- Visa-free stay
- Up to 90 days within any 180-day rolling period
Overall6/10Easier visas than about 55% of cities
Good to know
Good to Know
- Bulgaria adopted the euro as its official currency on 1 January 2026, replacing the Bulgarian lev — prices for visas, fees, and daily costs are now quoted in EUR.
- Since Bulgaria became a full Schengen member (land borders integrated January 2025), any days spent in Sunny Beach/Bulgaria now count against the same 90/180-day clock you use in France, Greece, Italy, etc. — track your total Schengen days carefully if you're island- or country-hopping around Europe.
- ETIAS pre-registration is expected to start in late 2026 for visa-exempt nationalities (US, UK, Canada, Australia, Japan, etc.) — check the official EU ETIAS portal closer to your travel date rather than a third-party site, as launch timing has already shifted more than once.
- For stays beyond 90 days, plan well ahead: a Type D long-stay visa generally must be applied for from your home country before arrival, not switched to after entering visa-free.
- Bulgaria's digital nomad permit is brand new (applications only opened 20 December 2025), so on-the-ground processing experience is still limited compared with longer-running programs like Portugal's or Estonia's.
- You cannot bill Bulgarian clients or take local employment on this permit — all income must come from outside Bulgaria, and violating this can get your permit revoked.
- EU/EEA/Swiss citizens don't need this visa at all — they can simply register for a long-term EU residence certificate at the Migration Directorate.
- Bulgaria switched from the lev to the euro on 1 January 2026, so double-check whether any quoted fee or salary figure you see online is still in old lev amounts.
Visa Free Entry
- Country
- Bulgaria
- Days Allowed
- Up to 90 days within any 180-day rolling period, counted cumulatively across all Schengen countries combined (not 90 days in Bulgaria alone).
- Official Source
- https://www.mfa.bg/en/services-travel/consular-services/travel-bulgaria/visa-bulgaria
- Schengen Status
- Full Schengen member — Bulgaria removed checks at air and sea borders from 31 March 2024, and completed full integration including land borders on 1 January 2025. Days spent in Bulgaria now count toward the collective Schengen 90/180-day allowance shared across the whole Schengen Area.
- ETIAS Future Fee
- €20
- Extension Beyond 90 Days
- Extensions past 90/180 days require a national long-stay (Type D) visa applied for in advance at a Bulgarian consulate, or a Bulgarian residence permit obtained locally for qualifying purposes (work, study, family, etc.).
Process
- Steps
- No visa application is needed before travel for visa-exempt nationalities. Entry is granted on arrival with a valid passport that meets Schengen passport-validity rules.
- Upcoming Change
- ETIAS (an online pre-travel registration, not a visa) is expected to become mandatory for visa-exempt travelers from late 2026, with a fee of €20 for applicants aged 18–70. As of mid-2026 it has not yet launched, so no ETIAS is currently required to enter Bulgaria.
- Passport Requirement
- Passport should be issued within the last 10 years and remain valid for at least 3 months beyond the planned departure date from Bulgaria/Schengen.
- Advance Visa Required
- No
Who Qualifies
- EU/EEA and Swiss citizens: unrestricted freedom of movement — no day limit, no visa needed.
- Citizens of the ~60 non-EU countries on the Schengen/EU visa-exemption list (Annex II of Regulation (EU) 2018/1806), including the US, UK, Canada, Australia, Japan, New Zealand, South Korea, and most Latin American nations.
Digital Nomad Visa And Tax
- Program Name
- Digital Nomad long-term residence permit (Art. 24p, Foreigners in the Republic of Bulgaria Act)
- Renewal Path
- Initial permit is granted for 1 year and can be renewed once for a second year (2 years total); it does not lead to permanent residence, and renewal requires continuing to meet the income, insurance, and no-local-work conditions.
- Restrictions
- Cannot work for Bulgarian employers, invoice Bulgarian clients, or generate any Bulgaria-sourced income; doing so risks revocation of the permit.
- Who It Is For
- Third-country nationals (non-EU/EEA/Swiss citizens) only — EU/EEA/Swiss citizens do not need this and instead register for free-movement residence.
- Visa Ease Tier
- moderate
- Program Launched
- Applications accepted since 20 December 2025; legal basis introduced via amendments adopted 18 June 2025
- Baseline Visa Free Stay
- Bulgaria fully joined the Schengen Area on 1 January 2025, so most non-EU visitors (including US, UK, Canadian, Australian passport holders) can stay visa-free for 90 days within any 180-day period before needing this permit or another visa route.
- Visa Ease Tier Rationale
- A dedicated digital-nomad permit exists with a moderate ~EUR 31,000 income bar and a structured but multi-stage (3–4 month), non-permanent-residence-track process, while non-EU nomads without it are still capped at the standard 90/180-day Schengen-equivalent stay.
- Fees Note
- Combined government fees (visa + 1-year residence permit + ID card) run roughly in the low hundreds of euros; exact amounts should be confirmed with the consulate as figures are still being republished in euros following the January 2026 currency changeover.
Tax Notes
- Flat Income Tax
- Bulgaria applies a flat 10% personal income tax, among the lowest rates in the EU.
- Tax Residency Trigger
- Standard Bulgarian tax residency is triggered by spending 183+ days in Bulgaria within a 12-month period; tax residents are taxed on worldwide income at the 10% flat rate, subject to applicable double-taxation treaties.
- Currency Context
- Bulgaria adopted the euro on 1 January 2026, replacing the Bulgarian lev (fixed conversion rate 1.95583 BGN = 1 EUR), so most current pricing and salary figures are now quoted in euros.
Application Path
- Step 1: Apply for a Type D long-stay visa at a Bulgarian embassy or consulate in your home/residence country; decision typically takes several weeks.
- Step 2: Enter Bulgaria on the Type D visa, then apply for the digital nomad residence permit within 14 days of arrival at the Migration Directorate.
- Step 3: Once the permit is approved, apply for a Bulgarian ID card; the full process can take up to three to four months end-to-end.
Documents Required
- Type D long-stay visa application (filed at a Bulgarian embassy/consulate abroad)
- Proof of qualifying foreign income for the prior calendar year
- 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 Schengen/EU area for the full stay
- Apostilled and Bulgarian-translated foreign documents where required
Income Requirement
- Current Threshold
- €31,000
- Description
- Average annual income of at least 50 times Bulgaria's official minimum monthly wage for the preceding calendar year, documented via bank statements, payslips, or tax returns.
- Note On Figure
- Threshold rose from roughly EUR 27,500 (based on the 2025 minimum wage) to roughly EUR 31,000 as the 2026 minimum wage increased; it will keep moving with future minimum-wage changes.
Eligibility Categories
- Remote employee of a company registered outside the EU/EEA/Switzerland
- Owner or shareholder holding more than 25% of a company registered outside the EU/EEA/Switzerland
- Independent freelancer/contractor with at least 1 year of remote-work experience, serving only non-Bulgarian clients
AI-generated estimateData refreshed July 2026
Sources cited for this category
These are the sources cited in this visas research for this city. Individual figures may not each trace to one of them.
- 1.mfa.bg
More About Sunny Beach
Data last updated July 2026 · Verify anything important.