 18 months.
A visa is issued within 30-50 days. After that, you can register at the migration office to obtain a residence permit in Bulgaria. To do this, they submit to the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Bulgaria a valid certificate of representation from the Bulgarian CCI and a passport with an existing “D” type visa.
An application is filled out to receive a document through the appropriate channel - a sales office - according to a certain scheme, which is provided by the migration service.
Bulgaria, residence permit: real estate as a basis for living
Many Russians with passive income sources express a desire to acquire a house in Bulgaria. It is also a good option for investment - the housing market is growing, square meters are getting more expensive. When buying a home, you can get a residence permit much easier and faster.
Recently, the Bulgarian government allowed to draw up documents for the acquisition of real estate in the country. With a housing fund worth 300 thousand euros, the owners can apply for permanent residence in Bulgaria. Therefore, many seek to quickly acquire any property for further registration of citizenship.
Having bought it, they draw up citizenship according to the following scheme:
- get a residence permit and live in Bulgaria for 5 years;
- receive permanent residence status and live 5 years;
- submit documents for citizenship.
Obviously, the presence of a residence permit is an essential element of the whole procedure. But even in the absence of a desire to have Bulgarian citizenship, a person can greatly simplify many situations in his Bulgarian life if he draws up a document with real estate.
There are times when citizens who own property in Bulgaria have not received a positive decision to grant a residence permit. To avoid such a risk, one should not only carefully study all the requirements for applicants and the subtleties of Bulgarian legislation. It is also important to turn to specialists - representatives who will help to deal with the problem of obtaining a residence permit in Bulgaria when buying real estate, so that its acquisition is not a meaningless action, but a way to simplify obtaining citizenship.
Renewal
Now about such thing as renewal of permission. In connection with a long stay in the country, sooner or later, anyone will need to carry out such a procedure as the extension of residence permit in Bulgaria. If its holder used his document only once (even one day), he has every right to extend the time of his stay again for a period of 6-12 months.
To reissue a residence permit, it is necessary to update the previously submitted list of documents. Then, with a package of documents, a visit to the Ministry of Internal Affairs is made subject to the deadlines: no later than two weeks before the closure of the residence permit. Documents are submitted with a new application. The employee of the ministry will set a date when it will be possible to pick up the finished permit.
On average, the process of preparing a residence permit in Bulgaria takes two weeks (14 days) according to the standard. On the day you receive the updated permit, you must pay the fee on the issued receipt. This receipt is handed over to the Ministry of Internal Affairs, where you will also need to fill out a questionnaire and the next receipt on a plastic card - an analogue of an identity card. On the same day, take a photo on the updated document. The finished residence permit is taken on the next appointed date.
An important detail: when updating a residence permit each year, the issue period will be shifted a month ago. Therefore, you need to pay attention to the date indicated in the column "Validity". Also, after applying for renewal, employees of the ministry will check the address of residence, contact details - they may well come home or ask neighbors.
Documents are always submitted in person, even for minor children. Russian-language documents are provided with a notarized translation.
The right to reside among pensioners
Wealthy Russian pensioners have long been one of the most welcome guests on the Bulgarian side. Obviously, not all people of retirement age in Russia can boast of high incomes and a decent pension, but much depends on personal savings and cash property, real estate.
A residence permit in Bulgaria for pensioners is issued according to a simplified scheme. Material costs in this case are minimized, as is the amount of time for all procedures.
It should be understood that security in this case is not interpreted as the presence of significant capital or large pension payments. It is important that the state should simply regularly transfer the pension to the account.
The program for elderly applicants bears this name: “Secured Senior Citizen”. You can get sickness pension, the main thing is its regularity.
The reasons for the popularity of Bulgaria among older people are simple: low prices for consumer goods, a mild climate with excellent ecology, the ability to relax and successfully engage in gardening, cheap real estate can call this southern European country a paradise for the elderly.
Documents for seniors
A residence permit in Bulgaria for pensioners is issued with the filing of the following documents:
1. A visa is issued type "D". It is usually done for 2-3 months, the cost is about 100 euros.
2. Not later than 15 days before the end of the visa period you need to apply for a residence permit in Bulgaria for pensioners.
3. Submit to the Ministry of Foreign Affairs a passport and copies of the first page, a U-turn with a Bulgarian visa, and stamps.
4. Provide documents confirming the ownership of real estate in Bulgaria.
5. Provide notarized translations of documents: certificates of no criminal record, pension accrual for 3 months.
6. Provide an insurance policy for a residence permit for a certain period. The amount of payments should be at least 30 thousand euros per year.
7. The list of documents should contain a statement from the Bank of Bulgaria on the status of the account at a minimum level of 1800 leva (the amount may vary due to inflation, it is better to check with the Ministry of Foreign Affairs). Semiannual residence permit is half the price.
Other documents may be submitted in addition to the main list.
Much depends on how the Aliens Act is understood in the migration office. Sometimes it is enough to present a statement on the constant receipt of money, certified by a notary. And sometimes it takes a lot more paper. The composition of the package of documents is best clarified by the officers of the migration office.
This material covers only the basic questions asked by those interested in how to obtain a residence permit in Bulgaria.
There are a number of individual requirements and documents that the Bulgarian side may request. But these nuances should be discussed with the representative office or at the consulate.
So, we found out how to get a residence permit in Bulgaria. Reviews say that thanks to this procedure, you can significantly change your life for the better.