Relocating to Bulgaria under Type D long-stay visa

Hi Diegres! The best place to get the forms will be the Bulgarian Embassy in Australia, though they're the same forms worldwide so forms downloaded from the Bulgarian Embassy in the US would work fine, too.

You will be wise to read up on the requirements to qualify for a D visa - unfortunately there are limited categories available and it can be quite a challenge getting a long term visa and residency. A search on this forum for D visa, will turn up a lot of information, as will an online search for Bulgarian D visa.

It seems one of the best options for working age people to get a D visa, the Trade Representative Overseas, will be tightening up very soon, so if that was how you planned to qualify you may want to act quickly!

But be aware that the tightening-up on bogus TROs is reportedly going to be retrospective, so don't bet the farm on it....

    But be aware that the tightening-up on bogus TROs is reportedly going to be retrospective, so don't bet the farm on it....        -@JimJ

Yes, it could be potentially risky. Or even if someone got TRO one year, it might not pass the requirements the next. Of course, Diegres may have a friend or family member with a real company that meets the new requirements and genuinely wants to pursue business interests in Bulgaria...

It's hard to see how anyone under retirement age will get residency now, unless they have 600,000 leva to buy property.

@janemulberry

The situation is pretty farcical: for example, it's ridiculous that someone can still get Permanent Residency in Bulgaria even though they don't live here!

British driving licences can be freely exchanged for Bulgarian ones, even if the holders wouldn't  meet the criteria to hold one if they were Bulgarians.

And it's lucky that most Bulgarians don't view British immigrants in the same way that many Brits view immigrants to the UK...

Thankfully the counter protests, though in theory I'm not in favour of them as risking provoking confrontations, showed that the majority of Brits aren't quite as racist and anti-migrant as the rioters would make it appear. And I'm very grateful that most Bulgarians are welcoming to British incomers.

@janemulberry

I'd say that most Brits are in the "silent majority" that voices its opinions in the pub rather than on the streets.  The results of the Brexit "referendum" do rather indicate, however, that a large proportion are of a prejudiced/xenophobic persuasion.  I saw plenty of that on the streets of Boston (the real one, not the second-rate US imitation ) - if it weren't so serious it would be laughable, but my membership of a couple of Boston FB groups lead me to believe that nothing's changed in that respect. 

It was rather amusing to hear quite a few of the locals moaning about "darned immigrants" on the streets when the schools closed for the day - they saw no irony in the fact that the crowds of blond Polish schoolchildren, and slightly darker Bulgarians, were all demonstrating a considerably greater proficiency in English than they, or their children, could muster!

LOL at the "real" Boston. Yes, I know it a little. I used to travel there now and them for a previous job, though that was twenty years ago. And yes, so many immigrants speak far more understandable English than the locals, almost everywhere in the country.

Rant alert! From what I observe, I'd say a significant number of Brits are easily led and manipulated and if they're told "Everything that's wrong with the country is THEIR fault! Get rid of THEM and life will be wonderful," they fall for the lie. A little like the lies the Nazis told.

Meanwhile, thanks to Brexit, it's almost impossible to get a vet appointment now. Britain failed to train enough for years, relying mostly on imported vets.  I used to work in nurse education, and the government cut the small bursary paid to student nurses, despite knowing a huge percentage of the existing nursing workforce was approaching retirement age, because it was cheaper to plunder third world countries for their nurses. And now there's a massive nursing shortage, as with almost every other health profession. But let's just blame "them".

I am sure I've been far too political now and will be moderated!

Hi @janemulberry,

Thank you very much for the reply. I've found the forms.

Why do you think it might be difficult to qualify.

We are both of retirement age... Could you elaborate.

I hope it is not too much to ask.

Best wishes,

D.

@Diegres

That's great! If you're both retired and at least one of you can show evidence of receiving a pension that's more than the Bulgarian minimum wage (if you're under 67) or the Bulgarian state pension (if you're over 67), it should be a relatively straightforward process. It's difficult now for those still of working age who don't have a retirement pension.

If you get an Australian or NZ state pension, have you checked whether that will still be paid if you move? As far as I know Bulgaria isn't on the list of countries Australia has pension agreements with. I'm Australian currently living in the UK but intend to move to Bulgaria as soon as I get my state pension. I spent half my working life in Australia, half in the UK. The catch for me is that when I move to Bulgaria I will lose any pension eligibility for the years I paid tax in Australia and my pension will drop significantly.

