Preparing for the move – budget and language concerns

Hi Kris!

The change to the euro shouldn't affect things too much for you as the BGN has been tied in value to the EUR for years. But the drop in the value of the USD is likely to have an effect, and due to inflation the cost of living in Bulgaria is higher than it used to be. I'm paid in USD and much of my savings are in USD and the difference in the conversion rate is noticeable.

You can check prices for many things using online sites like Numbeo for general figures and the supermarket websites for everyday prices. The price of property has risen steeply but I think probably levelled off now, and Bulgaria still remains affordable.

Which areas in Bulgaria have you visited? It's a very different country, people either love it or hate it. It's not somewhere to make plans to move to without visiting first.

We're still in the UK waiting to qualify for a D visa and residency, but spend as much time as we can at our Bulgarian house.

Thanks for the reply

Please tell me you've not been waiting over a year.... I was about to jump over there, only just now learning that US can't apply for a D visa in the country. Everything else on the net said the opposite.

Kris

Bulgaria is still one of the easiest EU countries to get a visa for, but getting tougher these days.  Requirements in others seem to range from stricter to close to ridiculous, and taxes elsewhere can be onerous if you're on a pendion or other fixed income.  The days of upping sticks and relocating more or less on a whim are long gone, unless you're a citizen of another EU country.

@JimJ

thanks for the post..... though really disheartening... I was planning to be there in a couple months, get a place, turn in papers, and voila!

Kris, my wait is to get my retirement pension and then actually apply, not how long it takes after applying! This site (an immigration lawyer) details the requirements and the process a bit more clearly than the Bulgarian Embassy website does: https://visaforbulgaria.com/bulgarian-d-visa

If you receive a retirement pension of more than 6,500 EUR per year, and have enough in the bank to support yourself (same amount again) you should qualify for the retirement visa. It's not age based, purely on having a pension. Next easiest is the new digital nomad visa, but that requires earnings of 31,500 EUR per year and is only good for 1 or 2 years, not a route to staying permanently.

You do need to apply at the Bulgarian Embassy in your country of residence. Getting the visa approved and being called to get the stamp in your passport typically takes about 6 weeks, and you need to go back to the Embassy to get that done. As long as you haven't already used up your 90 days per 180, you can stay in Bulgaria while waiting for the email.

Once you have the D visa stamp, you then apply for residency at the Migration Office in your region of Bulgaria -- usually simple and low-cost, as you'll already have all the paperwork. But they don't handle D visa applications.

Do be aware also that governments can tighten, or completely change, requirements for residency. So far, Bulgaria has pretty much resisted any impulse to do this, apart from proposing to crack down on bogus TROs, but Greece has moved the goalposts for  non-EU citizens wishing to go the Golden Visa route - and the financial requirements for other visas - quite dramatically. There's no guarantee that won't happen in BG in the future...

Nooooooooooo!!!!

Nooooooooooo!!!! - @janemulberry

Countries are constantly doing it, look at France.

1. Mandatory Digital Visa Procedures: As of February 20, 2026, all applicants must use the France-Visas portal to book appointments and provide biometrics. Consular officers are instructed to reject incomplete files.
2. Higher Language Requirements: From January 1, 2026, naturalisation requires a B2 level of French, and 10-year residency cards require a B1 level.
3. Mandatory Civics Exam: A 40-question, digital, multiple-choice exam on French culture and values is mandatory for most multi-year permits and nationality, requiring a 32/40 score.

Autria:

1. Income Thresholds (2026): To obtain a residence permit, applicants must prove they can support themselves. As of January 1, 2026, the required monthly income (after deductions like rent/credits) is €1,308.39 for singles, €2,064.12 for married couples, and €201.88 for each child.

So many counties are tackling immigration to bring numbers down right now.

Of course if you have an EU passport....😎

Maybe time to stop dishing those out quite so freely?

Of course if you have an EU passport....😎
Maybe time to stop dishing those out quite so freely? - @JimJ

Even if you have an EU passport, you can still be refused to stay if you don't meet certain rules after 3 months in quite a few countries.

@SimCityAT

Actually that's not really the case. Unless you're a "genuine and serious criminal threat*" it's in practice pretty much impossible to boot an EU citizen out of another EU state; even being permanently skint isn't sufficent grounds if you don't claim bennies. 

