Overall6/10Easier visas than about 55% of cities
Good to know
Good to Know
- Bulgaria is now a full Schengen member (since January 2025), so time spent here counts toward the same 90/180-day allowance you use elsewhere in Schengen — track your days across the whole zone, not just Bulgaria.
- Bulgaria switched its currency to the euro on 1 January 2026; old Bulgarian lev could still be exchanged at banks for a limited window afterward, so don't be surprised if older guides still quote prices in BGN.
- ETIAS pre-registration (a small online fee, not a visa) is expected to become mandatory for visa-exempt nationalities sometime in late 2026 — check the official EU ETIAS portal before booking if traveling near that rollout date.
- Border officers can ask to see proof of accommodation (e.g. an Airbnb or apartment booking) and evidence of sufficient funds, so keep a booking confirmation handy when entering.
- Bulgaria's Digital Nomad residence permit is brand new (applications opened 20 December 2025) — expect some inconsistency in how consulates and local migration offices process it while procedures mature.
- The income bar (~EUR 31,000/year) is pegged to Bulgaria's minimum wage and adjusts annually, so double-check the exact current figure before budgeting your application.
- This permit strictly bars any Bulgarian-sourced income — if you want to also do local freelance or consulting work in Bulgaria, you'll need a different visa/residence category.
- The permit caps out at 2 years total (1 year + 1 renewal) with no built-in path to permanent residency, so long-term stayers eventually need to switch to a company-based D visa or another route.
- If you spend 183+ days a year in Bansko/Bulgaria, you'll very likely trigger Bulgarian tax residency and owe 10% flat tax on your worldwide income (or ~7.5% effective if structured as a freelancer) — plan around this if you want to stay non-resident for tax purposes.
- EU/EEA/Swiss citizens don't need this visa at all — they can move to Bansko freely and just register their address locally.
Visa Free Entry
- Summary
- Bulgaria became a full Schengen Area member on 1 January 2025 (air/sea borders integrated 31 March 2024, land borders followed 1 January 2025). As of 1 January 2026 Bulgaria also adopted the euro as its official currency. For most nomads from visa-exempt countries, entry to Bansko follows the standard Schengen short-stay rule.
- Allowed Stay
- Up to 90 days within any rolling 180-day period, and this allowance is now shared across the entire Schengen Area (not a separate Bulgaria-only quota).
- Who Qualifies
- Citizens of countries on the EU's Annex II visa-exempt list (including the US, UK, Canada, Australia, New Zealand, Japan, South Korea, and most Latin American nations) do not need a visa for short tourist/business stays.
- Beyond 90 Days
- Longer stays require a Bulgarian national long-stay (Type D) visa applied for in advance, or a residence permit obtained from within Bulgaria (e.g. for employment, study, or the freelancer/self-employment route) — covered separately outside this visa-free-entry scope.
- Day Counting Detail
- Since Bulgaria is now fully integrated into Schengen, time already spent in other Schengen countries in the preceding 180 days counts against the 90-day limit in Bulgaria, and vice versa.
- Overstay Consequence
- Overstaying the 90/180-day limit can result in fines and a Schengen-wide entry ban of up to 3 years.
- Upcoming Change ETIAS
- The EU's ETIAS travel authorization (an online pre-registration, not a visa) is expected to become mandatory for visa-exempt travelers in late 2026, with a roughly €20 fee for adults aged 18–70. Until it launches, no such registration is needed.
- Process For Visa Exempt Travelers
- No advance application or fee is currently required — a valid passport (issued within the last 10 years, valid at least 3 months beyond the planned departure from Schengen) is sufficient. Border officers may ask for proof of accommodation and sufficient funds.
Non Exempt Nationals
- Requirement
- Travelers from countries not on the Annex II list must obtain a Schengen short-stay visa (Type C) from a Bulgarian consulate (or another Schengen state's consulate) before travel, valid for the same 90/180-day rule.
- Typical Fee
- €80
Digital Nomad Visa And Tax
- Family
- Spouses and dependent children can join via family reunification, which requires its own separate documentation and approval.
- Visa Overview
- Bulgaria launched an official Digital Nomad residence permit on 20 December 2025, replacing the previous informal reliance on tourist stays or freelancer/business D-visas. The program is a genuine two-stage process: a Type D long-stay visa obtained abroad, followed by a residence permit obtained inside Bulgaria. It is only for non-EU/EEA/Swiss citizens — EU/EEA/Swiss nationals do not need any visa and can simply register their address locally under free-movement rules.
- Visa Ease Tier
- moderate
- Core Conditions
- Applicants must be entirely paid by foreign entities. Bulgarian labour-market access is explicitly prohibited under this permit — no employment with Bulgarian companies, no invoicing of Bulgarian clients, and no freelance work performed for parties on Bulgarian territory. Authorities can revoke the permit if they determine income is actually Bulgarian-sourced.
- Schengen Travel
- Bulgaria fully joined the Schengen Area as of 1 January 2025, and permit holders can travel short-term within the wider Schengen Area for up to 90 days in any 180-day period on top of their Bulgarian residence.
