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Frequently Asked Questions

To avoid incurring a penalty, you must submit a renewal application no later than two weeks before the permit expiration date. As a student, it is your responsibility to be aware of the expiration date of your BG residence permit.

If this is your first application, you must submit it no later than one month prior to the expiration date of your visa D.

  • Medical insurance for the territory of Bulgaria for the period of 1 year with 30 000 Euro coverage – in original and also a copy of the insurance for the Migration office. Usually the Migration department requires a Bulgarian insurance, issued by a Bulgarian insurance company. /if you need an assistance with the insurance, please let us know to contact a Bulgarian insurance agency/
  • Bank statement  from a Bulgarian bank in Bulgarian language, signed and stamped by the Bank – needed amount of money in the account – minimum 1500 BGN
  • Passport, Visa D and last border stamp – original and copy
  • Confirmation of student status – issued by the VUM, only if the student has already paid his/her tuition fees
  • Confirmation of address registration – If you are living in the dormitory, the document is issued by VUM, only if the student has paid his/her accommodation fees
  • Certificate of Ministry of Education – original and copy /Just in case :)/
  • Criminal record – legalized and translated into Bulgarian. It is needed only for the initial registration. Afterwards, it is not needed for the yearly renewal of the residence permit
  • Rental contract in original or notarized copy of it –  it’s needed only if the student doesn’t live in the dormitory
  • Notarized Declaration signed by the owner of the apartment – it’s needed only if the student doesn’t live in the dormitory

Yes, it is mandatory to bring your passport every time you visit the Migration department. In addition, if you possess a residence permit card, you must present it every time.

If you submit your documents during the two weeks preceding the expiration date, the penalty is 20 BGN. If you submit the documents after the card has already expired, the fine increases to 500 BGN. Furthermore, if you have been fined previously, the penalty is more severe.

According to the Bulgarian law, the process for residence permit application is as follows:

  • Step 1 – Submission of the documents
  • Step 2 – Results – you will find out whether you are granted a residence permit or not /this step takes exactly 10 working days after Step 1/. During this step you will need to pay for the residence permit. The cost for the application is 110 leva and the cost of the card depends on the issuing service that you will pay for.

The Migration department has 3 issuing services:

  • – Ordinary/30 working days/ – 45 leva
  • – Fast/10 working days/ – 90 leva
  • – Express/4 working days/ – 225 leva
  • Step 3 – Taking of the residence permit card /This step takes between 40, 20 or 15 working days in total – it depends for what service you had paid/

Regrettably, this is not possible. The processing time indicated at the time of payment must be strictly adhered to, and any changes are not permitted.

Important Note: It is strongly advised that you do not leave Bulgaria if your residence permit card has expired or is nearing expiration, as there is a high likelihood that you will be denied entry into the country.

In the event of loss, theft, damage or destruction of a Bulgarian residence permit card, the individual must promptly report the incident to the nearest police station within three days. Thereafter, an application must be submitted to obtain a new residence permit card. An individual who fails to submit an application for the issuance of a new residence permit card within 30 days after reporting it as lost, stolen, damaged, or destroyed is subject to a fine ranging from BGN 20 to BGN 150.

The banks that are most accommodating to foreign clients are KBC, Unicredit Bullbank, and Allianz.

You will need to present a confirmation of your student status, confirmation of address registration in Bulgaria, passport, and social security number from your country of origin.

Yes, it is possible for you to stay in Bulgaria after graduating from VUM. However, we would like to point out that there is a specific procedure that non-European students must follow in order to gain access to the Bulgarian labour market and search for a full-time job for a period of 9 months. However, if a student is unable to find an employer who is willing to apply for a work permit on their behalf, they will be required to leave the country once the 9-month period has expired.

It is important to note that this request must be submitted within 7 working days after the official graduation date, as failure to do so will result in ineligibility for this opportunity. To take advantage of this procedure, a document indicating the official graduation date must be obtained from the Student Affairs office, which should then be presented along with the student’s passport and residence permit at the local labour office. The office where registration should take place is located at ул.”Шипка”10 /10 Shipka Str./.