EU law is somewhat bonkers: there are so many ifs, buts and maybes that someone who's done their homework can wriggle out of almost any seemingly-sticky situation.... 😎

*You have to be a pretty serious criminal for that to be an issue, and the longer you stay, the more serious you have to be to get shown the door.

Those income requirements for France don't look tooooo dramatic at first glance (compared to 2,600 pcm for a single person to get the Bg digital nomad visa). But most UK pensioners just getting the basic pension wouldn't receive that much per month!

And ouch on needing B1 for a ten year residency card. OTOH, that's fair enough. I'm still struggling to get beyond A1 in Bulgarian! But if after I've been there 5 years and could apply for a 10 year card I still haven't progressed, I'd be rather disappointed in myself.

It's amusing (in a tragi-comic way) how many of those who are quick to shout "Speak English, d*mn you!" at immigrants to the UK, are also usually the ones shouting "Speak English, d*mn you!" to the locals when they're in another country.

@SimCityAT
Actually that's not really the case. Unless you're a "genuine and serious criminal threat*" it's in practice pretty much impossible to boot an EU citizen out of another EU state; even being permanently skint isn't sufficent grounds if you don't claim bennies.
EU law is somewhat bonkers: there are so many ifs, buts and maybes that someone who's done their homework can wriggle out of almost any seemingly-sticky situation.... 😎

*You have to be a pretty serious criminal for that to be an issue, and the longer you stay, the more serious you have to be to get shown the door. - @JimJ

Actually it is the case, go and check the stats. I know a few people that got threatened with deportation.

@SimCityAT

"Stats" mean nothing - it's the law that counts. 😎 Likewise, "threats of deportation" are just empty words - did whoever it was actually GET deported? It's a real minefield and it's important to know the law, but also to have a good lawyer. My motto is: "Know what you don't know.."

@SimCityAT
"Stats" mean nothing - it's the law that counts. 😎 Likewise, "threats of deportation" are just empty words - did whoever it was actually GET deported? It's a real minefield and it's important to know the law, but also to have a good lawyer. My motto is: "Know what you don't know.." - @JimJ

Ive worked closely with the embassy, so I know I am right.

@SimCityAT

I agree. As we used to live in France I still look at the odd forum and many have found it very difficult, even those renewing. We would love to have returned to France but it’s too expensive.

Ive worked closely with the embassy, so I know I am right. - @SimCityAT

I make it a rule never to argue with anyone who knows they're right. 🙂

@SimCityAT

I'm not aware of any "rules" which stop EU citizens from exercising their right to Freedom of Movement to any EU country, for any reason.

There are some light-touch rules (e.g. proof of means, proof of health insurance, proof of address) over the EU Citizen Registration process which all EU citizens should do if they want to stay more than 3 months. But EU citizens can live in another EU country indefinitely without doing the Registration step, as they're not forced to do it, and, as far as I know, there are no penalties for not doing so.

If you don't do it, then you're not a "legal resident" of your new country and you can't join the local public health system / social security. No big deal if you have funds and you're just hanging out on a nice Spanish beach, but if you want to work then you'd quickly have to do the formalities (just so you could be paid properly with appropriate deductions for taxes, health cover, pension, etc.).

@JimJ

I have questions about that… Since I've learned that I cannot immediately go to Bulgaria and stay there, but other countries like Albania, Georgia, I forget where else I can stay for one year, be gone one day, and come back. I'm trying to get a handle on what can be done. Like am I able to go into Bulgaria for three months and then go over to say Albania and start a year there? Because it's not in the EU? And then have my day off and then I can do a year again in Albania or Georgia or I forget the others that are open to me. It'll be tight on my budget, but I think it will be doable if I'm careful. I do worry about my US passport expiring in two years and if I'm able to renew it when I'm out of the country… Because it has to be mailed to me -damn. Can I renew it in one of the territories? Because once I walk away from here, there's no coming back to the housing that I'm in. This is a total gamble, but it might be worth it. By the looks of things this housing will expire in a year anyway.

I'm not quite following you here: are you asking if you can stay in Bulgaria for 90 days, go to a non-EU country for a day and then return to Bulgaria for another 90 days? If so, the answer's "No".  There are several websites with "Schengen Calculators" where you can enter relevant dates and get an idea of how/when you can plan stays.