- Validity And Renewal
- The residence permit is initially granted for one year. It can be renewed once for a further year, giving a maximum of two years on this permit, with no path to permanent residency directly from it. Renewal requires updated proof of income, accommodation, insurance, and continued compliance with the no-Bulgarian-income condition.
- Visa Ease Tier Rationale
- Bansko offers the standard 90/180 Schengen stay plus a newly launched but bureaucratic two-stage Digital Nomad residence permit requiring a high ~€31,000/year income and multiple documents, capped at two years, though paired with a simple flat 10% tax regime.
Fees
- ID Card Fee Low
- €11
- Type D Visa Fee
- €100
- ID Card Fee High
- €56
- Residence Permit Fee
- €261
- ID Card Fee Range Note
- ID card issuance was reported at 22-110 BGN, roughly EUR 11-56.
- Residence Permit Fee Note
- Reported at BGN 510 total under the original (pre-euro) fee schedule, covering a 10 BGN application fee plus 500 BGN for the 1-year permit; converted at Bulgaria's fixed euro-adoption peg this is roughly EUR 261.
Tax Regime
- Headline Rate
- Bulgaria applies a flat 10% personal income tax rate on income, one of the lowest in the EU, with no progressive brackets.
- Freelancer Effective Rate
- Registered freelancers can apply a 25% standard (normative) expense deduction without needing to justify actual costs, which lowers the effective tax rate on freelance income to about 7.5%.
- VAT Threshold
- €25,565
- Filing Deadline
- The main personal income tax return filing deadline is 30 April of the year following the tax year, filed with the National Revenue Agency (NRA), online or on paper.
- Social Security
- Tax residents working as freelancers/self-employed generally must pay Bulgarian social security, cited at roughly 27.8-33% of a self-chosen insurable income base, but contributions are capped once the base reaches a maximum monthly threshold (historically around BGN 3,750-3,850, i.e. roughly EUR 1,900-1,970 equivalent), which caps the absolute contribution amount for higher earners.
- Tax Residency Trigger
- You become a Bulgarian tax resident if you spend 183 or more days in Bulgaria within any 12-month period (residency is assigned to the calendar year in which the 183rd day falls), OR if your 'center of vital interests' (family, permanent home, principal economic activity) is in Bulgaria, even with fewer than 183 days present.
- Health Insurance Naming
- Tax residents may also need to enrol in the National Health Insurance Fund (NHIF) and pay health contributions of around 8% on income, separate from the private international health insurance required for the visa application itself.
- Double Taxation Treaties
- Bulgaria maintains an extensive network of over 65 double taxation treaties, which can help prevent the same income being taxed twice for nomads who remain tax-linked to another country.
- Residents Vs Nonresidents
- Tax residents are taxed on worldwide income at the flat 10% rate. Non-residents (under 183 days, no center of vital interests in Bulgaria) are taxed only on Bulgarian-sourced income, which generally excludes foreign remote-work earnings — meaning many short-stay nomads owe no Bulgarian income tax at all.
- Visa Does Not Equal Tax Residency
- Holding the Digital Nomad residence permit does not automatically create tax residency — the 183-day/center-of-vital-interests tests apply the same way they would to anyone else. In practice, most people using the permit as a full-time base will exceed 183 days and become tax residents.
- VAT Threshold Note
- VAT registration becomes mandatory once taxable turnover exceeds this threshold (originally set at BGN 50,000) within any 12-month period.
Application Path
- Step 1
- Apply for a Type D long-stay visa at a Bulgarian embassy or consulate in the home country (or country of legal residence). Processing typically takes 4-8 weeks.
- Step 2
- Travel to Bulgaria on the Type D visa and, within 14 days of arrival, apply for the Digital Nomad residence permit at the Migration Directorate of the Ministry of Interior. Processing typically takes 2-4 weeks.
- Step 3
- Complete an identification card (ID card) process once the residence permit is approved.
- Total Timeline
- The end-to-end process, from Type D visa filing to holding an ID card, commonly takes over three months.
Income Requirement
- Documentation
- Income for the preceding calendar year must be documented via bank statements, payslips, or tax returns.
- Minimum Annual Income
- €31,000
- Description
- Minimum average annual income set at 50 times Bulgaria's gross minimum monthly wage for the preceding calendar year. As of 2026 this works out to roughly EUR 31,000/year (about EUR 2,583/month). The exact figure moves with annual minimum-wage indexation, so it should be re-verified before applying.
Required Documents
- Valid passport
- Proof of qualifying foreign income/employment or company ownership documentation
- Proof of accommodation in Bulgaria (rental contract, hotel booking, or property ownership)
- Clean criminal record certificate from country of residence
- Valid health insurance covering the applicant in Bulgaria for the full stay, valid across the Schengen/EU area
- Translations of foreign documents into Bulgarian, apostilled where necessary
Eligibility Categories
- Remote employee of a company registered outside the EU, EEA, and Switzerland, performing work using information technologies
- Owner or shareholder holding more than 25% of a company registered outside the EU/EEA/Switzerland
- Independent freelancer with at least 1 year of remote work experience and no Bulgarian clients
AI-generated estimateData refreshed July 2026
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Data last updated July 2026 · Verify anything important.