Bulgaria residence and citizenship

Investor permanent residence — qualifying Bulgarian company and ten jobs

Not for EU citizens.

Non-EEA applicants under Henley's residence-by-investment eligibility; EUR 256,000 converted at ECB 9 Nov 2026 EUR 1 = USD 1.1193. The USD application fee converts the separate EUR 5.11 filing charge; the EUR 511.29 permanent-residence grant fee and residence-card fee are additional. Five years is measured from permanent residence, not the initial investment; ordinary naturalization also requires Bulgarian language and, unless exempt, release from prior nationality.

Sources: Permanent residence filing and grant fees (Bulgarian Ministry of Interior), Bulgarian Citizenship Act, article 12 and repealed investor articles (Bulgarian Ministry of Justice), ECB euro reference rate, 9 November 2026 (European Central Bank), Company and jobs investor route (Henley & Partners, summary), Investor residence eligibility (Henley & Partners, summary), Investor residence and citizenship process (Henley & Partners, summary)

Investor permanent residence — collective investment scheme

Not for EU citizens.

Non-EEA applicants under Henley's residence-by-investment eligibility; EUR 512,000 converted at ECB 9 Nov 2026 EUR 1 = USD 1.1193. The USD application fee converts the separate EUR 5.11 filing charge; the EUR 511.29 permanent-residence grant fee and residence-card fee are additional. Five years is measured from permanent residence, not the initial investment; ordinary naturalization also requires Bulgarian language and, unless exempt, release from prior nationality.

Sources: Permanent residence filing and grant fees (Bulgarian Ministry of Interior), Bulgarian Citizenship Act, article 12 and repealed investor articles (Bulgarian Ministry of Justice), ECB euro reference rate, 9 November 2026 (European Central Bank), Collective investment investor route (Henley & Partners, summary), Investor residence eligibility (Henley & Partners, summary), Investor residence and citizenship process (Henley & Partners, summary)

Investor permanent residence — alternative investment fund

Not for EU citizens.

Non-EEA applicants under Henley's residence-by-investment eligibility; EUR 512,000 converted at ECB 9 Nov 2026 EUR 1 = USD 1.1193. The USD application fee converts the separate EUR 5.11 filing charge; the EUR 511.29 permanent-residence grant fee and residence-card fee are additional. Five years is measured from permanent residence, not the initial investment; ordinary naturalization also requires Bulgarian language and, unless exempt, release from prior nationality.

Sources: Permanent residence filing and grant fees (Bulgarian Ministry of Interior), Bulgarian Citizenship Act, article 12 and repealed investor articles (Bulgarian Ministry of Justice), ECB euro reference rate, 9 November 2026 (European Central Bank), Alternative investment fund route (Henley & Partners, summary), Investor residence eligibility (Henley & Partners, summary), Investor residence and citizenship process (Henley & Partners, summary)

Certified priority project investment — permanent residence

Not for EU citizens.

Third-country investor in a certified priority project, per the ministry's programme conditions. BGN 2,000,000 / 1.95583 BGN per EUR × 1.1193 USD per EUR = USD 1,144,578.01. Direct permanent residence can lead to ordinary naturalization after five years of permanent residence. EUR 5.11 application filing charge converts to USD 5.72; separate grant and card charges excluded. No bounded end-to-end decision time or annual renewal fee is established.

Sources: Priority investment project permanent residence (Bulgarian Ministry of Innovation and Growth), Official lev to euro conversion rate (European Commission), ECB euro reference rate, 9 November 2026 (European Central Bank), Permanent residence filing and grant fees (Bulgarian Ministry of Interior), Bulgarian Citizenship Act, article 12 and repealed investor articles (Bulgarian Ministry of Justice)

Investor permanent residence — listed shares or bonds

Not for EU citizens.

Non-EEA applicants under Henley's residence-by-investment eligibility; EUR 1,030,000 converted at ECB 9 Nov 2026 EUR 1 = USD 1.1193. The USD application fee converts the separate EUR 5.11 filing charge; the EUR 511.29 permanent-residence grant fee and residence-card fee are additional. Five years is measured from permanent residence, not the initial investment; ordinary naturalization also requires Bulgarian language and, unless exempt, release from prior nationality.

Sources: Permanent residence filing and grant fees (Bulgarian Ministry of Interior), Bulgarian Citizenship Act, article 12 and repealed investor articles (Bulgarian Ministry of Justice), ECB euro reference rate, 9 November 2026 (European Central Bank), Listed securities investor route (Henley & Partners, summary), Investor residence eligibility (Henley & Partners, summary), Investor residence and citizenship process (Henley & Partners, summary)

Regional business investment — disadvantaged municipality and five jobs

Not for EU citizens.

Third-country investor with at least 50% of a Bulgarian company's capital and five Bulgarian jobs in a disadvantaged municipality, per the ministry's route conditions. BGN 250,000 / 1.95583 BGN per EUR × 1.1193 USD per EUR = USD 143,072.25. This grants prolonged residence, with ordinary permanent residence possible after five qualifying years and ordinary naturalization five further years later; ten years is indicative. EUR 5.11 application filing charge converts to USD 5.72; separate grant and card charges excluded. No bounded end-to-end decision time or annual renewal fee is established.

