bg_imv
Continuous Residence Permit for Pensioners
Bulgaria · Eastern Europe
Source: Mobility Asset DatabaseLifecycle: UnknownResidency-to-PassportIndependent Means Visas
Program facts from the CitizensOS Mobility Asset Database. Unknown facts are shown as Unknown, never as zero.
- Publication state
- Mobility Asset Database
- Lifecycle status
- Unknown
- Facts checked through
- Sep 21, 2026
- Source snapshots
- Database edition
Identity and current status
The route identity and current status.
- Year establishedUnknown
- Unknown
- Governing lawPublished
- Foreigners in the Republic of Bulgaria Act (1998), Art. 24(1) item 10
- Responsible authorityPublished
- Migration Directorate, Ministry of Interior (visa D: Ministry of Foreign Affairs consular service)
What the program provides
What the program gives the holder.
- What the program providesPublished
- Retire to Bulgaria on any pension, with a low 10% flat tax and a path to EU permanent residence
Best suited for
Who the program tends to suit. Research only, never a personal recommendation.
No governed customer claim is present for this section.
Eligibility
Personal qualifications an applicant must establish.
- Minimum ageUnknown
- Unknown
- Clean criminal record requiredPublished
- Yes
- Local health insurance requiredPublished
- Yes
- Nationality restrictionsPublished
- No
- Basic eligibilityPublished
- Entitlement to a pension from any country (amount not set by law), plus Bulgarian bank funds of about 12 Bulgarian minimum pensions (~EUR 4,170), housing and health insurance
- Generational limitPublished
- Not applicable
Household inclusion
How spouses and children are treated.
- Family sponsorshipPublished
- Yes
- Spouse includedPublished
- Yes
- Children includedPublished
- Yes
- Child age limitPublished
- 18 years
- ChildrenPublished
- Spouse and minor children apply separately for family-reunification permits once the pensioner holds the permit
Documents
Evidence categories and filing documents.
No governed customer claim is present for this section.
Process and timeline
How you apply and how long it takes.
- Processing timePublished
- 4–8 weeks
- Can apply without travelingPublished
- No
- How you applyPublished
- Type D visa at a Bulgarian consulate, then residence permit at the Migration Directorate in Bulgaria
- Required in-person stepPublished
- Consulate visa application; permit filing, biometrics and ID card pickup in Bulgaria
- What the processing time measuresPublished
- Visa D decision, about 4-8 weeks per practitioners (immigration2bulgaria.com); the residence permit is then issued in Bulgaria after a further filing
Costs and investment
Fees, income and savings thresholds, and investment amounts.
- Minimum investmentPublished
- None required
- Minimum passive investment (July 2026)Published
- None required
- Minimum active investment (July 2026)Published
- None required
- Processing feePublished
- $299
- Application feePublished
- $117
- Total cost to applyPublished
- $416
- Monthly income requiredPublished
- None required
- Monthly pension income requiredPublished
- None required
- Monthly rental income requiredPublished
- None required
- Savings requiredPublished
- $4,879
- Proof of sufficient fundsPublished
- Yes
- Local bank deposit requiredPublished
- Yes
- Minimum local bank depositPublished
- $4,879
- Fees paidPublished
- Before approval
- Cost notesPublished
- Visa D EUR 100 (~USD 117); residence permit issuance BGN 500 = EUR 255.65 (~USD 299); ID card extra, about EUR 22 standard to EUR 110 express. Bulgaria uses the euro since 1 Jan 2026 (BGN 1.95583 = EUR 1)
Presence and maintenance
Stay, renewal, and how long the status lasts.
- Stay required to keep statusUnknown
- Unknown
- Physical presence requiredPublished
- Yes
- In-country visit requiredPublished
- Yes
- Move-in windowPublished
- 6 months
- Length of residencyPublished
- 12 months
- Residency is lifetimePublished
- No
- RenewablePublished
- Yes
- Maximum durationUnknown
- Unknown
- Maximum duration is lifetimePublished
- Yes
- Stay rule (Sept 2026)Published
- Permit is for continuous residence at a registered Bulgarian address; no day count to renew found in law or official guidance
- Tax residency rulePublished
- Residents staying more than 183 days in any 12-month period, or whose center of vital interests is in Bulgaria, are tax residents
- Personal income taxPublished
- 10%
Rights and onward pathways
Work, healthcare and other rights, and the path to permanent residence and citizenship.
- Time to permanent residencyPublished
- 5 years
- Time to citizenshipPublished
- 10 years
- Work for a local employerPublished
- No
- Start a businessUnknown
- Unknown
- Remote or freelance workUnknown
- Unknown
- Local healthcare accessUnknown
- Unknown
- University accessPublished
- Yes
- Can buy landPublished
- No
- Local bankingPublished
- Yes
- Permanent residence timeline basisPublished
- Years stated
- Citizenship timeline basisPublished
- Years stated
Risks, limitations, and uncertainty
Notes on changes, conflicts, and limits.
- Plan B note (Sept 2026)Published
- Pension of any amount qualifies; funds of about 12 minimum pensions (EUR 347.51 from 1 July 2026) must sit in a Bulgarian bank. PR after 5 years of continuous legal residence; citizenship needs 5 years of PR plus Bulgarian language. Staying 183+ days in a 12-month period makes you a Bulgarian tax resident. The competitor 'no stay' claim was neither confirmed nor refuted.
Sources, freshness, and conflict disclosure
Where the CitizensOS Mobility Asset Database took these facts from.
- Official program websitePublished
- https://www.mvr.bg/migration/en
- Plan B sources (Sept 2026)Published
- https://legex.bg/en/resisdence-for-pensioners | https://bulgarianexpert.com/rp/rp-retirees-en.html | https://immigration2bulgaria.com/residence-permit-for-pensioners/ | https://www.novinite.com/view_news.php?id=238611
Every fact on this page comes from the CitizensOS Mobility Asset Database (Sep 21, 2026 edition). A blank is shown as Unknown.
This anonymous dossier is read-only research. It does not establish personal fit, eligibility, legal or tax advice, filing, approval, residence, citizenship, or a held Right.