Kris, you can do a total of 90 days per 180 within the Schengen zone, which includes not just Bulgaria but many other EU countries. So in theory you could stay 90 days in Bulgaria, go to Albania, Turkey, Serbia, or some other non-Schengen country for 90 days (if that country's visa-free stay rules permit), then return to Bulgaria. It would be messy, but possible to never need to apply for a residency permit anywhere.

It will be slightly complicated by the days of travel at either end counting as part of your 90 days (an incomplete day still counts as a day), so to take that into account when planning, you may need to spend a couple of days somewhere else in between your 90 day stays to ensure you don't get counted as overstaying, or make sure you leave on day 88 or 89, not day 90. And if you used up your 90 days in the Schengen, you must spend a full 90 days out of the Schengen zone before returning.

Here's the official Schengen calculator, not the most intuitive to use but still useful for planning trips and ensuring you don't overstay: https://ec.europa.eu/assets/home/visa-c … tm?lang=en I'm currently travelling a lot between the UK and Bulgaria and it's good to know just how long I could stay if I needed to.

There are some countries that do allow for getting a new visa after just 1 day out of the country, but they usually are only offering shorter tourist visas, and they won't be EU countries. If you can find one that allows you to apply for a new long-stay visa after just one day out of the country, that's the one to go for, but I kinda doubt that's possible anywhere.

When planning this you need to be VERY clear on each country's visa rules, how long it takes to get a visa, and whether you can apply from outside the country you are considered to be normally resident in. Albania allows 90 days per 180 visa free, then requires applying for a long stay visa after a 90 day stay, much like Bulgaria does. Georgia allows a 1 year visa free stay, but it's not clear to me looking at the available information how long you need to be out of the country for before you can start another year.

@krisEtAl

It is a slightly complicated process to get a D visa when you live in the US. If you have not been informed: 1. you must be a pensioner. 2. Have verifiable stable monthly income equal to or greater than the average BG monthly income of about 600 euro. 3. Have a BG bank account. 4. Have 8,700 euro in that BG bank account. 5. Housing accommodation prior to moving to BG and visiting the BG Consulate. 6. All documents needed and presented to the BG Consulate must have a state and federal (FBI background check) apostille. 7. Said documents must be translated into Bulgarian by a certified translator. 8. Health insurance for foreigners prior to the visit to the Consulate. 8. After approval by the Consulate you must register for residency with the Migration Directorate in Sofia. Get an immigration attorney. It is a wise and small investment.

@janemulberry

I've never been to Bulgaria. I've never been further east than the Polish town right across the border from Prenzlau Germany. 👀

kris

@krisEtAl

In fairness, it's pretty typical as most (or a lot of) countries expect you to apply for a residence visa in one of their embassies in your country of residence. It makes a lot of sense this way too, as it avoids you rocking up at some new country, only to find that you don't qualify for a residence visa there.

Bulgaria residence application in the USA is not overly complicated (all info online), and one of the easiest options is folks with a pension or disability pension or similar.

If you want to explore different countries, most allow visa-free tourist travel for Americans. Most countries limit this to 3 months, but there are shorter and longer (e.g. UK is 6 months, I think). Many countries do still allow the "visa run" where you step out (plane, bus, boat, rather than walk) before it expires then return a day or three later. But, these days, most countries are against this type of "informal" residence and don't encourage it, or actively prevent it. The EU/Schengen, in particular, has a 90 in 180 days rule. so you have to stay out for 3 months after being there for 3 months.

You can easily stay in EU/Europe and nearby countries and hop around, hop back (according to the time limits). Ireland and Cyprus are currently EU countries that are not part of Schengen, so you can spend 90 days in Bulgaria and then go to Ireland or Cyprus as your 90 days there is a separate count (as opposed to any other EU country where you have used your 90 days already in Bulgaria). Similarly, nearby non-EU options (i.e. separate days count) include UK, Albania, Serbia, Turkey, Georgia. Europe has loads of cheap flights (Ryanair, Wizzair, etc.) so it's pretty easy to hop around.

However, most folks don't enjoy the visa-run way of living, it's tiresome, aggravating, costly... and you can't be 100% certain that you'll get back in. In comparison, doing a residence visa application in your home country is actually the easier and cheaper option.