Sources: Investment in disadvantaged municipality with five jobs (Bulgarian Ministry of Innovation and Growth), Official lev to euro conversion rate (European Commission), ECB euro reference rate, 9 November 2026 (European Central Bank), Permanent residence filing and grant fees (Bulgarian Ministry of Interior), Foreigners Act, ordinary permanent residence (Bulgarian Ministry of Innovation and Growth), Bulgarian Citizenship Act, article 12 and repealed investor articles (Bulgarian Ministry of Justice)

Pensioner residence

Not for EU citizens.

For foreign nationals with a pension entitlement and sufficient means, per the Foreigners Act. Five qualifying lawful residence years may lead to permanent residence and five further years to ordinary naturalization, so ten years is indicative. No investment minimum, route-specific total fee, annual renewal amount or bounded decision time is established. Eligibility follows the statutory foreign-pensioner category.

Sources: Foreigners Act, pensioner residence (Bulgarian Ministry of Innovation and Growth), Foreigners Act, ordinary permanent residence (Bulgarian Ministry of Innovation and Growth), Bulgarian Citizenship Act, article 12 and repealed investor articles (Bulgarian Ministry of Justice)

Digital nomad residence permit

Not for EU citizens.

For qualifying third-country remote employees, foreign-company owners or remote service providers, based on Fragomen's three categories. Permit is valid one year and may be extended once; a switch to another qualifying status would be needed to reach a five-year permanent residence period, so no direct citizenship clock is asserted. No investment minimum, route-specific total application fee or renewal fee is established. Fragomen says the in-country permit step takes two to four weeks; the upper bound is rounded up to one month, while the separate Visa D and identity-card steps are excluded.

Sources: Bulgarian Citizenship Act, article 12 and repealed investor articles (Bulgarian Ministry of Justice), Digital nomad residence permit (Fragomen, summary)

Ordinary permanent residence after five years

Not for EU citizens.

Third-country national with qualifying continuous lawful residence; the Foreigners Act permits permanent residence after five years with no more than 30 months absent, and the Citizenship Act requires five further years after permanent or long-term residence. Thus the indicative citizenship eligibility is ten years from starting qualifying residence, not an automatic grant. No investment minimum, route-specific total application fee, annual renewal fee, or bounded processing time is established by the cited evidence. Eligibility is based on the foreigner category in the statute.

Sources: Foreigners Act, ordinary permanent residence (Bulgarian Ministry of Innovation and Growth), Bulgarian Citizenship Act, article 12 and repealed investor articles (Bulgarian Ministry of Justice)

Startup founder residence

Not for EU citizens.

For non-EU founders approved for a high-tech or innovative project certificate, per the Ministry of Innovation and Growth. The certificate supports an application for residence; it does not itself grant residence. Five qualifying residence years may lead to permanent residence and five more to ordinary naturalization, so ten years is indicative. No prescribed capital minimum, route-specific total fee, renewal amount or bounded decision time is established.

Sources: StartUp Visa certificate and residence permit (Bulgarian Ministry of Innovation and Growth), Foreigners Act, ordinary permanent residence (Bulgarian Ministry of Innovation and Growth), Bulgarian Citizenship Act, article 12 and repealed investor articles (Bulgarian Ministry of Justice)

Combined work and residence permit

Not for EU citizens.

For locally hired third-country workers with skills unavailable in the Bulgarian labour market, per Fragomen. A renewable work residence can lead to permanent residence after five qualifying years and ordinary naturalization after five more. Ten years is therefore indicative from first qualifying residence. No prescribed investment, route-specific total fee, renewal amount or bounded decision time is established. Eligibility follows the non-EU work authorization category.

Sources: Foreigners Act, ordinary permanent residence (Bulgarian Ministry of Innovation and Growth), Bulgarian Citizenship Act, article 12 and repealed investor articles (Bulgarian Ministry of Justice), Principal work residence categories (Fragomen, summary)

EU Blue Card

Not for EU citizens.

For highly skilled, highly educated third-country local hires, per Fragomen. Five qualifying years may lead to permanent or long-term residence, then five further years to ordinary naturalization; ten years is indicative from first qualifying residence. No investment minimum, route-specific total fee, renewal amount or bounded decision time is established. Eligibility follows the work authorization category.

Sources: Foreigners Act, ordinary permanent residence (Bulgarian Ministry of Innovation and Growth), Bulgarian Citizenship Act, article 12 and repealed investor articles (Bulgarian Ministry of Justice), Principal work residence categories (Fragomen, summary)

EU free movement — employed, self-employed or self-funded

Only for EU citizens.

EU citizens may reside as workers, self-employed or insured/self-funded persons; after five years of legal residence they are entitled to permanent residence. Ordinary naturalization generally needs five more years after permanent residence, so ten years from first qualifying residence is indicative. The cited page does not establish a single application fee, investment minimum, annual renewal amount or bounded processing time. Eligible_groups EU follows the Ministry of Interior's EU-citizen condition; EEA/Swiss nationals may also qualify but are not separately encoded.

Sources: EU citizens' residence and permanent residence (Bulgarian Ministry of Interior), Bulgarian Citizenship Act, article 12 and repealed investor articles (Bulgarian Ministry of Justice)