Bulgaria golden visa: residence by investment

At a glance

Total time: Several months
Official fees: Investment of about €306,800
Where: Consulate, then Migration
Bulgarian needed?: A lawyer is essential

Bulgaria offers residence to non-EU citizens who make a large investment in the country. It is often called the Bulgarian “golden visa”. It gives you the right to live here, but not a passport.

The main route

Invest at least BGN 600,000 (about €306,800) in Bulgarian property, or in a Bulgarian company you own more than half of. You can then get a Type D visa and a long-term residence permit, usually for one year at a time, renewed while you keep the investment.

	What it means
Investment	At least about €306,800, kept for as long as you rely on it
Residence	Long-term permit, renewed yearly
Family	Your spouse and children can usually join you
Permanent residence	Possible after 5 years of legal residence
Citizenship	No longer available by investment. Bulgaria ended its citizenship-by-investment route in 2022

Step by step

Get advice from a Bulgarian lawyer and choose the investment.
Make the investment and get a certificate from a Bulgarian bank or the relevant agency.
Apply for a Type D visa with the investment certificate.
Apply for residence at the Migration office. See our residence guide.

Things to check first

The rules have changed several times in recent years, and some agents advertise routes that no longer work. Check the current law with an independent lawyer, not only the seller of the property.
Buying a house with land needs a company. See our property guide.
If you will live here most of the year, you will probably become a tax resident. See our flat tax guide.

The fund route to permanent residence

There is also a second route, set out in Article 25 of the Foreigners in the Republic of Bulgaria Act. Invest at least BGN 1 million (about €511,300) in Bulgarian alternative investment funds licensed or registered by the Financial Supervision Commission, each with assets of at least BGN 3 million, and you can apply for permanent residence instead of a one-year permit. You must keep the investment for five years. Check that the fund qualifies, and read its fees and exit terms carefully. A bill put forward in July 2026 would restate these thresholds in euro and may change the route, so ask your lawyer for the current law.

What it really costs

Cost	Rough amount
The investment itself	From about €306,800 (property or company) or €511,300 (fund)
Lawyer and paperwork	Often €10,000 to €30,000 for a family over five years
Property purchase costs	About 4% to 6% on top of the price. See our property guide
Fund fees	Often 1% to 2% a year, sometimes with a share of the profits
Visa and residence fees	The €100 visa fee, plus residence card fees for each person
Health insurance	Needed for the visa. See our health insurance guide

Your family

Your spouse and children under 18 can usually apply with you, and adult children and parents in some cases. Each family member needs their own documents, translated into Bulgarian and legalised.

Is it the right route for you?

Many people who look at the golden visa can get residence more cheaply in another way:

Retirees with a pension can use the pension route.
Remote workers can use the digital nomad permit.
People with a job offer can use a work permit or EU Blue Card.
People married to a Bulgarian citizen can get residence as a family member.

The golden visa makes most sense if you want to invest in Bulgaria anyway and don’t fit any of these.

Common mistakes

Believing an agent who promises a passport. Bulgarian citizenship is no longer available by investment.
Selling the property or leaving the company while the permit still depends on it.
Buying an overpriced property just to reach the threshold. Check the price against similar properties on imot.bg.
Forgetting that the permit must be renewed, and that you must keep the investment until you qualify for permanent residence.

Sources

General information, not legal or investment advice. Always use your own lawyer.