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Are any of these below options possible in today’s hectic Golden Visa programs with massive backlogs and restrictions?
An EU passport in 5 years?
Both available Real estate AND investment fund option?
EU residency without ANY nationality restriction?
No backlog and fast processing within 6 months?
The answer is ‘Yes’! Which country is this? You may or may not have heard of the Bulgarian programs before, but we will cover the pathways in obtaining EU residency in Bulgaria through zero investment OR the Golden Visa investment route in this live stream today. Why Bulgaria? What features do each of these programs offer you as somebody who is seeking residency in the EU?
At INGWE, we have successfully helped thousands of families since 2018, from over 55 countries navigate the complex landscape of business and investment immigration. Connect with us for a personalized assessment - click here.
There is a rising star in Europe. More and more people are considering Bulgaria as their residency option in EU due to its rich culture, low cost of living, favorable tax regimes such as a 10% flat income & corporate tax , and being a full EU member with the EU currency being implemented in January of 2026, and part of the Schengen visa region (which the country joined as of March of 2024). Basically, you get everything you would get from other residency programs in Europe – except that you also have the non-investment option and there is no backlog in Bulgaria which has plagued the Portuguese program.
There are two main programs in Bulgaria which overseas applicants can consider. It’s either the zero-investment pathway (Trade Representative Office) or the Golden Visa investment fund options. Both programs are open to all nationalities, no exceptions, and have their own unique features depending on what you are seeking for your EU residency. The residency requirements are ‘light’ and manageable without living full time in Bulgaria. They both provide you a pathway to permanent residency in EU, visa-free access to the EU Schengen region, and access to Bulgaria’s economy, education, and access to the Black Sea. Here are the flight times from Bulgaria’s international airport in Sofia to all major EU hubs and surrounding regions:
• 2 hours and 30 minutes to Frankfurt, Germany
• 4 hours and 15 minutes to Paris, France
• 3 hours and 30 minutes to Madrid, Spain
• 2 hours 25 minutes to Tel Aviv, Israel
• 5 hours to Dubai, UAE
• 3 hours 30 minutes to London, UK
• 1 hour 20 minutes to Istanbul, Turkey
• 2 hours 15 minutes to Geneva, Switzerland
From Bulgaria you have access to West and East EU regions, CIS countries, and easy access to Middle East and Mediterranean countries and major airports.
It’s easy, we use the TRO program, called the Trade Representative Office program which is a zero-investment program that can offer you residency in the EU region.
The TRO program in a nutshell is any active and operational company outside the EU region can appoint ANY professional whose background is relevant to reside in Bulgaria as their Trade Representative to develop the business and network locally. Obviously if your business is a restaurant, coffee shop or spa it won’t make sense to have a trade rep – since it has to be logical. For example, it could be a company offering IT services, marketing, import/export, business consulting services, or manufacturer of equipment that is looking to expand into Bulgaria. Even if they don’t do any business or won’t be able to sell anything in Bulgaria – it doesn’t matter and won’t affect the application. The key is to have the application and industry of the business and the Trade Representative who is being appointed to be relevant and logical. The trade representative does not need to be an employee, director, shareholder or any documented affiliation of the company which is who is being sent to Bulgaria to network and do market research and potentially find business & collaboration opportunities for them. You can consider the Trade Representative as almost like an Ambassador for the company – as a very symbolic role.
• The company should be an existing and active entity outside the EU region, active for a minimum of 2 years with operational revenue and official financial statements, and no taxes owing. No minimum requirement for the revenues or profits, but for higher success rates it is recommended at least EUR500,000 revenues to be shown in the latest financial reports – as proposed new government policies for this minimum financial performance may be implemented in 2025.
• No Incorporation or legal entity required in Bulgaria. This means that the overseas company does not need to incorporate a legal entity in Bulgaria or open a bank account, or have any financial dealings in Bulgaria. Only a registration as a Trade Representative Office with the ‘Bulgarian Chamber of Commerce & Industry’ is required to become eligible for this program and a physical ‘office’ location.
• Company Documents: Example of corporate documents include bank account statements, official financial statements for 2 most recent years (Income Statement, and Balance Sheet), a certificate or declaration that no taxes are owing to the government, profile of the company such as brochure/website/presentation, company incorporation and shareholder registry and any renewal documents in home country, etc.
• Annual Plan for the Trade Representative’s activities required as part of the application, to be supported by our office (i.e. we work with the company and applicant to prepare this ‘plan’).
• Local Office Address required in Bulgaria before applying to qualify for this program. The overseas company must have an actual tenancy agreement in Bulgaria as proof of residency (not virtual offices accepted). INGWE can assist with this tenancy agreement in Bulgaria.
