- Digital nomad visa
- Yes
Digital Nomad long-term residence permit
Overall6/10Easier visas than about 55% of cities
Good to know
Good to Know
- Bulgaria became a full Schengen member for land borders on 1 January 2025 (air/sea since March 2024), so entering Plovdiv overland from Greece or Romania is now checkpoint-free for most travelers, same as flying in.
- Days spent in Bulgaria count toward your overall Schengen 90/180-day limit shared with every other Schengen country — track your total days across the whole zone, not just Bulgaria.
- Bulgaria officially adopted the euro on 1 January 2026, replacing the Bulgarian lev — budget and price-check in euros going forward rather than lev.
- Keep an eye on the EU's ETIAS rollout (expected late 2026) — once live, visa-exempt nationals will need a quick, inexpensive online pre-registration before flying or driving in.
- Bulgaria's digital nomad permit is brand new (applications opened around December 20, 2025) — expect some inconsistency in how individual consulates or migration offices handle applications until the process matures.
- The 10% flat tax only applies once you're a Bulgarian tax resident — simply holding the digital nomad residence permit does not automatically make you one; you still have to cross the 183-day threshold or otherwise establish 'centre of vital interests' in Bulgaria.
- You cannot work for Bulgarian clients or take local employment on this permit — it's strictly for income earned from outside the country.
- Since Bulgaria is fully in Schengen, if you're not using the digital nomad permit, your visa-free stay is capped at 90 days in any 180-day period across the whole Schengen area, not just Bulgaria.
Visa Free Entry
- Beyond 90 Days
- Nomads wanting to stay longer than 90/180 days must apply for a Bulgarian national long-stay (Type D) visa before arrival, or a residence permit from within Bulgaria for a qualifying purpose (e.g. employment, freelance/self-employment registration, or study) — this sits outside the visa-free baseline covered here.
- Official Source
- Bulgarian Ministry of Foreign Affairs — Visa for Bulgaria page (mfa.bg)
- Schengen Status
- Bulgaria is a full Schengen Area member. Internal air and sea border checks were lifted on 31 March 2024, and internal land border checks (including the Plovdiv-relevant crossings with Romania and Greece) were lifted on 1 January 2025, completing full Schengen integration.
- EU Schengen Citizens
- EU and Schengen-area citizens have full freedom of movement into Bulgaria with no day-limit, using only a valid passport or national ID card.
- How The 90 180 Counts
- Time spent in Bulgaria now counts toward the shared Schengen 90/180-day allowance used across all Schengen member states combined, not a separate Bulgaria-only quota. The 180-day window is calculated backward from each entry date, so overlapping trips to other Schengen countries (e.g. Greece, Romania, Germany) all draw from the same 90-day total.
- Upcoming Change ETIAS
- The EU's ETIAS pre-travel authorization system (a low-cost, ~€20 online registration valid for multiple entries over roughly 3 years) is planned to start applying to visa-exempt travelers to Bulgaria in late 2026, per EU Commission timelines; exact rollout dates have slipped before and should be confirmed close to travel.
- Baseline Rule For Most Nomads
- Citizens of the roughly 60 countries on the EU's visa-exempt list (including the US, UK, Canada, Australia, New Zealand, Japan, South Korea, and most Latin American nations) can enter Bulgaria — and Plovdiv as part of it — without a visa for short stays of up to 90 days within any rolling 180-day period.
- Process For Qualifying Nomads
- No advance application or fee is required for visa-exempt nationals — entry is on presentation of a valid passport at the border. There is currently no online pre-registration requirement, though this is expected to change once ETIAS goes live.
Digital Nomad Visa And Tax
- Visa Name
- Digital Nomad long-term residence permit (Art. 24k, Foreigners in the Republic of Bulgaria Act)
- Income Proof
- Documented via bank statements, payslips, or tax returns covering the preceding calendar year.
- Renewal Path
- Initial residence permit is granted for up to 1 year and can be renewed once for a further year (2 years total); it does not lead to permanent residence.
