Permanent Residence Through Qualifying Investment
Bulgarian law provides several statutory pathways allowing qualifying third-country nationals to obtain Permanent Residence through specific forms of investment.
These pathways are regulated by the Foreigners in the Republic of Bulgaria Act and are subject to strict requirements concerning the type of investment, minimum investment amount, source of funds, investment certification, maintenance of the investment, corporate structure, and compliance with Bulgarian law.
CETO Global Immigration Consulting & Partners assists international investors in assessing potential Bulgarian investment residence options and coordinates the process together with qualified Bulgarian legal, investment, tax and immigration professionals.
Bulgarian Investment Residence is not the same as citizenship by investment. Bulgaria abolished its investment-based accelerated citizenship provisions in 2022.
A qualifying investment can potentially provide Permanent Residence, but it does not automatically provide Bulgarian citizenship.
Bulgarian immigration law provides several Permanent Residence grounds for foreign investors. Unlike ordinary employment or family residence, certain qualifying investment categories can potentially provide access directly to Permanent Residence where all statutory conditions are satisfied.
There is not one single "Bulgaria Golden Visa price." Different investment routes have different minimum amounts, different eligible assets, different corporate requirements, and different certification procedures.
Depending on the current legislation, qualifying pathways can include investments involving:
A qualifying foreign investor can potentially obtain Permanent Residence by investing at least BGN 2,000,000 in shares or bonds of Bulgarian commercial companies traded on a Regulated Market or a Multilateral Trading Facility in Bulgaria.
This is a legally defined financial investment route. It should not be confused with purchasing shares in any ordinary private company.
Another statutory investment category can involve rights under concession agreements in Bulgaria with a contract value of at least BGN 1,000,000.
A qualifying investment can potentially involve at least BGN 1,000,000 in units or shares of qualifying collective investment schemes originating in Bulgaria, where the investment vehicle satisfies the statutory regulatory requirements.
Qualifying investments can also potentially involve at least BGN 1,000,000 in qualifying alternative investment funds, subject to the statutory Bulgarian requirements.
A foreign investor can potentially qualify through an investment of at least BGN 500,000 into the capital of a Bulgarian commercial company, where the foreign national holds at least 50% of the company's capital and the investment results in acquisition of new tangible assets and new intangible assets with a value of at least BGN 500,000, and creates at least 10 jobs for Bulgarian citizens.
Job maintenance: the required jobs must be maintained for the applicable residence period.
Permanent Residence can also potentially be available to certain foreign nationals who perform activities connected with the implementation or maintenance of an investment project certified under the Investment Promotion Act. This can involve a Class A Investment, Class B Investment, or Priority Investment Project.
Depending on the corporate structure, qualifying persons can potentially include a shareholder/partner, company representative, procurator, or senior employee performing key or control functions, where all applicable statutory requirements are satisfied.
Bulgarian law contains additional specialised investment provisions. Each investor should therefore be assessed individually before choosing a structure.
CETO should not advertise one investment route as suitable for every client. The investment must match the exact legal category used for the Permanent Residence application.
For certain investment routes, the investor must first undergo a preliminary review and approval by the Invest Bulgaria Agency.
Preliminary investment approval does not by itself grant Visa D, Permanent Residence, or Bulgarian Citizenship.
The investor must demonstrate a clear and lawful source of funds. This is a central requirement for investment-based immigration.
Depending on the investor's circumstances, possible source-of-funds documentation can include:
Investment Residence cases can involve enhanced AML/KYC review. For high-value international investors, CETO should carry out an early compliance assessment before the investment structure is implemented.
Certain foreign investments in Bulgaria are also subject to the country's Foreign Direct Investment Screening regime. Among other circumstances, screening can become relevant where at least 10% of a Bulgarian company's capital is acquired, the investment is at least EUR 2 million, the investment concerns certain high-tech activities, or the investment concerns strategic or sensitive sectors.
FDI screening and immigration approval are separate legal procedures. Receiving investment-screening approval does not itself provide Permanent Residence.
This is one of the most important current rules. Investments used for certain Permanent Residence pathways must generally be maintained above the statutory minimum for 5 years from the date Permanent Residence is granted.
During this five-year maintenance period, the investment generally cannot simply be terminated, transferred, or reduced below the required minimum without potential consequences for the Permanent Residence status.
Under the current legislation, after completion of the required five-year investment-maintenance period, the investor can generally terminate or change the investment without affecting the already granted Permanent Residence status.
For certain investment routes, the rights and assets obtained through the qualifying investment cannot be used as security for loans with credit or financial institutions during the statutory maintenance period.
Ongoing monitoring is carried out by the relevant Bulgarian authorities. Depending on the investment route, this can include the Invest Bulgaria Agency, the Ministry of Innovation and Growth, the Migration Directorate, and other competent authorities.
Investors can be required to notify the competent authority immediately if circumstances relating to the qualifying investment change.
Depending on the exact investment residence ground and procedure, the investor may need to obtain a Long-Stay Visa – Type D before completing the Bulgarian residence process. The precise procedure should be confirmed for the chosen statutory investment route.