• Local Residential Address required by the Trade Representative before applying to provide proof of secure living arrangements in Bulgaria. Our office will assist with such tenancy agreements in Bulgaria. Applicants can change their residential address after successful arrival in the country to match their personal preference.
Timeline & Process for the Bulgaria TRO program:
Apply with the company documents to the ‘Bulgarian Chamber of Commerce & Industry to register a Trade Representative Office (TRO), along with proof of the office address in Bulgaria and specific forms and declarations related to this program. Provide a Power of Attorney in Bulgaria for our representative to process this first step, after which our Bulgarian representative will issue a certificate and documents to send to the applicant in their country of residency to continue the steps with the Bulgarian consulate.
Visa Application includes submitting all supporting documents, including a police clearance report, proof of medical insurance, valid passport, birth certificate, national ID, and overseas company documents (based on the initial step above), demonstrate they have the means to support themselves in Bulgaria, and specific visa application forms for this program. The Trade Representative will be applying in person at the Bulgarian consulate in their country of residence. The entire process is done with paper applications – no online process possible for the TRO program.
All documents to be attested by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and the Bulgarian consulate/embassy in the country of residency (or Apostilled), before being couriered to our Bulgarian representative office for translation.
To Enter Bulgaria, the Trade Representative should obtain a multiple-entry long-term Type D visa from the consulate in their current country of residency.
The Temporary Residence ID card will be issued in 2 weeks upon arrival of the Trade Representative. The applicant can travel within the EU region and return to pick up their ID card within this timeline. The applicant can open a personal bank account if they choose to, after they receive the local ID card.
The temporary residency for the Trade Representative is valid for 1 year, renewable annually.
The Trade Representative must settle within the first year after the application is approved to become eligible for renewal.
There is no specific residency requirement in Bulgaria for the Trade Representative to renewal their Temporary Residency status except to have not been absent from the country for 12 consecutive months (i.e., enter the first day, and re-enter in 2 weeks before expiry date).
The Renewal Process is initiated inside Bulgaria and the applicant’s Bulgarian ID is renewed while they are in the EU region for approx. 2 weeks.
For the annual renewal process documents such as proof of settlement such as; proof of residential address, Bulgarian ID card, personal bank account with transactions, signed declaration of business networking and research activities etc.
The Trade Representative may convert inside Bulgaria to a ‘Blue Card’ program, if they find full time employment through a local Bulgarian firm in their intended occupation (‘Blue Card’ Program is a type of Skilled Worker Employment Program in Bulgaria).
No requirement for the Trade Representative to be on any payroll in Bulgaria.
Trade Representatives’ applications can include their dependents such as spouse and children under the age of 18.
Children ages 18 and above can potentially apply as additional Trade Representatives independently based on their professional profiles and eligibility.
No residency requirement except entry on first day, and re-entry 2 weeks before expiry to avoid 12-month consecutive absence from Bulgaria.
Converting Temporary Residency to Permanent Status in Bulgaria under this program requires 6 months residency within 12 months for 5 years (min 30 months in 5 years required in total as proof to convert to PR – even if it is not 6 months every 12 months). There is no residency requirement if the applicant does not want to convert to PR in Bulgaria – except not to have 12 months consecutive absence from the country.
If you fancy a permanent residency to this EU country, Bulgaria, and don’t want a temporary residency, and don’t want or need a company to be involved to appoint you, then you can take the investor route. The investor program to Bulgaria allows you to obtain permanent residency (PR) through an investment in Bulgarian Mutual Funds or ETF’s. The beauty of this program is that these are not special Golden Visa funds or ETF’s, they can include any active funds registered in Bulgaria. There is no education, language or work experience needed. You just need proof of the funds, a clean background and health check.
You can receive your permanent residency in the EU through Bulgaria’s investor residency program within 6-8 months. Liquidate the investment in 5 years and still maintain your EU PR access. All nationalities are accepted for this Bulgarian residency program
Invest in a registered Investment Fund in Bulgaria EUR 512,000
Timeline for the entire process for this investment program takes 6-8 months maximum.
Pre-clearance completed by the Bulgarian Investment Agency (BIA), before applicant invests & applies
KYC for the investment fund is completed prior to the investment
Investment is completed into a regulated Bulgarian Mutual Fund, ETF, or AIF approved by the authorities. These are not ‘immigration’ linked funds.
An investment certificate is issued by the Bulgarian bank
All documents to be attested by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and the Bulgarian consulate/embassy in the country of residency (or Apostilled), before being couriered to our Bulgarian representative office for translation
To Enter Bulgaria, the investor should obtain a multiple-entry long-term Type D visa from the consulate in their current country of residency.