- Status Summary
- Bulgaria's dedicated digital nomad program is very new — applications only opened in late December 2025 — so on-the-ground implementation experience for Plovdiv-based applicants specifically is still thin.
- Visa Ease Tier
- moderate
- Who It Applies To
- Non-EU/EEA/Swiss citizens only; EU/EEA/Swiss nationals do not need this permit and can live/work in Plovdiv under standard EU free-movement rules instead.
- Work Restrictions
- Holders cannot take local Bulgarian employment, invoice Bulgarian clients, or provide services to persons/entities on Bulgarian territory — income must come exclusively from abroad.
- Income Requirement
- €31,000
- Baseline Visa Free Stay
- Bulgaria fully joined the Schengen Area in January 2025, so non-visa nationals get the standard Schengen 90-days-in-any-180-days allowance for visa-free stays, with days here counting toward the wider Schengen limit.
- Visa Ease Tier Rationale
- Bulgaria now offers a dedicated Digital Nomad residence permit with a moderate ~€31,000/year income bar and standard Schengen 90/180 visa-free access for short stays, but the two-stage Type D-visa-plus-residence-permit process, apostille/translation documentation burden, and multi-test (183-day vs. centre-of-vital-interests) tax-residency rules add real complexity for long-term legal stays.
Tax Notes
- Headline Rate
- Flat 10% personal income tax on worldwide income for Bulgarian tax residents — one of the lowest flat rates in the EU.
- Double Taxation
- Bulgaria has double tax treaties with many countries; treaty tie-breaker rules apply if another country also claims you as tax resident in the same year.
- Freelancer Deduction
- Bulgarian freelancers (svobodna profesiya) get an automatic 25% recognized-expense deduction with no receipts required (40% for certain licensed professions like journalists, lawyers, artists).
- Digital Nomad Visa Specific
- Holding the digital nomad residence permit does not by itself create Bulgarian tax residency — the same 183-day / centre-of-vital-interests tests apply as for anyone else.
- Currency Note
- Bulgaria adopted the euro on 1 January 2026, replacing the Bulgarian lev (BGN) as the official currency.
Tax Residency Triggers
- Physical presence in Bulgaria for more than 183 days in any rolling 12-month period (not necessarily a calendar year); partial days and arrival/departure days count
- Bulgaria being the individual's 'centre of vital interests' (economic, family, and social ties), which can trigger residency even under 183 days
- Maintaining a permanent dwelling available for personal use in Bulgaria, combined with other ties
Fees Estimate
- Type D Visa Fee
- €100
- Residence Permit Fee
- €256
- ID Card Issuance Fee Range
- €11
- Administrative Application Fee
- €5.00
Application Path
- Step 1
- Type D visa application at a Bulgarian consulate in the home country, typically deciding within 4–8 weeks.
- Step 2
- After arrival, applicants must apply for the residence permit under the Digital Nomad program within 14 days.
- Structure
- Two-stage process: (1) apply for a Type D long-stay visa at a Bulgarian embassy/consulate abroad, then (2) once in Bulgaria, apply for the digital-nomad residence permit.
- Final Step
- An identification card is issued once the residence permit is approved.
- Total Processing Time
- Whole process can take roughly 1–4 months depending on consulate workload and documentation completeness.
Documents Required
- Proof of accommodation in Bulgaria (rental contract, hotel booking, or property ownership)
- Clean criminal record certificate from country of residence
- Proof of meeting the minimum income threshold
- Valid international/Schengen-wide health insurance covering the stay
- Foreign documents translated into Bulgarian and apostilled where required
Eligibility Categories
- Remote employees of a company registered outside the EU/EEA/Switzerland
- Owners or shareholders holding more than 25% of a foreign (non-Bulgarian) company
- Freelancers/independent professionals with at least 1 year of remote-work experience and no Bulgarian clients
AI-generated estimateData refreshed July 2026
This section has no cited sources.
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Data last updated July 2026 · Verify anything important.