EU Blue Card in Bulgaria

Published On: 20/08/2019

EU Blue Card in Bulgaria

Published On: 20/08/2019

(Updated on 18.07.2025)

Increasing number of companies start outsourcing their headquarters’ or back office’s functions to Bulgaria. The new job openings attract experts from all over the world. However, the Non-EU citizens often face difficulties dealing with the bureaucracy related to their decision to live and work in Bulgaria.

One of the legal grounds for a Non-EU national to work and reside in Bulgaria under Directive 2009/50/EU is the EU Blue card.

  1. EU Blue Card requirements

The Blue card constitutes a combined work and residence permit issued for a period of up to 5 years.

The Blue Card could be issued for:

  • Foreigner nationals who meet the conditions for highly qualified employment under Bulgarian legislation; and
  • Foreigner nationals who have been granted international protection in the Republic of Bulgaria or a Member State of the EU, as long as they also meet the conditions for highly qualified employment under Bulgarian legislation

The requirement for a highly qualified employee is met if:

  • The Non-EU national holds a university degree obtained after at least 3 years’ educational course by an educational institution recognized as a higher education institution by the State concerned;

or

  • When relating to managers and specialists in the field of information and communication technologies – The Non-EU national has the relevant knowledge, skills and competences of professional experience at a level comparable to higher education (in a position requiring a completed higher education), acquired at least 3 years within a period of 7 years prior to the submission of the application for a Blue Card and relevant to the position specified in the Employment Contract. This relevant knowledge, skills and competences of professional experience should be attested by a document issued by a competent authority by the State concerned or current and former employers or educational organisations;

Therefore, as of July 2025, for managers and IT specialists without higher education, the work experience required to obtain an EU Blue Card is reduced to 3 years in the previous 7 year period.

or

  • When relating to positions which are NOT managers and specialists in the field of information and communication technologies – The Non-EU national has the relevant knowledge, skills and competences following at least 5 years’ professional experience at a level comparable to higher education (in a position requiring a higher education degree) and relevant to the position or sector specified in the Employment Contract. This relevant knowledge, skills and competences for at least 5 years’ professional experience should be attested by a document issued by a competent authority by the State concerned or by current and former employers or educational organisations.

The gross labour remuneration to be paid to the foreign national should be at least 1.5 times higher than the average salary in Bulgaria for the last 12 months. In July 2025 the required minimum of the salary is 3600 gross BGN.

  1. Rights for remote work and travel in EU. Change of employer

The EU Blue Card holder can work remotely on the territory of the Republic of Bulgaria, if this is agreed in the Employment Contract. When there is a change in circumstances and the work will be performed from another location, the foreigner should:

  • notify the Employment Agency; and
  • change its address registration.

EU Blue Card holders can benefit from a simplified procedure when changing the employer and the job position.

In the event of a change of employer:

  • during the first 12 months of highly qualified employment – the new employer or a person authorised by him or the foreigner should submit an application for a change of employer on paper or electronically to the Migration Directorate.

The Director of the Migration Directorate or an official authorised by him issues a decision for a new EU Blue Card.

  • after the first 12 months of highly qualified employment – the foreigner can change his employer when the new employer submits an application in Migration and after a positive statement from the Employment Agency.

The Director of the Migration Directorate or an official authorised by him issues a decision for a new EU Blue Card.

As of July 2025, if the EU Blue Card holder becomes unemployed, he/she can stay in the country and search for another employer in the following periods:

  • when unemployed during the first 24 months of highly qualified employment – the EU Blue Card holder has the right to seek and start work within 3 months, after registering with the Employment Agency within 7 working days after termination of his employment contract;
  • when unemployed after the first 24 months of highly qualified employment – the EU Blue Card holder has the right to seek and start work within 6 months, after registering with the Employment Agency within 7 working days after termination of his employment contract.

The EU Blue Card holder shall notify the Migration Directorate within 7 days of the beginning of the unemployment period.

A positive change from July 2025 is that in accordance with the requirements of Bulgarian legislation, the holder of an EU Blue Card may exercise a freelance profession simultaneously with highly qualified employment but only in the sector for which the residency permit was obtained.

The holder of the EU Blue Card issued by the Republic of Bulgaria may enter and reside in a member state of the European Union for a period of up to 90 days within a period of 180 days for the purpose of carrying out specific official work.

III. Procedure for obtaining EU Blue Card

The process for obtaining a Blue Card could be divided into five main steps.

  1. Submission of an application on paper or electronically at the Migration Directorate

This step can be completed by:

  • the future employer of the Non-EU national or by a person authorised by him/her; or
  • the Non-EU national.

The documents are submitted in the district administration of the Migration Directorate in Bulgaria. The list of documents to be presented includes among other standard documents also:

  • Criminal record certificate;
  • Documents of education, specialty, legal capacity, professional qualification and/or experience of the Non-EU national which should be translated in Bulgarian language and legalized.

With the changes of the Law from July 2025, the higher education diploma acquired in a foreign higher university should be recognized with a certificate from the National Center for Information and Documentation  in Bulgaria. This will most probably slow down the process of obtaining a Blue Card as the deadline for issuing this certificate is up to 2 months. This certificate should be presented firstly, when the foreigner applies for a visa D and secondly, when the foreigner enters in Bulgaria and visits the Migration Directorate.

Another change is that as of July 2025, it is required that the compulsory medical insurance is valid on the territory of the Republic of Bulgaria for a period of at least 3 months or until the issuance of the EU Blue Card (in practice, no less than 6 months).

  1. Permission by theEmployment Agency

The Employment Agency reviews the submitted documents and sends electronically to the Migration Directorate a written statement.

  1. Positive statement

Once the Employment Agency has completed the step under p. 2, the Migration Directorate sends a combined positive statement electronically to: 1) the future employer of the Non-EU national or to the person authorised by him/her or 2) to the foreign national (depending on who submitted the application to the Migration Directorate) containing permission for the applicant to apply for Visa D.

Unfortunately, as of July 2025, refusal is possible if an official considers that the employer company was created with the main purpose of obtaining work and residence permits, without any clear criteria, which creates a wide field for bureaucratic arbitrariness.

  1. Visa D

Once the permission is granted the Non-EU national should apply for Visa D at the Bulgarian embassy in his/her place of residence.

Among other documents, as of July 2025, proof of accommodation in Bulgaria will need to be provided for the first time at the stage of obtaining a visa D.

  1. Application before Migration

After his/her entry on the territory of Bulgaria, the foreign national shall appear in person at the Migration Directorate and apply for a plastic ID Blue Card.

Among other documents, as of July 2025, proof of accommodation in Bulgaria will need to be provided one more time when the foreign national enters Bulgaria and submits an application before Migration.

A positive change is that from July 2025, the deadlines for the foreigners to apply for a visa D and make their first visit to the Migration Directorate after their entry in Bulgaria are extended to 30 days (for applying for a visa D) and 14 days (for visiting the Migration Directorate).

Another change from July 2025 are the introduced fines for late submission of applications to the Migration Directorate when changing employers or continuing a contract (from BGN 100 to BGN 500 for the foreign national and from BGN 200 to BGN 1000 for the employer), and for late arrival at the Migration Directorate after entering in Bulgaria with a visa D (from BGN 100 to BGN 500 for the foreign national and from BGN 500 to BGN 2500 for the employer).

For more information or legal advice and assistance, please use the contact form or reach out to us at pberg@berglaw.eu

Polina Berg

Dafina Chobanova

Share this article