If you are a third-country national, in general, in order to work in Bulgaria, you need a special work and residence permit. In this article we will examine two of the possible options, namely:
- Single Work and Residence Permit (SWRP);
- Blue card of the European Union
Please note that a special work permit is not required:
- If you have a permanent or long-term residence permit;
- If you already have a valid Blue card of the EU residence permit, issued by another EU member state.
- If you have humanitarian or refugee status, if you are an asylum seeker in a procedure for international protection, or if you have temporary protection;
- If you are a family member of a Bulgarian citizen or an EU citizen;
- A student. However, students can work only for up to 20 hours a week during the school year, as well as during the official holidays of the respective university. In this case your employer has to register you at the Employment Agency within 7 days as of the start of your employment.
This list is not exhaustive, and there are some other exceptions.
Single Work and Residence Permit (SWRP)
This is a continuous residence and work permit, which you can receive if you meet certain conditions and have a visa type D or you already have another residence permit in Bulgaria, but on a different ground (for example, as a student).
If you already have a continuous residence permit on another ground in the country, you do not have to leave Bulgaria when you first apply for a single permit. However, if you do not have such a permit, then in the course of the application procedure, you must also obtain a visa type D to enter Bulgaria.
You are not required to be outside Bulgaria when you are subsequently applying for a single work permit after your initial permit has expired.
Where can you apply?
The application, together with all the documents, has to be submitted to the Migration Directorate or to the Migration Department / Sector / Group at the regional directorates of the Ministry of Interior.
Who can apply?
Your employer (if you are outside Bulgaria) or you personally when you have a continuous residence permit. If you are applying in person, your application must be signed by your employer as well.
When you have a continuous residence permit, the deadline for submitting the application for a single permit is up to 2 months before your current residence permit expires
What documents do I need?
You need the following documents:
- Filled in application
- a copy of a valid passport with the pages that include the photo and your personal data;
- a criminal record certificate issued by the State of which you are a national or by the State of your habitual residence, upon initial application;
- evidence of secured housing (e.g. notarized rental contract);
- justification by the employer in which they need:
- indicate the facts and circumstances that require hiring you
- submit copies of ads and job offers in local and national mass media and the Internet for the position;
- justify their refusal to employ a Bulgarian citizen, a citizen of another EU Member State, a state party to the Agreement on the European Economic Area, or the Swiss Confederation or another third-country national who can work without a special permit and meets the requirements specified in the job offer;
6. Documents for education, specialty, legal capacity, professional qualification and experience, legalized and accompanied by a certified translation by a notary or by the Consular services at the Ministry of Foreign affairs into Bulgarian. These documents must meet the requirements for the position for which they want to hire you. For example, if you will be hired as a chef, you must have experience/education as such.
7.. Reference-declaration from the employer for the foreigners hired by them under an employment contract
8.. Reference declaration from the employer for the average number of employees under an employment contract in the previous 12 months, indicated by months:
- Bulgarian citizens, citizens of an EU Member State, a State Party to the EEA Agreement, and a Swiss Confederation, including citizens with a long-term or permanent residence permit in Bulgaria and their family members;
- foreigners with granted right to asylum or with granted international protection in Bulgaria and their family members;
- foreigners working in Bulgaria in accordance with an international agreement.
The documents under items 7 and 8 are required because the total number of third-country nationals with a residence permit working for the employer who wants to hire you in the previous 12 months may not exceed 20% of the average number of employees hired on a labour contract; regarding small and medium enterprises this threshold is 35 %.
9.. Declaration by the employer that the working and pay conditions have been met and that they are not more unfavourable than the conditions for Bulgarian citizens.
10.. A copy of a concluded and signed fixed-term employment contract certified by the employer and effective from the date of issuance of your residence permit and a copy of the job description,
11.. Document that the conditions for exercising a profession included in the List of regulated professions in Bulgaria are met
12 Mandatory medical insurance, valid for Bulgaria for the entire period of residence unless you pay health insurance in the country.
13 . Other documents required for the job you are applying for.
The documents shall be attached to the application form.
If a document is missing or new ones need to be submitted, the Migration Directorate will notify you electronically. You have 7 days to present them, otherwise, they will stop your procedure.
What happens after you submit your documents?
If your application is given preliminary approval, you or your employer will receive a notification from the Migration Directorate.
If you are outside Bulgaria, you must apply for a type D visa within 20 days of sending this message at the nearest Bulgarian diplomatic or consular mission in the country where you are located.
Within 14 days of entering Bulgaria with a D visa, you must appear in person at the Migration Directorate and present:
- a copy of the page from your passport with the visa;
- mandatory medical insurance valid for Bulgaria for the entire period of residence.