Visa Application includes submitting all supporting documents, including a police clearance report, proof of medical insurance, valid passport and birth certificate / national ID, and proof of access to the investment funds. A statement of the sources of the investment funds (e.g., sales of other investments, sale of business, inherited wealth, etc.). Demonstrate they have the means to support themselves in Bulgaria. Program specific visa application forms to be completed. The investor will be applying in person at the Bulgarian consulate in their country of residence. The entire process is done with paper applications – no online process possible for this program.
Apply for your PR in Bulgaria. The investor applies in person in Bulgaria for a permanent residence permit on arrival by completing the biometric registration.
The Permanent Residence ID card will be issued in approx. 2 weeks upon arrival under this program. The applicant can travel within the EU region and return to pick up their ID card within this timeline. The applicant can open a personal bank account if they choose to, after they receive the local ID card.
The permanent residency card is valid for 5 years.
The applicant must maintain the qualifying investment for a period of at least 5 years.
Dependents:
Dependent family members included in the applications such as Spouse and Children under the age of 18 can be included.
Residency Requirements:
Permanent Residency holders should not be absent for more than 12 consecutive months from the EU at any given time. Example: Enter initially to receive your PR, re-enter just before 12 month gap
Timeline is 5 years from the date the applicant became a permanent resident (this means that from the non-investment TRO program you need to convert to PR first in the first 5 years, then wait another 5 years until becoming eligible for citizenship). However, under the investor program you will have PR status on arrival, meaning it would only take 5 years to citizenship eligibility through this option – making it one of the FASTEST citizenship pathways in all of EU besides Cyprus, if Portugal updates their citizenship eligibility timeline to 10 years instead of 5 years by the end of 2025.
The Residency Requirement to have not been absent 12 consecutive months at anytime. i.e. they can enter once at the beginning of the year, and once again at the end for each year.
Language Proficiency is required by passing a Bulgarian language test (multiple choice)
Citizenship Interview is conducted in Bulgarian and covers Bulgarian culture
Applicant should renounce current citizenships first to become eligible to obtain the Bulgarian passport ( but can re-apply for original citizenship afterwards)
When the main applicant gains citizenship, all dependents can apply, regardless of age or marital status or financial dependency (i.e. no age limit – citizenship passed on to all dependents)
Bulgarian citizens have access to work , study and live anywhere in the EU/Schengen region on a permanent basis
Visa-free or e-Visa travel to over +170 countries
E-2 Visa status with the USA
Pass citizenship to ALL dependents without restrictions
You can always ‘try & buy’: start with the TRO and then convert after 6 months or a year to the investment route. They both offer quick access to European residency, Schengen region, and easy access to West, East, CIS, Black Sea, And the Middle-East.
A Real Estate investment option is also available for a temporary residency eligibility – an unlike the fund investment the real estate DOES NOT give you access to permanent residency upfront,
Bulgaria is under the radar right now, but the ONLY EU country where you can:
invest in a non-immigration linked investment fund
invest in real estate and obtain a TR (only 2 other countries offer this in Europe for residency or Golden visa purposes)
become eligible for citizenship in 5 years if you come through the investor residency program (only 2 other countries in Europe offer this as of this year)
Competitive tax regime
If one parent receives the citizenship and passport – the whole family (all adults children and grandchildren can receive the Bulgarian citizenship)
Open to ALL nationalities (no other EU country accepts ALL nationalities directly this easily)
Ready to secure your family's global future? Here's how we can help:
📞 Schedule Your Free Strategy Consultation Contact our citizenship planning specialists for a confidential assessment of your options: Message us on WhatsaApp and Answer a few questions to schedule a call to contact our office.
🎯 Request Your Customized Citizenship Roadmap Receive a personalized analysis comparing all viable options based on your:
• Timeline requirements
• Investment capacity
• Tax optimization goals
• Family composition
• Business interests
💼 Access Exclusive Investment Opportunities Our partnership network provides access to:
• Assist with office and accommodation lease paperwork in Bulgaria
• Assist with entire process of legalizing and translation of documents for Bulgaria
• Providing you an annual plan for your Bulgaria TRO
• Assessment on the company which will send you as their TRO
• Vetted and Approved Bulgarian Investment fund options
Don't leave your global mobility to chance. The best time to plant a tree was 20 years ago. The second-best time is now.
Contact us today to begin your journey to global citizenship. Your future self will thank you for taking action while the most advantageous programs remain available.
This analysis is based on current regulations as of August 2025. Immigration laws change frequently, and individual circumstances vary. Professional legal and tax advice is recommended but not mandatory for all international mobility planning.
