Palamartsa nr Popovo

Hello janecaruthers,

Welcome to Expat.com

hope that someone can enlighten you.

In the meantime, could you tell us why you chose Palamartsa?

How long have you lived in Bulgaria?

All the best,

Cheryl

Expat.com team

@janecaruthers Hi, my wife and I actually live in about 30km from Palamartsa, and are very familiar with both Palamartsa and Popovo.

At the beginning of our permanent move to Bulgaria we stayed in Palamartsa for two months whilst making our own property ready for move in. The community has a huge group of English and Scottish people, also a few German families.

The only thing we would complain about is the ‘water supply'… we stayed there during Summer, (actually the hottest months of the year), we were only able to shower once a week due to unwarned water cut; there was not a drop of water in three to four days a week, we bought water from supermarkets for cooking and washing dishes. Even when there was water, the pressure was very low in general…

We then found out that it is because of the old pipes in that village. It is a regular occurrence (still happening), people in Palamartsa are trying to get it fixed. We hope they can… (10 months in our own house, no water/power cut)… they have two Facebook groups, official and unofficial groups, you can also check them out.

Apart from the water issue, it is a nice village. Very close to Popovo where you can find most of the stuff you need.

Thanks for that information very disappointed to hear about the water it would be a big no no for me I need my showers! Search continues...

@tutisservis Hi! I'd love to hear more about how you found the process of moving to Bulgaria??

Also, i'd love to join the fb communities you mentioned, any idea where i can find them?

Thank you

@naomi_village hello, yes we'll be glad to give more information, if you can say what exactly you will like to know. Everyone's circumstances are different. My process to obtain D visa and residency in Bulgaria was pretty straightforward as I am a retiree; however, my wife is from Hong Kong, it was extremely difficult for her to apply residency, we had to overcome many obstacles before she finally got her residency permit…

so if you could provide a bit of your background, (welcome to pm us), we might be able to share further.

As for fb groups and communities, I am not sure if it is allowed to share here. I have joined groups like ‘moving to Bulgaria', ‘expats in Plovdiv', ‘foreigners in Sofia & friends' etc. I would also suggest joining groups to your local area where you think you may want to move to.

@tutisservis

Hi there, so glad to find this community.  Were ready to make the jump from Scotoand,but we are concerned about getting visas. I dont get my pensions for another 6 years but I can provide evidence we have the yearly amount of 4k each in our accounts up  to that time fairly easily. I've read you have to show proof of a monthly income. Does anyone in the group have any advice post Brexit how to get the ball moving, seen a property and have to act fast. Many thanks, George.

George, you can buy a property without having a long stay visa. You will need to form a Bulgarian company to own it if it includes any land, and the estate agent should help with that. But to move before you get any pension income could be complicated. Unless it's actual pension income (whether a private pension or old age pension), showing proof of income or having money in the bank doesn't help, unfortunately.

The first step to moving there is to get a D visa, and once you have that you can apply for residency. But there are limited ways to get the D visa. If you do a search on the forum for D visa you'll find there's been a lot of discussion about it. Also an internet search for Bulgaria D visa will provide useful links.

We bought our house and are now waiting out the four years till I get my OAP to apply for my D visa. There are other routes, though, especially if you have or know someone with a UK company (registered at Companies House) with at least two years tax records. Apart from pensioner status, probably Trade Representative Overseas is the next easiest way to get a D visa.

Good luck, I hope it works out for you!

@georgewheelwright

Hello George,

Obtaining a Visa D is your only way into Bulgaria since Brexit unless you have Southern Irish parents or grandparents, where you could then obtain an EU passport.

Visa D for us mortals is either sponsored entry by an employer (not so easy) or by a state pension, with the various documentation to support that.

Your intimation for providing proof of income, unfortunately is not enough, as the UK is no longer in the EU and we are classed as 3rd world citizens.

If you have a registered UK company or know someone who does, there is a possibility of that company opening a branch in Bulgaria, and if you were an employee of the company being paid to promote said company, you could gain a visa D this way, but you could only rent property.

Six years is a long wait, but if you are a handyman you could stay in Bulgaria for 6 months per year (split into two 3 monthly visits with 3 months absence in between each visit) fixing up the property; but again, you can no longer purchase property with land as a none EU citizen.

To do this now, you would need to open a 'none trading' Bulgarian limited company, which because it is itself a Bulgarian entity, could purchase property with land.

The alternative would be an apartment without land and you can purchase this quite easily.

Not sure what other information I can offer, but don't give up on the dream... it's well worth waiting for if you are committed to the idea and prepared to integrate with locals and call Bulgaria home. The UK for me is somewhere I once lived, there's not much I miss.