After you present these documents, the Migration Directorate will come up with a decision within 3 days or deny you the single residence and work permit.
If you fail to present the documents before the deadline, your proceedings will be terminated.
How long will the whole procedure take?
Not more than 2 months. If your case is more complicated, this period can be extended by other 2 months - a total of 4 months.
For how long is the residence and work permit valid?
For up to 3 years. However, if the term of your employment contract is shorter than 3 years, the permit is issued for the duration of the contract.
Blue card of the European Union
The application procedure is similar to the one for the single permit therefore, down below, we will only discuss the differences.
Again, as with the single work permit, you need to apply for a D visa to enter the country. You do not need to apply for a visa and you do not need to be outside Bulgaria when:
- You already have a continuous residence permit in Bulgaria and want to replace it with the EU Blue Card type permit.
- You have been granted international protection in Bulgaria or in another EU Member State.
If you have a continuous residence permit or have been granted international protection, you must apply for an EU Blue Card residence permit within 60 days before your current residence permit expires.
When your residence permit expires while your EU Blue Card application is still pending, you will be issued with a document certifying this.
A Blue Card is only issued to highly qualified foreign nationals. Highly qualified foreigners are those who:
- have completed higher education which has lasted at least 3 years.
- hold a position included in the list approved by order of the Minister of Labour and Social Policy and possess knowledge, skills and competences attested by an official document of professional experience at a level comparable to higher education acquired within the period specified in the list and which are relevant to the position or sector specified in the employment contract.
- Apart from the cases referred to in point 2, persons who have knowledge, skills and competences attested by an official document of at least 5 years' professional experience at a level comparable to higher education and which are relevant to the positions specified in the contract of employment;
The other requirement is that the gross salary stated in your employment contract is at least 1.5 times higher than the average salary in Bulgaria for the 12 months prior to signing your employment contract.
The duration of the employment contract must NOT be shorter than 6 months.
The validity of the EU Blue Card can be up to 5 years, but no shorter than 24 months and you have the right to renew your residence permit once it expires. Where the duration of your employment contract is shorter than 24 months, the permit will be issued for the duration of the contract, extended by three months,but no more than the maximum of 24 months.
Difference in the documents to be submitted and certain deadlines
Here there is NO need to submit the documents mentioned in point 7 and point 8 above under the single work permit . Also there is no need to submit an employer's justification, or copies of published job advertisements.
If any document is missing or new ones need to be submitted, the Migration Directorate will notify you electronically. In this procedure you have 10 days to submit them, otherwise they will terminate the proceedings.
If you are yet to enter Bulgaria with a D visa, you must, within 7 days of entry, appear in person at the Migration Directorate and present a copy of your passport containing the visa page.
The procedure for obtaining an EU Blue Card long-stay residence and work permit cannot take longer than 3 months.
Rights that the EU Blue Card gives you
During the first 12 months, you can only work the job for which you have been issued an EU Blue Card and only on Bulgarian territory.
The right to change your employer
- If you decide to change your employer during the first 12 months of your highly skilled employment.
Your new employer, an authorised person or you as a worker have the obligation to file an application to change the employer to the Migration Directorate or the Migration Departments of the Regional Directorates of the Ministry of the Interior. They will provide you with a sample application form on the spot.
You must attach to the application:
- A declaration from the new employer that the working and pay conditions are respected and that they are not less favourable than those for Bulgarian nationals.
- A certified copy of a signed and fixed-term employment contract and a copy of the job description,
- A document stating that the conditions for exercising a profession included in the List of regulated professions in Bulgaria have been met, in case you exercise a regulated profession.
Within 30 days of the submission of the application, the Migration Directorate will issue a decision either granting or refusing the new EU Blue Card type of continuous residence and work permit.
2. If you decide to change your employer after the first 12 months of highly skilled employment.
Your new employer must submit a notification to the Migration Directorate. To obtain a specimen of the application, contact the Migration Directorate staff, as no such specimen is currently available online.
Right to look for a new job
If you become unemployed within the first 24 months, you have the right, but only once during the validity period of your card, to look for and start a new job within 3 months. To do this, you must register with the Employment Agency within 7 working days after your employment ends.
After the first 24 months of employment, you have 6 months to look for and start a job. Again, you must register with the Employment Agency within 7 working days of your termination of employment.
Right to health insurance
If you have an EU Blue Card residence permit, you are covered by Bulgaria's compulsory health insurance system.
The information in this article is not exhaustive. For details, please seek legal advice.