A: If a student’s residence permit is due to expire during the 9-month period, they may extend it based on their registration in the labour office, for the remaining duration of the 9-month period starting from their official date of graduation. It is important to note that to avoid any penalties, the application for an extension must be submitted no later than 30 days before the expiry date of the current permit. The required documents for this application, according to Bulgarian law, include:

  • a copy of the student’s passport and the last border stamp obtained upon entering Bulgaria
  • proof of address in the form of a rental contract in the original or a notarized copy of it, and a notarized declaration signed by the owner of the apartment
  • medical insurance for the period of 9 months with coverage of 30,000 euros is also required

There is only one application form with multiple choices to choose from. When you fill out the application form, you need to tick the box with the following content “След приключване на обучението ми като студент в редовна форма на обучение във висше училище в Република България, в срок до 7 работни дни съм подал заявление в Агенцията по заетостта за регистрация като търсещо работа лице съгласно Закона за насърчаване на заетостта.” / having finalized my studies as a regular student in a higher education institution in the Republic of Bulgaria within 7 working days I have applied beFore the Employment Agency for registration as a job seeker under the Law of Promotion of Employment/.

If the migration officer requires some other information than that, they will inform you.

Initially, there are a few requirements that need to be met. Firstly, your employer must be willing to assist you in obtaining a work permit, as they will need to provide certain documents. These include a contract that specifies your gross monthly salary in Bulgarian Lev (BGN), a letter outlining the reasons why you are being hired over a Bulgarian national, and a document that shows the number of Bulgarian employees versus foreign employees in the company (with a minimum requirement of 70% Bulgarian employees).

As the student, you will need to complete an application form and attach a copy of your diploma. You must then submit these documents to the office.

: If you need immediate assistance, call 112. The call is free of charge. The operator will ask you which emergency service you need (Fire Brigade, Police Officer, and/or Ambulance Services).

For non-emergency medical situations, we recommend contacting Dr. Mariela Mihaylova to inquire about her availability to assist you. Dr. Mihaylova can be reached at her work phone number, 052 386241. Her office hours are from 08:30h until 13:00h every day of the week. Her practice is located on the 2nd floor, room 4 of the Military Hospital Varna, which can be found at the following address: https://goo.gl/maps/7yJRAvwXLd5WRC9NA

If you have health insurance, we advise you to request an invoice from Dr. Mihaylova so that you can receive reimbursement from your insurance company after your visit.

Varna has a public transport network of buses and trolleys which run from 05:00 to 23:00. Tariffs are favorable 2 BGN per ticket which can be purchased from the ticket machines on board and are valid for 1 hour. You should keep your ticket during transportation as there could be a ticket check at random, and you could get fined.

We strongly recommend making the so-called PREPAID CARD for your convenience as it is cheaper. They are offered at a price of BGN 10.00 /1 journey bonus/. For every BGN 10.00, you get 1 time travel within 60 minutes’ bonus. Loading can be done multiple times, i.e. for BGN 20.00 there will be BGN 22.00 in the card.

Prepaid cards are purchased from the bus station at the bus stop (ul. “Bacho Kiro” 1)

Individuals holding a Bulgarian residence permit card have the legal right to stay in Romania, Croatia, and Cyprus for a duration of 90 days.

Absolutely! In the event of a change in your residential address within Bulgaria, it is imperative to notify the Migration department. You will be required to submit your new rental contract (in either its original form or a notarized copy) along with a notarized declaration signed by the apartment owner. Additionally, please be aware that you will need to pay for the issuance of your new residence permit card, the associated fees of which are as follows:

Ordinary processing (30 working days) – 45 leva

Fast processing (10 working days) – 90 leva

Express processing (4 working days) – 225 leva

Certainly, you are authorized to engage in employment within Bulgaria. According to Bulgarian law, individuals with a student residence permit are allowed to work up to 20 hours per week.

It is mandatory to provide documentation confirming your payment of both the application fee of 100 BGN and the residence permit card fee. Failure to do so will result in the Migration department lacking evidence of your payment, thus impeding the processing of your documents.