Bulgaria, Schengen and the Golden Visa

Bulgaria’s Schengen membership gives a huge boost to the country’s Golden Visa

Finally it is now decided. Bulgaria is joining the Schengen area on 31.03.2024. This doesn’t change much for the Bulgarian passport holders, but to non-Bulgarians with Bulgarian residence permits, this is a game changer.

Bulgarian residence permits become good for visa-free travel and virtually unrestricted access to all Schengen countries

From April 1^st, 2024, foreigners with Bulgarian visa or residence permit will get visa-free access to all Schengen member states. The Bulgarian Golden Visa program is already attracting 300% more interest than it had in 2022 and 2023. This comes to no surprise, as obtaining Bulgarian PR is relatively easy, compared to the PR of Greece or Portugal. And from April 1st, the value of the Bulgarian Golden Visa becomes absolutely identical to those of Portugal and Greece. Not a bad start of the year for the Bulgarian Golden visa program.

The Schengen membership of Bulgaria comes at a price though. The most important consequence is that the Bulgarian authorities will be issuing residence permits more difficult from now on. This is due to the fact that Bulgaria has additional responsibilities towards the other Schengen member states. By issuing Bulgarian residence permit, the foreigner is getting access to the whole block and Bulgaria bears both the legal and moral responsibility to only allow law abiding foreigners to obtain Bulgarian Schengen visa or residence permit.

Please don’t hesitate to contact us for any questions you might have regarding the Bulgarian Schengen membership and its advantages for the Bulgarian Golden Visa program.