Bulgaria launched a genuine remote-worker residence permit in December 2025 — a €31,000 income floor, strict rules, and the EU's lowest flat income tax. What it actually takes to qualify.
Bulgaria introduced a dedicated residence permit for remote workers in December 2025 — a genuine digital nomad visa, not a repurposed business or freelance permit. It's aimed at non-EU, non-EEA and non-Swiss nationals who work remotely for employers or clients based outside Bulgaria, and it comes with a meaningfully higher income bar than some of its regional competitors.
Who qualifies
There are three eligibility paths:
- Remote employees of a company registered outside the EU, EEA and Switzerland, working fully remotely.
- Business owners or managers who hold at least 25% of a foreign company, or a management position in one, performing their duties remotely.
- Freelancers and independent professionals who have provided digital or remote services exclusively to foreign clients for at least a year before applying.
In every case, you cannot work for Bulgarian employers or Bulgarian clients while on this permit — that line is strictly drawn.
The income requirement
You need a minimum annual income of €31,000, calculated as 50 times Bulgaria's monthly minimum wage. The income has to originate outside Bulgaria — a foreign employer, a foreign-registered company you own, or foreign clients. This is a notably higher bar than several other popular digital nomad destinations, so run your actual numbers before assuming you qualify.
Documents and process
Expect to provide:
- Health insurance covering Bulgaria and the wider EU/Schengen area
- Proof of accommodation in Bulgaria
- A clean criminal record certificate
- Apostilled and Bulgarian-translated foreign documents
Because the programme only launched in December 2025, processing times and administrative practice are still settling in — build in buffer time rather than assuming a fast turnaround.
Duration
The permit is valid for up to one year, renewable for a further year. It is not a long-term settlement route on its own — treat it as what it is: a one-to-two-year window, not a path to permanent residency by itself.
Tax treatment
Spend enough time in Bulgaria and you can become a Bulgarian tax resident (generally the 183-day rule), which would bring you under the country's flat 10% personal income tax — one of the lowest in the EU. Whether and when that applies to your specific situation depends on your residency pattern and any tax treaty with your home country, so this needs a qualified accountant, not a blog post, before you plan around it.
Connection to property
Bulgaria is the EU's most affordable property market, and a year or two living here on a nomad visa is exactly the kind of trial period that lets you properly evaluate a neighbourhood before buying — Sofia districts like Lyulin and Nadezhda run €1,500-1,700/m², while the coast offers strong rental yields in summer. See our guides to Bulgaria's best areas to buy and the real investment risks before committing.
FAQ
Can I bring family on this visa? Programme details on dependants are still being clarified in practice — check the current rules directly with a Bulgarian consulate before applying. Can I work for a Bulgarian company at all? No — the permit explicitly excludes Bulgarian employers and clients. Does this lead to permanent residency? Not directly — it's a renewable one-year permit, not a settlement route. Is €31,000 net or gross? Treat it as the figure you need to document and verify the exact calculation method with your application, since practice is still being established for this new programme.
How we help
We connect you with Bulgarian immigration specialists for the application itself, and if the visa turns into a property search, we know the market well enough to tell you where your money actually goes further. Informational only, not immigration or tax advice — this is a new programme and rules are still being refined; confirm current requirements before you apply.