If you think Bulgaria is difficult, or you don't have a pension yet, easier options exist outside the EU. Our neighbours Serbia and Turkey have easier residence options... and I think you can apply in-country too. IN the EU two very popular options are Portugal (D7) and Spain (NLV). Spain's NLV is especially helpful as they accept savings (30k euros ish) instead of a pension. If you want to live in the EU, I recommend that you take a look at these two (although I think they'd expect you to apply in USA too).

If you just want easy, minimal aggravation, then I'd guess this points you more at the Latin American countries which are nearby and typically the most popular options for Americans. The top choices are Mexico, Costa Rica, Panama... but you can include Ecuador, Colombia, Nicaragua, Argentina, Uruguay, etc too. These tend to be more relaxed about the visa runs (i.e. you can have informal residence for years) and tend to allow residence applications in-country.

Or you can look at the popular Asian options (Malaysia, Indonesia, Thailand, Philippines).

Most of the countries I've mentioned feature on retirement lists and nomad hotspots and tend to have a significantly lower cost of living than America. I get a UK state pension which is a fairly humble $1,400 pm. This is poverty level in UK, but it's twice the minimum wage (maybe 4X the minimum pension) in Bulgaria.

Good luck!

@krisEtAl

I know it's a long expensive trip from the US, but I'd strongly advise not to plan a major move before visiting a country!

Bulgaria is very much a love it or hate it country, and the transition to living somewhere new is always full of challenges. Especially if you're former US military or State Department and your experience of living abroad has been on a US base or an embassy compound, the actual local life is very, very different.

Staying abroad indefinitely without having a visa is probably possible, but would surely be exhausting, stressful, and likely to increase your living costs.

OTOH, if you can afford it, a year of 90 days here and 90 days there in countries where the visa-free access permits could give the opportunity to try a few different countries and get a feel for where feels fits your needs best. But then you'd almost certainly need to go back to the US for a couple of months to get a long stay visa.

I agree with Jane’s post. It is a love it or hate it type of country. There are many more challenges than some other countries.

The abandoned villages and roaming street dogs I found shocking. Another was the language. When we moved to France by learning a few verbs and a bit of practice, then I could get by but here learning the Cyrillic alphabet and not having easy phrases to stick in your head (especially when no one speaks English) is very hard. The frustration with utility companies seems to be the same everywhere. 

But, it’s still a wonderful country with amazing historical sites and nature.

Even getting a retirement Visa D is taking time. We went on December 28 and I have received a call that I can collect mine but still waiting for a call for my husband which is delaying our return, so we are stuck in UK for now.

You'd definitely have freaked out with the street dog situation in the past! I don't recall any reports of serious injuries or deaths from attacks in the last few years but further back it was a very serious problem

@jeanmandredeix

I'm sorry your hubby is still waiting! How frustrating.

Thanks everyone. Doing more homework and realizing that most of the videos I was watching were from 2019, I turned my sights to Georgia. I also spoke with a Bulgarian expert on moving there, realizing it was not doable. Georgia was starting to look like I could barely afford it. then my country attacked another country so it's not a great time to be an American right now anywhere and also heating prices are going to go up in Europe. Thanks to this. And then there are the other threats on other countries. In my case, it didn't really matter where I went as long as I was safe. But now I'm seeing that safety can't really be guaranteed anywhere.

be safe, everyone

@krisEtAl

The best you can hope for anywhere is comparative safety.

Unless you're spectacularly bad at choosing when and where to live (or walk at night) you'll be many orders of magnitude safer in Bulgaria than anywhere in the US. The last massacre at a Bulgarian school, for example, took place at Batak in 1876, although the Turks were certainly more ambitious than your average American school shooter... 😥

As a more relatable metric, the relative figures for face to face street robbery per 100,000 population in the US, UK and Bulgaria are respectively ~60, ~110(!), and ~27. If you look at street crime in the "Theft/Larceny" category (ie pickpocketing, shoplifting, "snatch-and-grab" phone thefts from bar/restaurant tables, bicycle theft, and stealing items/parts from cars etc) the relative figures are US ~1,400, UK ~2,500(!), and BG ~400. Bulgaria does have a higher gun homicide rate than the UK, but it's mainly down to "turf wars" or domestic violence, and it's much lower than in the US (US 5.6, UK 0.05, Bulgaria 0.3)

So you'll likely live a much safer, quieter life in Bulgaria than in the US!

