New members of the Bulgaria forum, introduce yourselves here - 2021

Hi all,  I'm Paul from Holland. My wife and I are looking into moving to Bulgaria soon. We have no fixed plan as to how long we'll be staying. That would be anywhere from 3 months up to permanently. See what happens.
We're now looking at the Plovdiv region to settle, but that can change over time.
At this moment I'm mainly interested in getting a feel for doing business in Bulgaria. How does one check credentials of a company that you want to do business with for example? That sort of thing.
Practical information on how to deal with the covid-pandemic is also something we'll be looking for. Testing and vaccination, mandatory safety measures etc...
Hope to be sharing info and experiences with you all.

We really like Plovdiv city, and we have a small flat there (in an area called Hristo Smirnenski which has the new Plovdiv Mall, and two large green areas Youth Hill and the Regatta Lake, while still being close to the center). But there are also some nice villages in the surrounding areas (Markovo is currently very popular).

Covid situation is not bad as lock-down has been eased recently. Main hassle is PCR tests coming in and (probably) re-entering Netherlands. Unless you're an anti-vaxxer, it might be best to grab your two vaccine jabs there as the EU should be rolling out the vaccine passport in June with a view to allowing freer movement without a need for PCR tests and/or quarantine.

It's certainly easy to incorporate a Bulgarian company and set yourself up for doing business here. Low 10% flat tax, and good internet for remote working.

Good luck with the move!

Thanks Gwyn 😀

Hi I'm lynn
Myself and my husband are looking to move to Bulgaria. We would like to buy a house and have land for a animals. I'm a carer and my husband is a builder. Thank you for having  us on here
Lynn and Jimmy

hello dear . Bulgaria is not good, I suggest living in Romania. Of course, if you want to talk more, I am waiting for you on WhatsApp.*** Ali : idontagree:  : idontagree:

I like that Ali !!! Very good indeed!!!

do you get commission for calls or what ?

What do you mean by commission? If you want to connect, give me your WhatsApp number.

Hi Paul,

Doing business in Bulgaria is not much different than in any other EU country. Checking credentials is a long question, but here are some basic steps you can follow, or any selection of these.

1. Check the company registration details at the Registry Agency.
2. Check the VAT number of the company;
3. Check the annual accountancy reports of the company;
4. Check any credit history details at the bank/s working with that company;
5. Check Internet based information for that company - Comments, reviews, LinkedIn, WebPage, Social media pages'
6. Check for Judiciary records for any proceedings against that company
7. Use information in companies dealing with export insurance and company ratings like Hermes, Coface, etc ...
8. Check Reviews by ex company employees at specialized websites - this one is very useful since it normally provides insider information, not filtered by the company;

Of course you can always hire a specialized agency to investigate your potential business partners, but that would depend on the amount of efforts/money you would like to invest in this.

Can you prepare a job offer for me from Bulgaria? I am Iranian and I intend to immigrate to Bulgaria for work. I have no work experience, but I have a bachelor's degree in economics and I have also completed several private training courses.

Hi Lynn!

I see you are in the UK. First thing you and Jimmy need to consider post-Brexit is the visa situation. It's still possible to move, but Brexit has made moving to Bg (or any EU country) a lot more complicated! Ignore what I say if either of you already has EU citizenship, this is how it works for non-EU citizens.

As non-EU citizens, Brits can buy property but need to have a Bulgarian company for property with any land.  That's a simple formality that should only cost a few hundred euro. The visa we now need is where it gets messy. Brits can spend 90 days out of every 180 days in Bg without a visa, but for longer stays or to start the process of moving there long-term, you'd need to apply for a D visa, which has to be done in the UK and has a bunch of requirements. Here's the information on the Bulgarian Embassy in London's website: http://bulgarianembassy-london.org/cons … ces/visas/

I hope that helps as a starting point. There have been loads of discussions in the forum about the D visa, so searching on those will give more information.

Hi i am Era from Philippines.  Luving since 2014 in BG..

Hi there expats,
just to introduce myself,
I'm Ed, 37 old, and I'm from the UK.

I've been planning on moving to BG from the UK, but obviously with covid rules chopping and changing constantly, plus funds being low, I've not been able to get over, even for a scouting holiday 😕 I'd like to find somewhere to rent while searching for work. I'm undecided about what area to go for really, as Bulgaria is such a stunning country, from what I've seen.
I'm also looking for work out there, painting & decorating, labouring, gardening, fruit picking etc. Anything to get me started.
I've got nearly 10 years of experience living in Turkey too, so I'm pretty familiar with the whole lifestyle, but it is slightly different from BG.
Anyways, all the best to you all, and stay safe!!
👍🏻🙏🏻😊❤️✌🏻

Hello to All,
I am quite well traveled person but never been in Bulgaria. Due to Covid 19 my plans to visit few places there were postponed. Welcome everybody to contact me to discuss life in Bulgaria.

