All guides on moving to and living in Bulgaria
52 guides and tools by topic: paperwork and residence, money and taxes, housing, children, healthcare, cities. Every guide is dated and sourced. Use search 🔍 in the header to find anything else.
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🧳 Moving and paperwork
How to move to Bulgaria in 2026: a step-by-step plan
A step-by-step plan for moving to Bulgaria: choose a residence route, apostille documents, type D visa, pick a city and rent, apply for residence, then LNCh, bank,…
new🛠 Moving checklist
A personal week-by-week plan: documents, housing, school, car, pets.
🛠 Residence check
Find the residence route that fits you in a minute.
Bulgarian type D visa (2026): documents, timing and cost
How to get a Bulgarian type D long-stay visa: who needs it, validity up to 6 months and stay up to 180 days, documents, €30,000 health insurance, funds at least the…
newLNCh and EGN in Bulgaria: what they are and how to get one
What the LNCh (foreigner's personal number) and EGN are in Bulgaria, how they differ, where they are issued and what you need them for: bank, contracts, doctor,…
newQualified electronic signature (KEP) in Bulgaria for foreigners: what it is for and how to get one
What a KEP (qualified electronic signature) is, where you need it in Bulgaria — the health fund, tax office and other online services — how a foreigner gets one in…
new🛠 Paperwork: address, residence, apostille
Step by step for EU, non-EU and Bulgarian-origin applicants.
Bulgaria's Foreigners Act in plain language (2026)
The key points of the Foreigners in the Republic of Bulgaria Act: short, continuous, long-term and permanent residence, a foreigner's obligations, renewal…
newDo you need a transit visa for Bulgaria? (2026)
Transit through Bulgaria after it joined Schengen fully on 1 January 2025: airport transit (visa A), overland transit (visa C), exemptions for Schengen residence…
Bulgaria in Schengen: the 90/180 rule, EES at the border and ETIAS in 2026
Bulgaria has been a full Schengen member since 1 January 2025. How the 90/180 days now count, who gives fingerprints under EES, when ETIAS starts, and what changes…
new🛂 Residence and citizenship
Retiring to Bulgaria: the pensioner residence permit (2026)
How non-EU pensioners can live in Bulgaria: residence for pensioners with sufficient means, pension level, Bulgarian bank account, €30,000 insurance, type D visa,…
newBulgaria digital nomad residence permit (2026)
Bulgaria's digital nomad residence permit (Art. 24c, since December 2025): income of 50 minimum wages (about €31,010), employer or clients outside the EU/EEA, 1…
newTemporary protection in Bulgaria for Ukrainians (2026)
Temporary protection for Ukrainians in Bulgaria: extended until 4 March 2027, rights to work, healthcare and school, support programme to March 2027, and how to…
newPermanent residence in Bulgaria (2026): who qualifies, after how many years, documents
How to get permanent residence in Bulgaria: after 5 years of legal residence, immediately for people of Bulgarian origin, for families of Bulgarian citizens and…
newBulgarian citizenship by origin in 2026: a step-by-step guide
How to get Bulgarian citizenship by origin: who qualifies (up to a great-grandparent), which documents to collect, where to apply after the 2021 reform, the 9-month…
💶 Money, jobs and taxes
Cost of living in Bulgaria in 2026: monthly costs by city
How much it costs to live in Bulgaria in 2026: rent, utilities, food, single and family-of-four budgets in 7 cities, compared with wages. Numbeo and NSI data, all…
newSalaries in Bulgaria in 2026: average salary by city and take-home pay
Average gross salary by Bulgarian region for Q2 2026 (NSI): Sofia €1,943, other cities €1,112–€1,360. What is left after tax and contributions, and how much goes on…
new🛠 Family budget calculator
Rent, utilities, food and kindergarten in your chosen city.
