This Cheap European Country Just Launched Its First Digital Nomad Visa

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It took them a number of years to meet up with their fellow European states, however with regards to Digital Nomad Visas, one may by no means be too late to the get together:

After months of hypothesis, Bulgaria has lastly launched its personal DNV. We’re speaking an entire listing of necessities, a clear software course of, and no gray areas wherever in between.

The reasonably priced Eastern Balkan nation has had a flirtatious fling with expats for some time now, although it by no means made it official with an easy-to-apply, easy visa up till this level.

Unless that they had wholesome financial institution reserves, may put money into property, or apply for Citizenship by Investment by way of a kind of shady, not-exactly-squeaky-clean packages the EU itself frowns upon, their solely possibility was to limit their keep in Bulgaria to 90 days.

Now, there’s a far extra accessible method in:

Who’s Eligible For The Bulgarian DNV In 2026?

If you are somebody who works remotely for employers or companies not primarily based within the EU, the related European Economic Area (which incorporates Iceland, Liechtenstein, and Norway), and Switzerland, you have already met criterion one.

Alternatively, in the event you’re both a member of a administration physique, otherwise you personal greater than 25% of an organization primarily based exterior of those financial zones, you are additionally off the chopping block—so long as companies aren’t supplied to people or entities registered in Bulgaria.

Lastly, in the event you can show you’ve supplied distant companies utilizing expertise for a minimal interval of a yr earlier than making use of, and you don’t work for, nor interact in freelancing actions for Bulgarian entities, you are additionally in.

What Is The Financial Requirement?

That’s the million-dollar query. We know that, oftentimes, DNV monetary thresholds could be unrealistic, from $100,000 a yr for the Cayman Islands, to a less-stunning, but nonetheless excessive $54,000 in the event you’re making use of in Estonia.

Bulgaria cannot afford to throw its weight round: it’s thought of the least prosperous nation within the European Union, the place the minimal wage is an estimated €620, and residing prices are subsequently cheaper.

As per estimates supplied by Numbeo, a single individual’s month-to-month bills in Sofia, the capital metropolis of Bulgaria, are a median $772.60 with out lease.

And even if you’re simply popping in for per week or two, hotels are super affordable as well.

Finding your self a comfy little condo in Sofia’s charming Historic Center that also retains spending to a minimal is not a troublesome job, both: lease is on common 58.7% decrease than in Paris.

All of this to say, we expect it is a cheap ask that candidates should present proof they’ve a median annual revenue of €31,000. That’s 50 occasions the nationwide common, however then once more, they don’t seem to be precisely eager on attracting low-income expats who may find yourself being a burden on Bulgaria’s not-so-robust welfare system.

Step By Step Guide On How To Apply For A Bulgarian DNV

Submit A Type D Visa Application At The Bulgarian Consulate

The journey begins on the nearest Bulgarian consulate in your nation of residence. Not a rustic you are residing in briefly, nor passing by way of. It’s on the consulate the place you will full the applying kind, submit the supporting paperwork, pay the visa charge.

• Remote staff should submit their employment contracts | these offering distant companies should submit suggestion letters from custoners
• In choose circumstances, candidates could also be summoned for an interview with consular workers to verify the main points of their file

Travel To Bulgaria On Your Type D Visa

Should your file be greenlit by the consular workers, you may count on to be issued a Type D visa after 35–45 enterprise days. It is legitimate for as much as six months, providing you with sufficient time to journey to Bulgaria and kickstart your precise software.

Apply For Your Actual Residence Permit Once In Bulgaria

Within 14 days of arriving in Bulgaria, submit your residence allow software as a digital nomad on the Migration Directorate of the Ministry of Interior in Sofia. Make certain you deliver all the identical paperwork you submitted for the Type D visa, in addition to the visa itself.

Collect Your Residence Permit

The residence allow can take between 3 to 30 calendar days to be delivered, but as soon as it is in your fingers, it means you are free to reside in Bulgaria for one yr. At the tip of the interval, you could renew as soon as for a further yr, supplied the preliminary necessities for the issuing of the visa are nonetheless fulfilled.

You Get 2 Years. Not More.

One main pitfall?

Regrettably, the Bulgarian Government has not indicated a path to everlasting residency, nor citizenship underneath the Digital Nomad Visa program, until candidates transition to a different visa class earlier than the two-year interval is up.

This signifies that, until extra clarification is given, you will be required to pack your luggage and depart Bulgaria on the finish of the second yr.

Alternative routes embody Citizenship by Investment, signing a ‘full’ work contract with a Bulgaria-based employer or firm, or in fact, it’d simply occur that you just fall in love, and wish to tie the knot along with your Bulgarian related different.

We imply this actually. It’s really a Bulgarian custom to tie pink and white strings (martenitsa) round their family members’ wrists on March 1. Mark your calendars.

Top 5 Digital Nomad Destinations In Bulgaria

Sofia

The most cosmopolitan Bulgarian metropolis, in addition to the nation’s administrative hub, Sofia is the right base with its plethora of laptop-friendly espresso spots (try The Apartment), lush metropolis parks, and eclectic structure spearheaded by a hovering Neo-Byzantine cathedral.

Plovdiv

The oldest continuously-inhabited city in Europe—yep, it is older even than Athens!—Plovdiv has its personal wide selection of quirky cafés, dispensing Turkish-Bulgarian fusion tidbits and scrumptious espresso, picturesque cobbled streets, and a landmark Ancient Roman theater.

Veliko Tarnovo

A laid-back metropolis unfold throughout the verdant hills of an extended valley, and dominated by the historic Tsarevets Fortress, considered one of Bulgaria’s oldest castles, Veliko Tarnovo is your go-to spot for slow-living, respiratory within the tradition, and nature strolls.

Ruse

An elegant Bulgarian metropolis reverse the Danube from Romania, Ruse has a wealth of Baroque and Rococo monuments to its title, lengthy pedestrianized streets lined with boutiques and eateries, and a scenic riverfront.

Burgas

One of Bulgaria’s prime sunny spots, set alongside the azure waters of the Black Sea, that is black in all but name, Burgas affords golden sands, pleasantly-warm summers, and easy accessibility to the UNESCO-protected, ancient walled town of Nessebar.

Vinicius Costa

Vini, our senior lead author at Travel Off Path, has over 60+ international locations underneath his belt (and presently weaving tales from Paris!), and a knack for turning off-the-beaten-path experiences into informative tales that can have you ever packing your luggage.