Kind regards,
Mira

Hi everyone,

Chanelle here ... new to this forum.  Looking at relocating from South Africa to Bulgaria in 2022.  Feeling a bit overwhelmed and exploring possibilities at this stage.  I'm a bit concerned about language barrier - do you guys find it difficult?  I will be working remotely initially for about 6 - 12 months.  During this period I will stay with a friend in Gabrovo.

Hello Everyone,

This is Maggie, I've been living abroad for nearly 20years. Currently I'm in Varna and I'm really missing on my ‘'international'' professional and social environment.

Would be lovely to hear from you, those who feel everything is possible with God's Grace🙏

Before I embark on the next stage of my life journey, as Bulgaria is yet to reach that international community and openness.

Thanks to you all😊

Lots of new visitors, good to see you all!

Welcome @ERRAH!

Since 2014 in BG? Wow, you are already an expert! Hopefully you answer many questions for our members...

Welcome @ EDWARD HANLON!

Bulgaria is lovely, I recommend it. But, it is still the poorest country in the UK so salaries are low. If you need to work/earn money, I'm not so sure Bulgaria is your best option, as you can earn far more elsewhere in EU. (But it's ideal if you can do remote working for employers in wealthy countries.) Plus, now we Brits are out of the EU, we have to get D visas which isn't so easy any more.

Welcome @ MIRA ZAHOS

Bulgaria is well worth a visit, hopefully we'll see you soon! There are lots of folks on the forums who can answer your questions.


Welcome @ CBOTHA01

If you're a remote worker, then Bulgaria is ideal: very low cost of living and excellent internet connectivity. My house in a small Bulgarian mountain village has fiber to the house... so with recent purchase of gigabit router I have 80 mbps wifi throughout house! And it costs me 10 euros/month. Plus, it's very safe so you don't need razor wire all round your house with 24 hours armed security. :-) Gabrovo is in the Balkan Mountains too, it's just up the road from me. That's not a bad place to start your Bulgarian adventure...

Welcome @MIGLENAMAGGIE

Varna is a big city, so I think you'll soon find some other expats there. Plus you can drop into these forums and meet some folks here...

Hello Steve  have you seen your house I am looking to buy south of burgas too do you know the area, have you been before, goog luck with the house let me know  my name is Francoise i am french selling my house in Karlovo to move nearer to the sea.  Love Bulgaria. Kind regards.

Hi everybody,
I hope everything is going well with you and your family.
I am Igor Acosta Mondragon, joining recently to this forum.
Originally from Venezuela (South America), expat living since 2013 in Abu Dhabi, UAE (United Arabs Emirates).
I am married with three child.
We have acquired recently a property in AGATOVO small villa; and looking to create small business for tourism for adventures outdoors and fishing in Balkans zone.
I am very excited and hoping to connect with locals and expats around there and start personal/friendly connections.
Best Regards.

Hi,
I hope everything is good with you.

Steve, I have purchased too a house in small town  in Bulgaria in Agatovo, still I didn,t see it personally, only by photos.
I am planning to use it as Fishing Camp and Adventures & Outdoors Center, due to that is very close of big dam, water fall and green zone.
I would like if houses restoration work are too expensive in Bulgaria.
I hope at less it is accessible.
Regards.

Hi everyone,

I'm currently in Sofia, the capital.
I've been living here for the past 8 months.

I can offer recommendations on local goods and services and help you settle in if you are new in Bulgaria.

Hello all
planning on moving to bulgaria 2023, have a property in veliko tarnovo region

Hi I'm Mick

I'm looking to move to Bulgaria in the near future. Is it possible to buy land to turn into a campsite or is buying property with land a better option?

hi
A property with land is a better option - if the house is old you can tear it up and build a new one 

Hi everyone,
I am Bulgarian that met my English husband in BG 17 years ago. We lived in Bulgaria for 7 years and “unfortunately”moved to the UK 10 years ago. We are currently living in the UK and I started to finally realise what means “rat race” and how bad actually the English weather is. We miss our old lifestyle in Bulgaria , the weather, the food the people.... so decided to move back😁 We want to buy a small house around Burgas, nothing too fancy. Just wondering do you have any friends, neighbours that are in need of a quick sale?
Good luck to all of you,
Marchela and Barry

Hi
You can search here:

Houses4saleinBulgaria

Hi Mick,
It depends on what you mean by campsite. If you plan to construct sth., then it is better to buy regulated land, with electricity, water, road, and construction option.

Hi everyone,

I hope all you are doing well in Bulgaria. We are from Turkey, Bursa. I have just joined expat.com.

I have just an agreement with one of the Bulgarian company and I will start to work there in September.

After living alone for about 6 months and seeing the environment, I want to take my family with me.  The company I will work for is in Shumen and since I have a 5 year old son, they recommended me to live in Varna.  As far as I learned, qualified international schools are located in Varna. 

I would be very pleased if I could get information from you, especially about school and health insurance. And of course if there are any extra important things i need to know. 😀

Have a great weekend!

