What are the main immigration pathways to Bulgaria?

Bulgaria's immigration process has a specific shape: for stays over 90 days, you almost always start with a Type D long-stay visa applied for at a Bulgarian embassy abroad, then apply for the matching residence permit at the Migration Directorate after arriving.

For work, the main routes are the Single Permit (the general combined work-and-residence permit tied to an employer), the EU Blue Card (for highly qualified professionals above a salary threshold set at 1.5x the average gross salary), the Intra-Corporate Transfer permit (for staff moved within a company group), and the Seasonal Worker route (split into short and longer seasonal tracks). Beyond work there are student permits, family reunification, and a permanent-residence-by-investment route.

Residence then builds up a ladder: continuous (prolonged) residence for the first years, long-term EU residence after five years, and permanent residence for an indefinite period — the prerequisite for later naturalisation.

EU, EEA and Swiss citizens are outside this system: they can stay up to three months freely and register a residence document for longer stays. Because figures like the Blue Card threshold are tied to formulas and change, always verify current values with official sources — and ACME's free consultation can help you find the right pathway.