However, your situation may be different as NZ might have a reciprocal agreement, and if you have private pensions, they should be paid at the same rate no matter where you are.

Hi @janemulberry

What about rental income that we have in NZ. It is larger than the NZ pension.

Does it count?

Cheers,

D

@Diegres

If you're a permanent resident of Bulgaria, ie you hold a Permanent Residence card or you are unable to prove that you have spent fewer than 183 days of the relevant year in BG, you're liable to pay tax on your foreign income, unless you can demonstrate that you've paid the relevant income tax abroad and a reciprocal tax agreement applies.  If BG income tax is higher, you're liable for the difference (and your accountant's fees); there are no tax allowances, unless you're operating as a company, in which case there are other financial implications.  The law applies to all "local natural persons".

Article 4 of the Income Taxes on Natural Persons Act (ITNPA) stipulates that

A local natural person, regardless of their citizenship,  is a person:

• whose permanent place of residence is in Bulgaria, or

• who spends inside the territory of Bulgaria more than 183 days in each period of 12 consecutive months, or

• who resides abroad on assignment of the Bulgarian State, its authorities and/or its organizations, or Bulgarian establishments, and the members of their family shall also be local natural persons, or

• who has their centre of vital interests in Bulgaria. The centre of vital interests is in Bulgaria when the interests of the person are closely related to the country.

In the course of determining those interests, different factors may be taken into consideration - family, property, the place in which the person carries out their employment, professional or business activity, etc. The person is regarded as a local one for the year during which his stay exceeds 183 days. The period of stay in Bulgaria for the sole purpose of receiving education or medical treatment is not regarded as a period of stay in Bulgaria.

Hello everyone and welcome @Diegres !

Please note that this new thread has been created from your posts on the Bulgaria forum so that you may better discuss this topic.

All the best

Bhavna

@Diegres

Unfortunately, the pensioner option is for those who are retired with an official (public or private) pension.

Some countries (e.g. Spain with No Lucrativa Visa and Portugal with D7) have residence options that apply to both pensioners and those with independent income (e.g. rents, dividends), but Bulgaria does not have such an option.

Diegres, unless you get an actual pension, either state or private, unfortunately you're not eligible for the retirement D visa. That visa category isn't based on age or solely on amount of income, it requires evidence of a verified regular pension income to qualify.

There's no Bulgarian long-stay visa category based on having an adequate remotely earned income such as rental income, investment income, book royalties, or remote working, as some other European countries have.  But you may find you can qualify some other way, so do check the criteria.

If you get an NZ state pension that's more than the Bulgarian state pension, currently BGN 580.57, I think that should be enough to get you a D visa, provided NZ will keep paying it to you in Bulgaria. If I understand the process correctly, you'd need to show up-to-date proof of getting paid the NZ pension every year for the first five years and spend more than half your time in Bulgaria. After five years, then you can apply for permanent residency. So you want to be clear on whether there's a tax treaty that might affect your rental earnings and a pensions treaty that might affect your NZ state pension.

Hello everyone,

Please note that several off-topic posts have been put aside from this thread so that the OP can benefit from inputs regarding his questions.

Regards

Bhavna

I don't think this is correct. Is it really to do with the visa you hold or just the amount of days you spend there?
    @Diegres
If you're a permanent resident of Bulgaria, ie you hold a Permanent Residence card or.......you're liable to pay tax on your foreign income,

@VillageLife

I don't think you read the post carefully, it's pretty self-explanatory.

@VillageLife

Remote income does not count towards a Visa type D on retirement (pensioner) grounds at all. As previously mentioned only a work place pension or state pension is counted. Also for the first five years as a foreigner(non EU) you are only entitled to a 12 month prolonged stay residency, where a condition of getting the next one is that you must have been resident in Bulgaria for 183 days of that 12 months at a cost of 500 leva per annum. I am on my third year of prolonged stay which is in effect an extension of your original Visa D, where you have to proove annually that you still satisfy the original grounds on which it was granted and have monetary resources available to sustain you for a year.

@grahamstark1

Thanks for the detailed explanation.

@janemulberry

Thank you!

@janemulberry

What happens when the uk government raises the pension age again, does this 'move the goal posts' requiring us to wait a further 2 years before we qualify for a retirement d-visa? (We don't have a private pension)

@ButterMyPaws19

Your problem is that inflation here is getting silly and Starmer seems to like easy targets, so who knows how much a UK state pension will be and what it will buy, further down the line....

