Add listing Log in

Views of Bulgaria

01.03.2011
Author: Anna Shekhova
54
There are not many countries where buying real estate helps to obtain citizenship, and Bulgaria is not one of them. However, it is quite possible to issue a temporary and permanent residence permit if funds are available here.
Bulgarian legislation provides a fairly long list of grounds for obtaining a residence permit in the country. This may be, for example, full-time study at one of the Bulgarian educational institutions; doing business in the country; permanent work with the permission of the Ministry of Labor; trading activities, as a result of which at least 10 jobs were created for Bulgarian citizens; marriage with a Bulgarian citizen; long-term treatment; activities in accordance with the law on
At the same time, all applicants for a residence permit must be provided with housing, means of living and compulsory insurance.
For those who have neither family nor business ties with Bulgaria, three paths are most suitable. The first is the opening of a legal entity in the country. The second one is an investment one. The third one is a pension.

Choose – I don't want to
Foreigners can choose which legal entity to register in the country: a Bulgarian company or a representative office of a foreign company.
In the first case, an investor can apply for a residence permit if he creates 10 jobs for Bulgarian citizens (or foreigners with permanent residence status) and transfers funds to the Pension Fund.
The second option – the opening of a representative office of a foreign company without the right to conduct business on the territory of Bulgaria – makes it possible to obtain a residence permit for one or more representatives.
Until now, the opening of companies in Bulgaria is practiced by Russians with the filing of realtors in order to arrange the purchase of a house with a plot of land. This event is not too troublesome, takes about a week and does not require large expenses.
However, if the company is fictitious, it can lead to trouble. As consultants warn, both the legal and actual addresses of companies are checked carefully. Recently, with the filing of the EU, such inspections have intensified – and according to their first results, there were 10 times fewer working firms than registered ones. As a result, the owners were required to re-register.
Another legal way to obtain a residence permit is a pension. Well-off foreign pensioners can obtain a residence permit in Bulgaria. To do this, you must submit the following documents: a pension certificate, a certificate of the pension received for the last six months, a document on the place of future residence, a certificate of an account for at least 1,000 euros in a Bulgarian bank. In addition, the pension must be credited to a Bulgarian bank account.
All applicants for a residence permit must prove their security (50 euros per day). The residence permit is valid for a year, after which it can be extended. Since May 15, 2009, according to the amendments to the law "On Foreigners", a citizen of another state with a residence permit status is not required to stay in Bulgaria 180 days a year – a few short visits are enough.
Having lived for five years in the status of a residence permit (whatever the reason for obtaining it), a foreigner can apply for permanent residence. Observing all the requirements of Bulgarian legislation, after another five years he has the right to apply for citizenship. At the same time, these petitions are considered for a long time: for example, in 2009, the government satisfied the requests of those who submitted documents back in 2005.
Article 25 of the Bulgarian "Law on Foreigners" provides for a third way to obtain permanent residence, bypassing one–year residence permits, namely through significant investments in the state economy.
At the same time, the minimum investment amount is BGN 1 million (about 511,000 euros), which must be invested in shares, bonds, state-owned enterprises, etc., however, the purchase of real estate cannot be considered as such an investment. At the same time, permanent residence can be obtained if you invest BGN 6 million (about EUR 3 million) in your own company. At the same time, it does not matter what is being purchased – equipment, intellectual property or real estate, however, the very value of the threshold calls into question the expediency of such investments if their purpose is solely to obtain permanent residence.

Immovable role
Ownership of real estate in Bulgaria plays an insignificant role in obtaining Bulgarian citizenship. And although the availability of housing is one of the conditions for obtaining a residence permit, apartments do not necessarily have to be owned by the applicant. It can be a rented apartment or a house of close relatives.
So why would you need a Bulgarian passport? The reason may be Bulgaria's membership in the EU and its planned entry into the Schengen area in 2011.
But for the most part, the passport of the Bulgarian Republic is of interest to those who plan to live in this country and have family or business ties with it. "In our practice, such cases do not occur more often than 1 in 50. As a rule, residence permits are obtained by those real estate buyers who want and can stay in Bulgaria more than half the time a year, and sometimes do not want to leave. These are mostly pensioners or parents of young children who are in Bulgaria for long-term treatment. A residence permit is also in demand among those who were able to move and do business, which requires a permanent presence in Bulgaria," says Yevgeny Simkin, CEO of Eurobereg.
However, it is possible to obtain Bulgarian citizenship only by renouncing the citizenship of the Russian Federation, and very few real estate buyers think about changing their passport. Thus, most people prefer permanent residence status, which allows them to work in the country for hire, teach children in Bulgarian institutions for free and apply for permanent residence for family members.

0
All articles by this country
All articles
Property in Bulgaria
Discussion
anatolytfvrovsky@mail.ru
"All applicants for a residence permit need to prove their security (50 euros per day)"? ??
What does it mean?
15 of May 2010, 19:27:48
Reply