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I just received this via email


About the long stay residency in Bulgaria FOR EU CITIZENS


It is well known that a citizen of the European Union can enter Bulgaria without a visa having only with a valid personal card or a valid passport.
Yet, the Bulgarian legislation provides the possibility an EU citizen to receive the long stay permit or residence permit.
According to the European Union Citizens and Members of Their Families Entry and Residence in and Departure from the Republic of Bulgaria Act:

Citizens of the EU shall reside in the Republic of Bulgaria with an identity card or a passport for a term of up to three months.
A member of the family who is not an EU citizen shall reside in the Republic of Bulgaria with a passport for a term of up to three months after the entry in the country.

So it is obvious that the EU citizen can not stay in Bulgaria continuously for more than three months. Practically it means that such a person in case he or she decides to stay in Bulgaria permanently should cross the Bulgarian borders on each 90 days which of course is not always convenient and is connected with loss of time and money.

The solution for the EU citizen who wishes to stay in Bulgaria permanently i.e. for more than 90 days is provided in the mentioned above Act:
Citizens of the EU may reside in Bulgaria on a long-term or permanent basis for which he/she shall be issued a certificate from the Migration Directorate MoI.
Long-term residence shall be for a term of up to five years.

How can the EU citizen obtain the long-term stay certificate?

According to the Act such certificate shall be issued to a EU citizen who complies with one of the following conditions:

1.1. he/she is employed or self-employed in the Republic pf Bulgaria;


1.2. he/she possesses health insurance and the required financial resources to cover the expenses for the residence for himself and for his/her family members without burdening the social security system;


1.3. he/she has enrolled in an educational establishment for study, including professional training, and complies with the conditions under item 2.



To a person under item 1 shall be equivalent a person who is no longer employed or self-employed and is:

2.1. in a state of temporary incapacitation due to an ailment or an accident;


2.2. registered as unemployed in the Labour Bureau Directorate after having worked for more than one year and has become unemployed or has terminated working as self-employed;


2.3. registered as unemployed in the Labour Bureau Directorate after the termination of a contract with a duration of up to one year or has become unemployed in the first twelve months after the termination of a contract with a duration of up to one year;


2.4. has commenced professional training which:

a) is related to his/her work when the contract has been terminated as a result of his/her wish;


b) is not related to his/her work when the contract has been terminated by the employer.

In the cases under item 2.3 the person shall maintain the status equivalent to a person under paragraph 1, item 1 for a term of six months and under paragraph 2, item 4 until the conclusion of the professional training.



How can the EU citizen obtain the residence certificate?

Such certificate shall be issued to the EU citizen who complies with one of the following conditions:

if he/she has resided continuously in the Republic of Bulgaria for five years or if he/she complies with one of the following conditions:

1. he/she has worked during the last year ending on the date of the termination of his/her contract as an employed or self-employed, has become of pension age or there are grounds for early retirement in relation to him/her and has resided continuously in the Republic of Bulgaria for more than three years;


2. he/she is employed or self-employed who does not work due to permanent incapacitation and has resided continuously in the Republic of Bulgaria for more than three years;


3. he/she is employed or self-employed and his/her incapacitation is a result of labour accident or occupational disease;


4. he/she is employed or self-employed who has resided and worked in the Republic of Bulgaria for three years and is working as such in another member-state preserving his/her place of residence in the Republic of Bulgaria and returns at least once a week to it.

Can the foreigner lose his or her permanent residence certificate?

According to the mentioned above Act the person shall be divested from his/her permanent residence certificate issued if he/she is absent from the country for a period exceeding two consecutive years.

The withdrawal of the residence permit in Bulgaria shall be imposed on a citizen of the European Union or on a member of his/her family when:

1. the grounds for residence under article 8 are no longer valid;


2. it is established that he/she has submitted false data for obtaining the right of residence;


3. the person is absent from the Republic of Bulgaria for a period exceeding two consecutive years.

4. the person suffers from potentially epidemic diseases specified by the World Health Organisation.

