Before you start

A Bulgarian employer prepared to run the Employment Agency procedure, or another qualifying ground
A type D long-stay visa obtained at a Bulgarian mission abroad
Apostilled criminal record certificate with a certified Bulgarian translation
Proof of accommodation in Sofia and of means of support
Health insurance valid in Bulgaria

Step-by-step

1
Employer files with the Employment Agency
The employer applies for the labour element, evidencing the role, the pay and conditions relative to a Bulgarian employee doing the same work, and — unless exempt — the labour market test showing no suitable Bulgarian or EU candidate was found. A thin advertising record is the usual refusal.
Via employerWho: Your employer
2
Apply for the type D long-stay visa
With the Employment Agency decision, you apply at a Bulgarian embassy or consulate for a type D visa. This has to happen before you travel; you cannot convert a visa-free entry into a residence permit from inside Bulgaria.
In personWho: You
3
Apply to the Migration Directorate after arrival
Once in Bulgaria, you apply to the Migration Directorate for the residence card. In Sofia this is a busy office; go early and bring the full file, because a single missing certified translation means a return visit.
In personWho: You
4
Get your LNCh personal number
Foreign residents are issued a personal number for foreigners (LNCh) that functions like the Bulgarian EGN. Banks, clinics, employers and utility companies all key on it, and nothing much works without one.
In personWho: You
5
Register your address
Your address is registered as part of the residence process and must be updated when you move. Bulgarian landlords are generally comfortable with this, which is a real advantage over some neighbours.
In personWho: You
6
Renew before expiry and track the five-year clock
Renewals are filed with the Migration Directorate in good time. Long-term residence — the EU long-term resident status — becomes available after five years of continuous lawful residence, so protect the continuity rather than letting a gap open between permits.
In personWho: You

Documents you’ll need

Passport with the type D visa
Employment Agency decision and employment contract
Lease or notarised accommodation declaration
Criminal record certificate, apostilled and translated into Bulgarian by an approved translator
Health insurance certificate
Passport photographs to Bulgarian specification

Things most newcomers don’t know

The labour market test is the step that fails applications, and the evidence has to exist before you apply.

Bulgaria requires the employer to demonstrate that the vacancy was genuinely advertised and that no suitable Bulgarian or EU candidate was available, unless the role or the applicant falls into an exempt category. This is documentary: dated advertisements, records of applicants, reasons for rejection. Employers who decide to hire you and then construct the evidence afterwards produce a file that fails. If the salary would clear the EU Blue Card threshold, that route has no labour market test at all.

Source: Employment Agency of Bulgaria

The Blue Card threshold is a formula against a moving average, not a number.

Bulgaria sets the EU Blue Card salary floor at 1.5 times the national average gross salary, calculated from National Statistical Institute data for the twelve months preceding the contract. The NSI republishes the average quarterly and Bulgarian wages have been rising quickly, so a threshold quoted even a year ago will be too low. Ask for the figure applying on the date your contract is signed, and remember it is now expressed in euro rather than in leva.

Source: European Commission; National Statistical Institute

Everything monetary in Bulgarian immigration is now denominated in euro, and the conversion date matters.

Bulgaria joined the euro area on 1 January 2026 at 1.95583 lev to the euro, with the lev ceasing to be legal tender on 1 February 2026. Salary thresholds, fees and proof-of-means figures published before that are lev figures that have been converted. A guide quoting a threshold in leva is not wrong so much as out of date, and converting it yourself gives the right order of magnitude but not necessarily the exact rounded figure the authority now applies.

Source: European Central Bank

Bulgaria has no digital nomad visa, whatever the relocation industry says.

There is no Bulgarian remote-work permit. What exists is residence for freelance activity or for running a Bulgarian company, both of which are real routes and both of which bring Bulgarian social and health contribution obligations, accounting and filing. Marketing that presents the 10% flat tax alongside an implied nomad visa is combining a genuine fact with an instrument that does not exist. If you want to be resident in Sofia as a remote worker, you are looking at the freelance or company route.

Source: Migration Directorate

Common mistakes to avoid

Arriving visa-free and expecting to convert to a residence permit from inside Bulgaria.
Relying on an employer who has not documented the labour market test properly.
Using a threshold or fee figure quoted in leva without checking the current euro figure.
Assuming a Bulgarian digital nomad visa exists.
Letting a gap open between permits and breaking the five-year continuity.

Some of this may be out of date. Spotted something inaccurate? Help us keep it right for the next newcomer.