Bulgaria's digital nomad visa: who qualifies, how to apply

Who qualifies for the Bulgarian digital nomad visa?

Bulgaria's digital nomad permit is open to three groups of non-EU/EEA/Swiss nationals: remote employees of a foreign company, owners of more than 25% of a foreign company, and people who have freelanced for foreign clients for at least a year (§ 1, т. 36 of the Supplementary Provisions to the ЗЧРБ). In every case the work is done remotely and never for clients on Bulgarian soil.

The category matters because it decides which proof you bring. If you are an employee, you need a contract with an employer registered outside the EU, EEA and Switzerland; where that contract is fixed-term, its remaining term must be at least as long as the permit you are asking for. If you are an owner or manager, you must hold more than a 25% stake in a foreign company and provide your services remotely through it. And if you are a freelancer, you must show at least one year of remote services to foreign clients before the date you apply (§ 1, т. 36 ДР ЗЧРБ, read on lex.bg).

One detail trips up most secondary write-ups: the legal basis is чл. 24с of the Foreigners Act, a distinct provision from the other residence and startup routes it is easily confused with. If a visa-service page cites the wrong article, treat everything else on it with caution. The single condition that unites all three categories is negative: whatever you do, you may not sign a Bulgarian employment contract or serve clients on Bulgarian territory. Do that, and you have stepped outside the permit.

How much income you must prove

You must prove gross average annual income of at least 50 times Bulgaria's minimum monthly wage (ЗЧРБ, чл. 24с). For 2026 the working figure is €31,010, based on the €620.20 minimum monthly wage set by Council of Ministers decree № 243 of 13 November 2025. Every euro of it must come from outside Bulgaria.

The threshold is a living formula, not a fixed sum. Bulgaria adopted the euro on 1 January 2026, and the minimum monthly wage that year is €620.20 (BGN 1,213 at the permanent fixed rate of 1 euro to 1.95583 leva), according to the Ministry of Labour and Social Policy (МТСП). Multiply by 50 and you get €31,010. Because the wage rises most years, the euro figure will move too, so a number you read on an old page may already be stale.

There is also a genuine ambiguity worth knowing before you commit. The statute pegs the income to the minimum wage for the previous calendar year. Read strictly, that could base the 2026 threshold on the 2025 wage (BGN 1,077, about €550.66), which would put the floor nearer €27,533. In practice guidance and consular sources use the current-year €31,010 figure, so treat that as the safe headline, but confirm the exact amount with the consulate or Дирекция Миграция before you gather documents.

The table below shows both readings so you can see the gap.

How to apply: from Type D visa to residence permit

Applying is a two-step process. First you apply in person for a Type D long-stay visa (виза по чл. 15, ал. 1 ЗЧРБ) at a Bulgarian embassy abroad, which costs €100 and usually takes 4 to 8 weeks. After you enter Bulgaria you file the long-stay residence-permit application (продължително пребиваване) at Дирекция Миграция, which is decided within 14 to 60 days.

The documents are where applications stall. Bulgaria's consular list (МВнР) asks for travel medical insurance with minimum coverage of €30,000, proof of secured accommodation (a notarised rental contract plus a notarised owner declaration giving your registration address, or a notary deed of ownership), and a clean criminal-record certificate that is apostilled and translated into Bulgarian. Freelancers also need at least a year of evidence of services to foreign clients. The Type D visa fee is €100; the МВР state fees for the permit itself are small (roughly €5 for the grant and €9 for the residence card), so your real costs are insurance, notarised translations and accommodation.

The permit is decided within 14 to 60 days of filing, extendable by up to two months in legally or factually complex cases, for a total service term of up to 120 days (see the administrative-service description at iisda.government.bg). If your permit is up for renewal and you apply on time, you may stay in Bulgaria until a decision is taken.

What the permit does and does not give you

The digital nomad permit is valid for one year and renewable once, for a maximum of about two years (ЗЧРБ, чл. 24с, ал. 2). It does not make you a Bulgarian tax resident automatically, does not lead to permanent residence or citizenship, and gives no access to the Bulgarian labour market.

The most common misunderstanding is tax. The permit is an immigration status, not a tax status. Bulgarian tax residency is a separate test under чл. 4 of the personal income tax act (ЗДДФЛ): a permanent address in Bulgaria, or more than 183 days of presence in any 12-month period, or your centre of vital interests in the country. Only once you are a Bulgarian tax resident does the country tax your worldwide income at its 10% flat rate (чл. 48 ЗДДФЛ; registered freelancers deduct 25% statutory expenses, for an effective rate near 7.5%), according to the National Revenue Agency (НАП). Marketing pages that sell the visa as an automatic 10%-tax route skip that step.

Here is the connection that decides whether this visa suits you: it is designed as a temporary guest status, capped at one year plus one, and чл. 24с does not tie it to the five-year long-term residence track or to citizenship. Because the permit is formally time-limited, time spent on it is widely understood not to count toward that five-year clock. Put those two facts together and the trade-off is clear. The digital nomad route is the easiest Bulgarian residence to obtain and the hardest to build a long-term life on, which is why committed relocators often set up a Bulgarian company or freelance registration instead. Family members can join through Bulgaria's family-reunification route (around чл. 26 ЗЧРБ) as a separate application, subject to the usual accommodation, insurance and means conditions.