Sincerely,

attn. Galina Georgieva

So how is this ruling policed? Does it show where we are all resident on our passports when they are scanned? Hence this could be the reason BA check-in asked when I was returning to Britain to check the 90 day rule as I am resident in Bulgaria.
How do folks manage who want to stay 6 months here and 6 months there? Freedom of movement within the EU? Methinks maybe not because Big Brother is watching you. [You must be registered and logged in to see this image.]

oldun wrote:

So how is this ruling policed? Does it show where we are all resident on our passports when they are scanned? Hence this could be the reason BA check-in asked when I was returning to Britain to check the 90 day rule as I am resident in Bulgaria.
How do folks manage who want to stay 6 months here and 6 months there? Freedom of movement within the EU? Methinks maybe not because Big Brother is watching you. [You must be registered and logged in to see this image.]

I was at a meeting with a rep from the British Consulate not so long ago and she said they had no idea who was where in BG unless someone had contacted them and told them. In fact I think it would be a good idea if there were a register of our whereabouts. Especially if you live here for the duration. :Great:Nothing to hide nothing to fear.

with that in mind Tony ..one can always register their wherabouts here....


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We've registered with this. They can give assistance if there's an
emergency, and have details of who to contact (family in the UK) if necessary.
Good idea!

varnagirl wrote:

with that in mind Tony ..one can always register their wherabouts here....


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Ta very and done

I quite agree with all that's been said. I wonder what the folks are thinking who have never registered their whereabouts? Of course it is motivated by the taxman who wants to know where we pay our tax. I paid a financial adviser to give me up to date info on new rules and regulations and he was worth his weight in gold even though I had little cash to worry about. There are rules about buying and selling property abroad or in UK. These rules were tightened up a few years ago. He also advised me about the 90 day rule in Britain if you live abroad. I wonder how many people know about this?

Has anyone just recently applied or renewed there residency?
If so can you please tell us the amount we have to have in our bank account.

itchyfeet wrote:

Has anyone just recently applied or renewed there residency?
If so can you please tell us the amount we have to have in our bank account.

Just done ours and to be honest I don't know. We set up a UK holding account and have a BG current account which was regarded as OK.

Sorry I cant help more.

Tony

As far as I know the amount you should hold in a Bulgarian bank account is EUR 1656.58 per year

In the days of applying for the official Bulgarian Lichna Karta the financial part just required a letter from your bank saying you had an account. No amount was stated on this or asked for. This was in Veliko Turnovo and many posts have been made over time to say that the requirements were different in their area. VT was known for being 'difficult'. I think the amount you had to have in the bank for your Company account was 5,000levs which could then be taken out once the Company was set up. It was all clear as mud to us 'Newbies' and we relied solely on 'professinal advice' which was sometimes 'wanting!'
Now we have this new legislation saying we can now change our useless 'white' long term residency card back to a more 'official' one. That still has to be put to the test and the requirements still seem very similar as the original Lichna Karta so presumably just a letter from the bank. Having learnt a lot about how Bulgarian Bureaucracy works solely to Bulgaria's advantage (you can't really blame them as she's so poor!) I am hesitant to even reapply for Permanent Status again.
Similarly, changing a Company back to private ownership seems a very costly exercise and probably cheaper to pay taxes for a nil return until such time as a decision is made to leave the country when you sell the house. At a loss of course! [You must be registered and logged in to see this image.]

Very well put oldun and its interesting to see how different people have different views on the matter but all in all I think your right when you say just a simple letter from the bank, but that will probably cost you an arm and a leg [You must be registered and logged in to see this image.]

Yes you need a statement from the bank but you also need a blue form(?) from the Court to say your taxes are all in good order and up to date.

A letter from the court???? There you go - even more red tape. Simpler to get 'Residency?' I think not. Surely that was not in the list Admin posted. Freedom of movement in the EU? I also think not.
By the way, the letter from the bank was 7 levs if I remember rightly but that was a few years ago. I have another year before making a decision on this and costs could have risen.

hi we have just renewed our residency card and just had to show our bulgarian bank joint acc proof and tell them we had an income i.e. pension from england .the other things they ask for are copies of your health card,passport ,house deeds and old card if you have one,hope that helps,