Jobs in Bulgaria without speaking Bulgarian (2026): where to look and what they pay
Where you can work in Bulgaria without Bulgarian: service centres, IT, seaside tourism, factories and warehouses. 2026 minimum wage €620.20, take-home pay and who…
Work permit in Bulgaria and the EU Blue Card: who, how and how long
How a non-EU national can work legally in Bulgaria in 2026: who needs no permit, single permit vs EU Blue Card, seasonal work, labour market test and quota, 2–4…
newTaxes in Bulgaria for foreigners (2026), in plain language
Taxes for foreigners in Bulgaria in 2026: 10% flat income tax, 13.78% employee contributions, freelancers and companies, 5% dividend tax, rental income, property…
newOpening a bank account in Bulgaria as a foreigner (2026)
How foreigners open a Bulgarian bank account: documents for EU and non-EU citizens, LNCh and residence requirements, banks (DSK, UniCredit Bulbank, UBB, Postbank,…
newThe euro in Bulgaria: what changed in 2026 and what to do with leva
Bulgaria adopted the euro on 1 January 2026 at 1.95583 leva. Leva stopped being legal tender after 31 January 2026, dual prices ended 8 August 2026, banks exchange…
newSetting up a company (EOOD) in Bulgaria as a foreigner (2026)
How foreigners register a single-member company (EOOD) in Bulgaria: €1 capital, €28.12 online fee, documents, 3–7 days, 10% corporate and 5% dividend tax, VAT above…
new🏠 Housing and daily life
Renting a flat in Bulgaria as a foreigner (2026)
How foreigners rent in Bulgaria: where to search, rents in 7 cities, deposit and agency fee, a lease with notarised signatures for residence and address…
newBuying property in Bulgaria as a foreigner (2026)
How foreigners buy property in Bulgaria: apartments freely, land for non-EU buyers via a company, 0.1–3% transfer tax, notary, registration, agency fees,…
newUtilities, internet and mobile in Bulgaria: costs and setup (2026)
Utility costs in Bulgaria by city in 2026, electricity, water and district heating providers, internet at €11–15 a month, mobile operators A1, Yettel and Vivacom,…
newMoving to Bulgaria with a dog or cat (2026)
How to bring a dog or cat to Bulgaria from the EU or from Ukraine, Moldova and other non-EU countries: microchip, rabies vaccine, rabies antibody test 3 months…
newLearning Bulgarian: courses, apps and tips (2026)
How to learn Bulgarian after moving: university courses (Sofia University, NBU), private schools, free courses for people under temporary protection, tips, and when…
newDriving licences in Bulgaria: using and exchanging a foreign licence
Can you drive in Bulgaria on a foreign licence, when to exchange it, exchanging Vienna Convention licences without a test, documents, medical certificate, fee and…
newRegistering an EU car in Bulgaria (2026): documents, steps and costs
How to register a car bought in or brought from another EU country in Bulgaria: documents, third-party insurance, eco fee, KAT, the €40.90 fee, deadlines, tax and…
Bulgaria road vignette 2026: prices, where to buy and fines
Bulgaria's e-vignette: new prices from 1 August 2026 for one day, weekend, week, month, quarter and year, where to buy without a mark-up, how plate checks work, the…
newMobile phones in Bulgaria: SIM cards, eSIM and roaming in 2026
How to get a SIM card in Bulgaria: the three networks (A1, Vivacom, Yettel), mandatory registration with a passport or EU ID card, prepaid or contract, eSIM and EU…
newSofia public transport in 2026: tickets, paying by card and passes
Getting around Sofia: metro, trams, trolleybuses and buses, the €0.80 ticket (in euro since 1 January 2026), paying with a contactless bank card, the €2 daily cap,…
new👨👩👧 Family, children and health
How much child benefit do you get in Bulgaria in 2026?
How much child benefit you get per child in Bulgaria in 2026: €191.74–460.17 at birth, monthly from €25.57 for one child, €153.39 school grant. Income limits,…
Kindergarten and school in Bulgaria: enrolment, documents, language
How to enrol a child in kindergarten and school in Bulgaria: free state kindergartens, compulsory preschool from 4, first grade at 7, enrolment points,…
Health insurance in Bulgaria for foreigners and residents (2026)
How Bulgarian public health insurance works: 8% contribution, €24.81 a month if you pay yourself, choosing a family doctor (lichen lekar), €1.48 visit fee, free…
Social assistance in Bulgaria (2026): monthly aid, heating aid and one-off help
Bulgarian social assistance explained: monthly aid, targeted heating aid of €64.39 a month (€321.95 for 2026/2027), one-off help. Who qualifies, including…
newStudying in Bulgaria as a foreigner: admission, fees and free places for Bulgarians abroad
How a foreigner gets into a Bulgarian university: tuition fees, documents, English-taught programmes, D visa and student residence, working while studying, and free…
new🏙 Cities and resorts
🛠 City catalogue
7 cities: rent, price per m², wages, climate, airports.
🛠 City match
6 questions and your top three cities.
Living in Sofia
The capital and the country's main job market: the highest salaries and the most vacancies, including IT and international companies. A metro, Vitosha mountain…
Living in Plovdiv
The second-largest city: the Old Town, the Kapana district, plenty of greenery and one of the largest Russian-speaking communities. Rent is clearly cheaper than in…
Living in Varna
Bulgaria's sea capital: the Sea Garden, a port, universities, and the second-highest wages after Sofia. A city that stays alive in winter, not just in season.
Living in Burgas
A calm seaside city with a long beach, the Sea Park and lakes around it. The mildest winter on our list and affordable rent for the coast, but fewer jobs than Varna.
Living in Stara Zagora
A city of wide, green, tree-lined streets. A large energy complex nearby keeps regional wages among the highest, while rent is the lowest on our list.
Living in Ruse
A Danube city with handsome early-20th-century architecture, a bridge to Romania and a university. Inexpensive housing and close to Bucharest.
Living in Veliko Tarnovo
The old capital on hills above the Yantra river, Tsarevets fortress and a university town. Cosy and inexpensive, but a small job market: best for remote workers.
Living in Nesebar and Sunny Beach year-round
Is it worth living in Nesebar and Sunny Beach all year: seasonality, empty winters, off-season rentals, schools, doctors, tourism jobs, getting to Burgas.
newLiving in Pomorie: a quiet seaside town near Burgas
Pomorie for expats: a calm year-round town on a peninsula 20 km from Burgas, salt lake and mud therapy, schools and doctors, off-season rentals.
newLiving in Sozopol: an old seaside town south of Burgas
Sozopol for expats: one of Bulgaria's oldest towns, beaches and nature, quiet winters, seasonality, hospitals in Burgas, off-season rentals.
newLiving in Bansko: mountains, skiing and digital nomads
Bansko for expats: ski town by Pirin, digital nomad community and coworking, about €800–850 a month for one person, 160 km from Sofia, pros and cons.
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