The “EU Blue Card” type permit, which grants foreign nationals the right to reside and work in Bulgaria, is issued by the Ministry of the Interior. This permit may be obtained only by highly qualified workers. According to § 1(1) of the Labour Migration and Labour Mobility Act, “highly qualified employment” is work requiring higher education certified by a diploma or another document issued by a competent authority following a course of study of no less than three years' duration at a recognised higher-education institution. Most often, this procedure is used by IT companies to hire specialists from outside the EU.

Before an “EU Blue Card” is issued, it is necessary that:

  • The employer obtain a permit for access to the labour market for third-country nationals. This document is issued by the Executive Director of the Employment Agency.
  • The prospective employee obtain a type D visa for long-term residence.

Permit for Access to the Labour Market

To obtain a permit for access to the labour market, the employer submits an application to the Employment Agency, to which it attaches the following documents:

  • A statement of the grounds for the request.
  • Documents concerning the education, qualifications and experience of the worker – a third-country national – which must be legalised and translated into Bulgarian.
  • A declaration by the employer that the working and pay conditions are no less favourable than those for Bulgarian nationals.
  • Other documents, where such are required by Bulgarian law.
  • A certified copy of a fixed-term employment contract, which must be concluded under Bulgarian law and takes effect from the date of issue of the residence document.
  • A copy of the page of the worker's international travel document.

The foreign national's gross salary must be at least 1.5 times higher than the national average for the last 12 months. The Employment Agency checks whether the total number of third-country nationals employed by the employer does not exceed 20% (for small and medium-sized enterprises – 35%) of the average number of employed Bulgarian and other EU nationals.

The Executive Director of the Employment Agency rules within 15 days of the submission of the application. The permit is issued for the term of the employment contract, and the issuance fee is BGN 100.

Type D Visa for Long-Term Residence

After obtaining the permit for access to the labour market, the foreign national must submit documents for a type D visa for long-term residence in Bulgaria. This visa is valid for up to 6 months and grants the right of residence for up to 180 days.

The application for a type D visa is submitted at the Bulgarian diplomatic and consular missions in the applicant's country of permanent residence. The fee for examining the application is EUR 100.

EU Blue Card

In order to obtain an “EU Blue Card”, the foreign national must personally submit an application to the “Migration” Directorate of the Ministry of the Interior no later than 7 days before the expiry of the period of residence. The following are attached to the application:

  • A copy of the passport or another travel document, with the pages containing the personal data, the type D visa and the entry stamp.
  • Mandatory medical insurance valid for the territory of Bulgaria.

A copy of the decision permitting highly qualified employment, issued by the Employment Agency, is provided ex officio.

The application is examined within 7 days. An “EU Blue Card” is issued for a term of up to 4 years, and if the employment contract is for a shorter term – for the term of the contract, extended by three months. The permit may be renewed where grounds for this exist.

During the first two years, the holder of an “EU Blue Card” may carry out activity only in Bulgaria and may change employer only after approval by the Employment Agency. The right to change employer may be exercised only once during the term of validity of the card. If the foreign national becomes unemployed, he has the right to seek new employment within three months.

Should you require further information, consultation or assistance with obtaining residence and work permits for foreign nationals, please contact us on tel.: 0887550706 or by e-mail: [email protected]