Registration of an EU citizen in Bulgaria?

We registered in Burgas for Long Term Residence about 3 years ago. The length of your first residence will depend on your European Health Insurance Card (EHIC). ie: the expiry date on your card will be the expiry date of your first residence term. However no one knows what to expect after Brexit yet.

They will not register you without health insurance and Bulgarian cover can be expensive whereas EHIC is free.

It takes a few days to register and is quite a simple process providing all your documents are in order. On day one they will check your documents, take your photograph and you will receive a White Card which is absolutely useless for anything except to collect your proper residence card. After approx 7 to 14 days you will be able to collect your proper residence card.

Remember all conversations and documents at the Registry are in Bulgarian so you will need to take along someone who can translate for you.

The costs really depend on how many documents you need translated but should not be too expensive. As we registered 3 years ago I can't give an up to date figure, I am sure someone on this forum will help though.

You will have to have a Bulgarian bank account showing 1,000 Blv (I think). When you visit the Registry you need to take a current bank statement with you. One you receive your residence card you can withdraw your money if you wish there are no further checks on this.

It is relatively easy to open a bank account, we use First Investment Bank and it took approx 1 hour to open the account. Banks usually have English speaking people on hand to assist.

For your business you need to check Work Permit and Tax issues, I have no knowledge of these.

Good luck with your project and hopefully welcome to Bulgaria, I am sure you won't regret it.

Thank you so much, Rapbom!

So the amount i need in the bank is trivial (not in the tens of thousands), and the EHIC card does the trick! This helps.

I will find someone go with me, but Bulgarian language is less of a problem for me than it is for others, as I speak Russian and (some) Polish, as well as English.

Opening a bank account might require to show a Bulgarian address - even if the place is rented. Arrange this in advance.

Money should be in a Bulgarian bank. Bring a document proving this.

Setting up a company will make thing easier ...

You need to get an official letter from your bank on headed paper. just go into your bank and explain you need a letter with your account details to apply for a long term stay or whatever, and they will print one off for you right away , I am with FIB Nesebar. As far as a translator goes I had my taxi driver with me the translation required is quite basic, It's just a matter really of translating the form you fill out, like UK name and address, I think Family name (father) Passport number etc. And your Bulgarian address.you will then be given a form which you have to go across the road to the bank and pay tax on it 10 or 15 lev I think it was. If you are going to Burgas get there early as there are ques out the door after about 09:30 also good luck finding somewhere to park, the building is part of the police station so don't take chances and park where you shouldn't, your car will be gone on the back of a spider lorry by time you get out. If you only have a year or so left on your  EHIC card you will only get an ID for the length of time that is left on that card , then you will have to go through the whole thing again. so what I would do (did) was report your EHIC as lost or destroyed in the UK and apply for another one with a full 5 years on it, that way you will get a full 5 years on your BG ID.

Thank ya'll!

But still, how much should I have in that Bulgarian bank?

We tried the EHIC thing and they issued a new one with the same expiry date as the original one.

1,000 Blv, it's in my earlier post.

Ho strange mine came back with a 5 year expiry date.

Ah, here's another question on this:

Bulgaria uses Cyrillic. When filling those forms (and in the actual residence card) should names be transliterated into Cyrillic, or can they be in Latin?

I filled out my application form out in English as I don't write  Cyrillic. But when you get your ID card your name and Bulgarian address will be in  Cyrillic. In English It says Date of birth, Long term residence, in my case.  also it says date of expiry and document number

just had a thought about the EHIC expiry date, mine must have been due to expire within 6 months so they gave me a new one for 5 years.

We are about to register in Bulgaria so this discussion was really helpful, thank you! Quick question, does anyone know where we go to register in the Tryavna, Gabrovo area? I read you go to the regional directorate but am not having much luck finding out where this is? Thanks!

In Gabrovo (I am pretty sure you have to come here) it is around the side of the police station:

https://www.google.bg/maps/@42.8765978, … 6656?hl=en


This big white building, around the right side of it.

Great, thanks so much that is really helpful! We just need to book in a translator and we can get it sorted

Another question about registration: My understanding is that I need to show that I am renting a flat or something. What is the minimum term I should have the rent for to get EU residence registration? And can it be a room, or it has to be flat/house?

I don't know if there is a specific time that you need to show how long you have rented your apartment for, I think it is just to show  you have somewhere to live. Because you have to pay your council tax I expect they can cross reference your address with them.

Your rental agreement can be month to month, but it needs to be notarized. In Gabrovo for our permanent (5 year) they also required our landlord to fill out a form in the residency office (where Bulgarians update their residency) and bring that to immigration.

Oh, and yes, it can be just a room, not a whole flat.

Thank you so much for the info, Kojidae! I was not sure about the length of contract and minimum size of the accommodation, as I have read a lot from a Russian forum on Bulgaria, and they have different requirements for the D visa. Apparently, us EU cits (and "still EU cits" ) have an easier life. The registration at the Residence Office sounds familiar for an ex-Soviet too - it was called "propiska" in the USSR