Gokhan

Living in Varna is a good choice, though you will have to travel to your workplace about 90 km. each day. Could be a bit of a problem in winter. But this is more than compensated by the seashore in summer. In addition, when the highway is ready, this will greatly improve.
Schools in Varna are definately better. In your case probably some international school, since your kid will not know Bulgarian language. So this depends on the age and second language of your kid/s.
Culture options in Varna are incompareable to those in Shumen - so go for it. Especially if the company pays the rent.

I guess you will be working at a glass/glass products factory in Shumen, and paying the rent for a flat in Varna is no problem for them.

Hi Kristian,

Thank you for your advices.

As you said, since my son does not speak Bulgarian, he can only speak Turkish and English, so we will have to choose an international school. Which schools do you recommend? It would be great if I could talk to the schools and make a choice until my family arrives.

Also, when I searched the internet for a rental house, I could not find many options.  Is there a website you recommend?

Finally, will we need private health insurance while living in Bulgaria?

Thank you very much for your response and support.

Gokhan

Slater390 wrote:

Do you have Canadian citizenship? If yes, you may have to think of tax implications that status "Non Resident for Tax Purposes" would mean in you case.
   I have Canadian and Bulgarian citizenship and want to spend more time in BG, particularly in the winter. In my case, not sure how it will work with pension benefits, like CPP or OAS. How it can be organized in BG. I don't have firm solution.

Hi,
I am a Turkish Canadian(great grandparents are from BG), you can apply for CPP and OAS when you get to that age. I am considering of moving to Turkey and will apply for Canadian pensions when I turn 65. I have been to BG 3 times and love it.

Hi Gokhan,

As for the health insurance, you should not have any additional need of a health insurance, since this is covered by the employer in Bulgaria. No matter whether in a private or state owned health insurance fund.

However this does not apply for the members of your family. For them you either have to request health insurance package by your employer, or address directly a private health insurance fund. It could be possible to go for a state owned one, but I am not sure how it works for foreigners with the state owned health insurance. As of the private ones, you can check Uniqa, Allianz, Generali and others.

Regarding schools, I cannot recommend one in Varna, since I don't live there. But it would be a good idea if you contact the French International School there, and also the American school. The second one teaches in English, while the first one is probably focused on French:

https://lfiv.bg/

https://bg.americanhighschoolbg.com/bulgarian

As for the rentals, Varna is a tourist city and it has lots of options for accommodation, and therefore many providers. Here's a search results page with dozens of these.

https://www.google.com/search?q=п … p;ie=UTF-8

However, in your case it would be best if you can use some help from the company, directing you towards a good location, neighbourhood, proximity to school, kindergarten etc .... They shoul also be able to get you in contact with a reputable real estate agency.

Hi Kristian,

I am really appreciate you for these details.

Have a perfect weekend.

Hello everybody on this forum. Myself and my husband we are living in Bulgaria for 8 years and  we like it here. We are living near town of Kostenets, Sofia region. If anybody in the area,  we would like to get to know you.

Hello, i m looking on a property finder at the moment. I ve thought about buying in Bulgaria for many years.
I like the idea of pay monthly then trading up once i m there. At the moment just for short stays but relocating in a few years.
Thank you for any advice in advance.

drialardnas wrote:

Hello, i m looking on a property finder at the moment. I ve thought about buying in Bulgaria for many years.
I like the idea of pay monthly then trading up once i m there. At the moment just for short stays but relocating in a few years.
Thank you for any advice in advance.

I hate to be the bearer of bad news, but UK citizens are banned from entering the country. You can look on websites for an idea, but don't make any purchase until you have viewed the property.

***

Yes, i m disappointed we cannt come to Bulgaria just now. Hopefully things will change.

Boris, it's on the UK government website under travel guidance- from today, UK is on the red list, so no Brits can travel into Bulgaria apart from those who already have official Bulgarian residency or immediate family who are Bulgarian residents.

Those of us buying houses or planning viewing trips will have to wait.

It's not a Brexit or anti-Brits thing. The issue is that there has been an uptick in Covid cases in UK (and Spain and Cyprus), so these countries have been moved to the Bulgarian Red list.

But I doubt that it's a long-term thing, and we can expect that these countries will be moved back to Green or Orange in the next few months (hopefully sooner).

It's not a ban of citizens specifically, but of anyone coming from that country to Bulgaria.

The official government statement is here (in Bulgarian) effective from 16/7.
https://www.mh.government.bg/media/file … 7_2021.pdf

There is an English translation of the previous order (of 30/6) which is substantially the same, and explains the justification for the different lists, but doesn't have the exactly correct country lists (because of the countries that were just moved).
https://www.mh.government.bg/media/file … _final.pdf

The ban doesn't apply to people with Bulgarian residence. If you've got your BG Residence Permit you can fly direct from a Red list country, but you'll need to do 10 days quarantine, unless you have the EU  digital  COVID  Passport (or the NHS equivalent) to show immigration.

You should also note that it's a ban on people coming directly from a Red list country. That means it would be perfectly feasible to go from a red list country to an intermediate Green list country (France, Germany, Austria, Italy, Croatia)... have a little summer vacation there for a couple of weeks... get a (negative) PCR test... and then travel on to Bulgaria.