After satisfying the applicable investment and immigration requirements, the investor can submit the Permanent Residence application through the competent Bulgarian immigration authority.
Once approved, Permanent Residence is granted for an indefinite period. The physical residence document must still be renewed according to the applicable Bulgarian identification-document rules.
Bulgarian Permanent Residents generally have free access to the Bulgarian labour market.
An investor can also conduct business in Bulgaria subject to applicable company law, tax law, employment law, licensing requirements, and investment regulation.
Investment Permanent Residence can also create family residence opportunities. The exact position of a spouse, minor children, or other qualifying family members depends on the specific statutory route.
Family members should not automatically be promised Permanent Residence merely because the principal investor qualifies. Their individual legal basis must be assessed.
This requires careful explanation. Bulgaria does have a separate statutory prolonged-residence route involving qualifying real-estate investment of at least BGN 600,000 under specific conditions.
However, ordinary property purchase does not automatically provide Permanent Residence.
The BGN 600,000 property route should not be confused with the direct investment-based Permanent Residence categories described above.
Under a separate statutory pathway, a person who has held qualifying prolonged residence based on certain investment grounds and maintained the investment for 5 years can potentially qualify for Permanent Residence.
Can potentially provide direct access to Permanent Residence under specific Art. 25 investment categories.
Can initially provide prolonged residence and may lead to Permanent Residence after the required period.
Based on genuine economic or professional activity and has separate requirements.
This point should be extremely clear on the CETO website. Bulgaria previously had provisions allowing accelerated citizenship linked to investment. Those provisions were repealed in 2022.
Therefore: Investment → Potential Permanent Residence does NOT equal automatic or fast-track citizenship.
An investor who later wishes to become a Bulgarian citizen must qualify under the citizenship rules applicable to them at that time.
Bulgarian Investment Residence can potentially be relevant for:
We assess nationality, residence, available capital, source of funds, family situation, and investment objectives.
Current Bulgarian statutory investment options are compared.
The investor's capital and supporting documentation are assessed.
Where required, Invest Bulgaria Agency pre-approval procedures are coordinated.
The investment is structured together with qualified Bulgarian financial, corporate and legal professionals.
Where applicable, Bulgarian foreign-investment screening requirements are assessed.
Required certificates and proof of investment are obtained.
Visa and Permanent Residence procedures are coordinated according to the selected statutory route.
The statutory five-year investment-maintenance obligations are monitored where applicable.
Family residence and potential future naturalisation can be assessed separately.
No. Bulgaria does not currently operate the former citizenship-by-investment programme.
Potentially yes. Several statutory investment-based Permanent Residence routes remain available.
No. Different statutory categories have different investment thresholds.
Potentially yes, provided the securities and investment satisfy the exact statutory requirements.
Potentially under the specific company-investment route, but additional requirements apply, including minimum ownership, new assets, and at least 10 Bulgarian jobs.
An ordinary apartment purchase does not automatically provide direct Permanent Residence. A separate prolonged-residence property route exists under specific conditions.
For certain direct Permanent Residence investment categories, yes. The investment must generally be maintained for 5 years after Permanent Residence is granted.
Under the current rules, after completion of the statutory five-year maintenance period, qualifying investors can generally change or terminate the investment without affecting the already granted Permanent Residence.
The exact rules depend on the investment category. For certain investment routes, qualifying investment assets cannot be pledged as loan security during the required maintenance period.
No. Permanent Residence is not citizenship.
Potentially yes. The exact residence status available to family members must be assessed separately.
No. Bulgarian Permanent Residence does not equal EU citizenship.
Not automatically. Bulgarian Permanent Residence provides Bulgarian labour-market access, not unrestricted Austrian employment rights.
Permanent Residence Through Qualifying Investment
Bulgaria continues to provide specific investment-based Permanent Residence opportunities for qualifying international investors. However, these programmes are highly regulated.
The correct strategy requires coordination of investment law, immigration law, AML/source of funds, tax, and corporate structuring.
CETO Global Immigration Consulting & Partners can coordinate the investor's Bulgarian residence strategy together with qualified local professionals.
Bulgaria currently provides several statutory investment grounds that can potentially lead to Permanent Residence. There is no single universal investment amount applicable to all routes. Certain investment pathways currently include thresholds such as BGN 2 million, BGN 1 million or BGN 500,000 depending on the legal category and additional conditions.
Certain qualifying investments must be maintained for five years after Permanent Residence is granted. Invest Bulgaria Agency approval or certification may be required depending on the investment route. Foreign Direct Investment screening can apply separately to certain investments.
Ordinary property ownership or company registration alone does not automatically provide Permanent Residence. Bulgaria abolished its investment-based accelerated citizenship provisions in 2022. Investment Permanent Residence does not automatically provide Bulgarian citizenship or unrestricted employment rights throughout the European Union.
All investment thresholds and statutory conditions should be re-verified immediately before a client commits capital.
