Immigration

legal Relocation to Bulgaria and the EU

We provide immigration consultancy and legal advice services to high net worth individuals or people who otherwise qualify for inclusion in specific enhanced immigration schemes, regulated by the “Law for the Foreigners in the Republic of Bulgaria” and the “Law for the Bulgarian Citizenship“.

Long Term Residency through Qualifying Business Activities or Purchase of Real Estate in Bulgaria

Immigration to Bulgaria has its great benefits – pleasant mild climate, beautiful seashores and picturesque mountains, four distinctive seasons with endless possibilities for both sunbathing and winter sports, rich cultural traditions, jus to name a few. All that combined with low corporate and personal tax (the lowest in EU), political and financial stability under EU regulations, make Bulgaria one of the most desired destinations for relocation of private individuals from around the world.

While for people from the EU there are practically no administrative hurdles to move to Bulgaria permanently, for those outside of the European Union, a set of legal procedures have to be followed in order to comply with the regulations and to receive residence status. Our team has extensive experience in immigration law and is providing full administrative and legal support services to clients who wish to relocate legally to Bulgaria. Two of the most often used options (though not the only ones) are foreseen in the “Law for the Foreigners in the Republic of Bulgaria”.

The first option that qualifies the applicant to reside legally in Bulgaria is to perform business activities in the country, thereby employing at least 10 Bulgarian citizens. This option is very useful for entrepreneurs from outside of the EU who are planning on expanding their business into Bulgaria and at the same time would benefit from immigrating to the EU.

The second option that qualifies the applicant for resident status is the purchase of real estate property (or properties) for an amount of at least 307,000 EUR. This option is mostly utilized by people who possess the necessary funds to purchase a property for themselves where they can move in immediately and relocate legally to Bulgaria.

Permanent Residency through Financial Investment

For those who would like to immediately benefit from permanent residency in Bulgaria, a status that provides much more possibilities and significantly enhanced set of legal options, there are other programs foreseen in the Bulgarian legislation. The one, which is most appropriate for private individuals with sufficient funds available for investment is specified in article 25 of the “Law for the Foreigners in the Republic of Bulgaria”. The option provides the possibility for the applicant to receive permanent residence status in Bulgaria if an investment of 512,000 EUR is used for the purchase of shares (which are traded on the Bulgarian Stock Exchange), bonds, derivatives and other specific investments. The amendment of the law of 2013, added another unique opportunity, namely the investment of the said amount under management with Bulgarian licensed credit institution (ie bank) for a period of at least 5 years. Bearing in mind the stability of the Bulgarian credit institutions under the supervision of both the Bulgarian and the European financial regulators, we believe this option is definitely worth considering.

Another option, used mainly by managers of large corporations is investing an amount of at least 3,068,000 EUR into a commercial company, which is not traded on the Bulgarian Stock Exchange.

No matter the option chosen, our legal advisors will guide the customer through the whole process, guaranteeing full legal conformity and successful outcome of the immigration application.

Bulgarian (EU) Citizenship

The ultimate step of the immigration process is the naturalization and the receipt of Bulgarian (EU) passport. Citizenship comes with a set of rights and obligations. The visa-free (or visa on arrival) travel to 145 countries worldwide that comes with the Bulgarian passport is probably one of the most important values for many foreign individuals. On top of that, being an EU citizen provides the individual with many other benefits, such as access to consular aid from all EU embassies in certain circumstances and free right of settling and working in all EU countries.

Unless you have Bulgarian parent(s) of course, the procedure to obtain Bulgarian citizenship is complicated, time and money consuming. As a general rule, a number of years of legal residency is required as well as taking comprehensive language exam before the person can apply for Bulgarian passport.

Luckily, for those with adequate financial resources, Bulgaria offers the most lucrative naturalization program among all EU countries and probably the most rewarding investment citizenship option in the world. We have dedicated a special website for those who are interested to become EU citizens in time period of just more than one year. For more details, please visit how to become Bulgarian citizen via the fast track naturalization option.

Our immigration lawyers are well prepared and are assisting private individuals in their goal of obtaining their new citizenship. Please liaise with us for a personal meeting so we can discuss all available options in your particular situation.