Bulgaria Work Permit Guide

Bulgaria has the lowest cost of living in the EU, the lowest flat income tax (10%), and joined Schengen for air/sea in 2024. Sofia is a growing BPO and SaaS hub (Telerik, SoftServe, VMware, IBM Sofia, Coca-Cola Hellenic global business services). Plovdiv and Varna add manufacturing and tourism roles.

The Single Permit (Единно разрешение за пребиваване и работа) combines work + residence into one card and is one of the cheapest EU work permits at total government fees of ~€100.

• ✓ Concrete job offer from a Bulgarian employer
• ✓ Labour-market test cleared (15-day public job ad) OR position on the shortage list (IT, healthcare, hospitality management, German/Russian/Italian-speaking customer service)
• ✓ Salary ≥ Bulgaria's minimum wage (BGN 1,077 gross/month in 2026, ≈€551) AND ≥ industry going rate
• ✓ Recognised qualifications (university degree or vocational diploma + apostille + sworn Bulgarian translation)
• ✓ Health insurance via NZOK (Bulgarian Health Insurance Fund) once employed
• ✓ Clean criminal record (last 5 years)
• ✓ Proof of accommodation in Bulgaria

Employer side:

1. Post the job on Bulgarian Employment Agency (Агенция по заетостта) portal — 15-day labour-market test
2. If no EU candidate found, employer files the Single Permit application at the Migration Directorate
3. Submit employment contract draft, employer compliance certificate, your CV + diplomas
4. Fee BGN 200 (~€102)
5. Decision 30–60 days

Worker side:

1. Apply for Long-stay D Visa at the Bulgarian consulate after Single Permit pre-approval
2. Fee €100, processing 15–30 working days
3. Enter Bulgaria within 6 months of visa issue
4. Within 14 days register your address (адресна регистрация) at the local Police directorate
5. Collect physical Single Permit card from Migration Directorate

Tax + SS:

• Auto-enrolled by employer via NRA (tax) and NOI (social security)
• You receive your EGN (Bulgarian personal numeric ID) at residence permit issuance

Bulgarian government:

• Single Permit fee: BGN 200 (~€102)
• Long-stay D Visa: €100
• Residence card: BGN 100 (~€51)
• EGN issuance: free

Translation + apostilles: €150–€300

Workium service: €1,000 — includes employer-side filing, Migration Directorate liaison, consulate appointment, post-arrival registration

Total cost for the worker is typically €350 in government fees + €1,000 service = €1,350. Among the cheapest EU work permit routes.

Continuous residence required: 5 years on the Single Permit Language requirement: A2 Bulgarian (basic written + spoken) Income requirement at PR: stable monthly income above minimum wage threshold Documents at PR application:

• 5-year tax declarations
• Continuous employment proof
• Adequate accommodation
• Clean Bulgarian criminal record

After PR, citizenship after another 5 years (10 total) with B2 Bulgarian + national history test. Dual citizenship allowed.