Information about Continuous Residence in Bulgaria and Long-Term Residence in Bulgaria
After the acquisition of continuous residence in Bulgaria status, please read here about possible grounds, aliens can acquire statuses LTR (Long-Term Residence Permit) and PR (Permanent Permit Residence) in Bulgaria. This article is based on the Law on aliens in the Republic of Bulgaria. The Migration Office provides here some excerpts from the Law on aliens.
According to art. 24 d (1), long-term residence status is granted to a foreign citizen, who has resided legally and without a break on the territory of Republic of Bulgaria within 5 years before the submission of the application for permission for long-term residence. After its acquisition, long-term residence status is permanent, so far as no grounds for its withdrawal are present.
This article is intended for foreign citizens, who are on the territory of Bulgaria with status continuous residence in Bulgaria, both pensioners and representatives of foreign companies. If you are in Bulgaria on different grounds, you can contact us for further information. For example university and school students and trainees do not fall within this article, because only half of the period applies for them.
Long-term residence status may be obtained by a foreign citizen, who is placed under international protection.
The term for processing an application by the competent authority of the Ministry of Internal Affairs is three months from the date of submission. In case of legal and factual complexities and when provision of additional documents is required, this period may be extended further by two months.
The period of absence of an alien from the territory of Bulgaria should not exceed 10 months within 5 years, and absence of an alien for a period of more than six consecutive months one time is not allowed. When submitting an application for acquiring LTR in Bulgaria status, proof of financial guarantee must be provided for the entire period of residence, as well as medical insurance for the period.
An alien, having received Long-Term Residence in Bulgaria status, is also issued a permission for long-term residence in the Member States of the European Union. This permission is issued for a period 5 years and extension is possible after its expiration. This permission is issued on the basis of an application submitted in person on the basis of Regulation (EC) No. 1030/2002.
Permission for Permanent Residence (PR) in Bulgaria may be obtained by aliens:
- who have a proof of Bulgarian origin
- after 5 years of concluded civil marriage with an alien, permanent resident in the country, and 5 years of legal and continuous residence on the territory of Bulgaria
- Minor children of a resident alien, who are not married
- Parents of Bulgarian citizens, having resided legally and continuously on the territory of Bulgaria for 3 years
- Who have legally and continuously resided on the territory of Bulgaria for a period of 5 years before the submission of the application for acquisition of PR in Bulgaria status and have not been absent for longer than 30 months within this period.
In the case of university and school students only half of the period of residence applies again.
The above is applicable to pensioners and representatives of foreign companies, who have continuous residence in Bulgaria status as well. For advice on other grounds for acquisition of PR in Bulgaria status, please contact our staff or use the contact form on the website of the Migration Office in Burgas in Bulgaria. Also, under the Law on aliens, art. 33, there are opportunities for employment in Bulgaria. Those foreign citizens, who have acquired status Permanent Residence or Long-Term Residence in Bulgaria, have the right to employment in Bulgaria.