@ButterMyPaws19

I think so.....?

The UK state pension age is currently 66 but from April 2026 it will start increasing gradually, reaching 67 two years later. Depending on your national insurance contributions, when you reach a certain age, you will be able to claim money from a big government pot funded by taxpayers. This is the state pension.

ButterMyPaws19, we have similar concerns. It seems likely from the initial cuts to Winter Fuel Allowance for pensioners that further pension cuts may happen. I already know I will lose half my OAP if I move to Bulgaria, but that's due to my personal situation, half my working life being in Australia so I can't possibly have a full complement of NI years based on my time in the UK. The Aussie years are counted for pension contributions only while I remain resident here.

I do have concerns they may further limit UK pensions for anyone who moves outside the UK, the same way pre-Brexit pensioners in the EU get a far better deal than post-Brexit pensioners. As Jim said, easy targets.

It's also likely they'll increase retirement age, but I think you're a similar age to me. We've already seen the pension age rise from 60 to 65 to 67! I suspect for our cohort, the current age will remain and it will be those a few years younger than us (possibly even my hubby, three years younger than me) who find their pensionable age slowly rises until it becomes 70. As the pensioner D visa isn't age based but solely based on proof of getting a pension, if that happens then someone would need to wait till they are actually getting their pension to apply. But I think we'll be safe in that regard.

@janemulberry

The online portal (Government Gateway) let's you check your NI record and get a pension forecast based on your contributions. It's worth checking to see if you can make up any years, as this would help your final pension. I did this some years ago, but I was able to pay perhaps 15 or so years in order to reach a full pension entitlement.

@janemulberry

There are reports that under the terms of the WA the WFA will actually continue for UK pensioners who live in qualifying countries. I don't know how much credence to place in those reports or, if they are correct, whether it will only apply to pensioners who are already registered as living overseas with DWP (or whatever they're called nowadays).

I'll report back when I find out whether it appears in my bank account...

@gwynj

Yes, I'm in the process of doing that now, as I do have a few years I can make up as long as I pay by April 5, 2025. Unfortunately the class I need to pay is more expensive, as I was PAYE at the time, so it's almost £900 per year. There are a few partial years where I skipped around between jobs with breaks where I lived on savings, so I'll make those years up first.

Hubby is convinced pensions will be cut for those moving abroad and thinks I'm wasting money making up the years I can. We've seen pensions cut and cost of living increases stopped for those retiring to even former Commonwealth countries like Australia and Canada. But I believe the Brexit withdrawal agreement gives protection those retiring to the EU. There's a commitment to pay the UK pension -- for future pensioners as well as those already getting the pension at the time of Brexit -- to those who qualify and move to the EU. There are some different conditions applying to those moving post Brexit, no extras are paid, but the basic pension and the cost of living rises should be paid to post-Brexit retirees. The UK would need to break that agreement in order to stop paying.

I did the sums and I only need to get the OAP pension for two years to start seeing some ROI. So I'm treating it as not quite a sure bet, but a lowish-risk investment in our future!

@JimJ  the money isn't the problem, we have a private income, but the age is, we'd like to move before we are too old to enjoy it and if we don't qualify for a d-visa until retirement and they keep raising the pension age........... 😔

Is there a way of getting a permanent residence if you have a qualification / skill they need, and where would you find that list?

@ButterMyPaws19

If you have a private pension, that should qualify you as soon as you start drawing it.  Obviously, you'll need your own medical insurance until you get an S1.  Of course, that assumes that Comrade Starmer doesn't notice he can save some dosh by abolishing that as well....

@CarlS1986

You can get an EU Blue Card as a highly-skilled worker, but you'll need a job offer first.

The requirements are here: https://migrant-integration.ec.europa.e … 180316.pdf

    @ButterMyPaws19If you have a private pension, that should qualify you as soon as you start drawing it.  Obviously, you'll need your own medical insurance until you get an S1.  Of course, that assumes that Comrade Starmer doesn't notice he can save some dosh by abolishing that as well....-@JimJ

I think @ButtermyPaws might have the same issue we have and the original poster of this thread has. Enough income to support ourselves, income we're very happy to put into the Bulgarian economy, if only they'd let us. But it's not pension income.