Kris, I'm so sorry Bulgaria isn't looking like an option for you. Certainly getting that D visa can be a challenge and comparative affordability for those moving from the UK or US isn't anywhere what it was ten years ago. It's far from perfect. But it's still a good place to live.

In terms of safety, it was a concern for me, too, especially my first trip to our bought-unseen village house, as I travel and stay there alone. (Hubby and I have to visit separately so someone is at our UK house to care for our crazy tribe of rescue cats.)  My concerns were not needed! I feel far safer in Bulgaria than I do in the UK, even though our house here is in a supposedly "nice" commuter town. Like in any country, some areas of Bulgarian cities are less safe, and some villages are safer than others. Sensible care is needed. But I feel my risk of being murdered, assaulted, or stolen from is far less there. We are sooooo looking forward to being able to move permanently and settle down in our retirement home!

Re Americans being unpopular in the current situation -- I hope you would find that most people, wherever you travel, will be sane enough to realise that you're not responsible for the actions of the US president. If Congress can't control him, what hope does an average citizen have?

@JimJ - gun homicide rates in the UK are lower, but what about knife and machete crimes? Those seem to be the UK weapons of choice for both drug gangs, street violence, and domestic violence. Last I checked (a few months ago, because someone was asking me about safety and I wanted the figures), the overall homicide rate for the UK was a little higher than that for Bulgaria.

@janemulberry

The statistics for last year in London show an overall homicide rate of 1.1/100,000 which is the lowest rate in over a decade, and coincidentally the same as for Bulgaria as a whole.  The same caveat applies however - the people involvd are most often either members of the same family, or neighbours, and drink or drugs are involved more often than not.

In the UK, specifically England and Wales, knives or sharp instruments are involved in roughly 40–46% of all homicides. Last year, the UK saw its lowest number of knife homicides since 2015, yet it still remains the primary concern for police - that may be why they're called "Plod".. 😎

The comparative figures for "Homicides involving Knives & Bladed/Sharp weapons (which also includes broken bottles etc) are interesting: United Kingdom: ~0.30 – 0.38, Bulgaria: ~0.45 – 0.55. So statistically you're indeed at greater risk of being killed with a knife/machete/W.H.Y. here in BG than in "Knife-mad Blighty"!

@janemulberry

Knives and machetes?!? 👀 good god!!

(although my neighbor supposedly has a machete).

Glad to hear your house/cottage sight unseen was a good one!!

Kris et al

@JimJ

Totally understood- and no, for USA I wasn't thinking crime. I choose safe areas, have "common" sense, and know street safety.

Yes, for other places I was thinking basic safety but mainly "will any of these countries be attacked by other countries?"

@krisEtAl

"Goodness knows" is the answer to which countries are at risk of invasion, and by which autocratic maniac. No one imagined for a moment that Bulgaria would be sold down the Communist river after WW2, but it was - as were a host of other Balkan countries.

The only sure thing in life is that nothing is certain... 😎

@JimJ

I think as it was last year I checked comparative figures, I would have been looking at the year before's numbers. And yes, London and England as a whole's murder rate did drop significantly last year. Lowest for 50 years, apparently.

Still, it concentrates the mind a little on thoughts of danger when things like serious (non-fatal) knife attacks on random victims happen on intercity and commuter trains I've regularly used!

@janemulberry

It’s getting concerning now as we still haven’t heard, tried enquiring as did immigration lawyer and no response. Need to get back to the property as the garden will soon get overgrown and there are issues with water (leak on suppliers side) and electricity (overcharging) that need sorting.

I'm so sorry! It must be incredibly frustrating!

Would it be possible for you both to just drive to Bg together now and you go to the local immigration office to get your residency card? Once you have it, hubby could fly back to the UK to apply again for the D visa, this time under family reunification.

That's how we intend to do ours, though with us it's because my hubby can't get his pension till mid-2030.

@janemulberry

That's what you get for marrying a toy boy - I'll look out for your name in the next tranche of Epstein Files..... 😎