What's the difference between continuous, long-term and permanent residence in Bulgaria?

Bulgarian residence builds up in stages. Continuous (also called prolonged) residence is the everyday permit for work, study, family and similar grounds; it's granted for up to one year at a time and is renewable, and it's where most people spend their first years. After five years of continuous, lawful residence you can usually move up to long-term EU resident status, a five-year permit that brings near-equal treatment with Bulgarian nationals and, under conditions, mobility to other EU states. Permanent residence is granted for an indefinite period and is the most settled status short of citizenship; most people reach it after five years on a continuous permit, and it's a prerequisite for later applying for Bulgarian citizenship by naturalisation.