Bulgaria’s EU membership makes it an accessible location for international talent, but the rules differ significantly depending on where your workers are from. For EU nationals, the process is straightforward. For non-EU professionals, you’ll need to navigate a permit process that runs through Bulgarian immigration authorities before your employee arrives. This guide covers what you need to know as a sponsoring employer.
Overview of work authorisation in bulgaria
Bulgaria applies different rules based on nationality. EU and EEA nationals can work freely; non-EU nationals need a work permit and, in most cases, a residence permit before starting employment. The primary route for highly qualified non-EU hires is the EU Blue Card, which combines work and residence authorisation and is designed for roles meeting a defined salary and qualification threshold.
EU/eea nationals: no work permit required
If you’re hiring an EU or EEA national, you don’t need to apply for a work permit on their behalf. These workers have the right to work in Bulgaria under EU free movement rules and can take up employment without any prior authorisation.
What you do need to do
Your obligation as the employer is to register the employment with the relevant Bulgarian authorities. This is an administrative step, not a permit application, but it’s mandatory. Failing to register means you’re not fully compliant, even though the worker themselves doesn’t need a permit.
Make sure this registration happens promptly when the employment relationship begins.
The EU blue card for highly qualified non-EU workers
The EU Blue Card is the main route for hiring non-EU professionals in highly qualified roles. It covers both work and residence and is valid for up to three years. The card is tied to the specific employer who sponsored it, so if the worker moves to a different company, a new application is required.
Bulgaria also participates in EU mobility rules that allow intracompany transfers within the EU under separate provisions. As of early 2026, there’s no dedicated digital nomad visa in Bulgaria; remote workers from outside the EU typically use Type D long-stay visa tracks, which are individual rather than employer-sponsored arrangements.
Salary and qualification requirements
The EU Blue Card has specific eligibility criteria that your candidate must meet before you can proceed.
Salary threshold
The gross annual salary must be at least €23,500. This figure represents 1.5 times the average annual salary in Bulgaria and is updated periodically as average wages change. It’s a minimum, not a target.
Qualification requirements
The worker must hold a higher education qualification requiring at least three years of study, or be able to demonstrate equivalent relevant professional experience. The qualification needs to be documented and verifiable, as you’ll submit evidence as part of the application.
Contract minimum
The employment contract must be for a minimum of six months. Short-term engagements don’t qualify. If you’re considering a fixed-term contract, make sure it meets or exceeds this minimum before you begin the process.
The employer application process
The Blue Card application runs in two stages. You initiate it; your employee completes it after approval.
Stage 1: employer application to the ministry of labour and social policy
You apply to Bulgaria’s Ministry of Labour and Social Policy for work permit approval before the employee travels. The Ministry reviews the application against the salary and qualification criteria, and the process can take up to two months, so build that lead time into your hiring timeline.
For companies with 10 or more employees hiring for highly qualified roles, a fast-track option is available. If you’re likely to make multiple hires at this level, it’s worth checking whether your company qualifies.
The documentation you’ll need to submit includes:
- The signed employment contract
- Company registration certificate
- Proof of the employee’s qualifications
- Medical certificate
- Criminal record check for the employee
- Proof of health insurance
- Proof of accommodation in Bulgaria
Get these documents together early, as delays in document collection are one of the most common causes of slower-than-expected timelines.
Stage 2: type d visa and arrival registration
Once the Ministry approves the work permit, your employee applies for a Type D (long-stay) visa at a Bulgarian embassy or consulate in their country of residence. They’ll need to submit the Ministry’s approval as part of that application.
On arrival in Bulgaria, the employee must go to the Migration Directorate to obtain the EU Blue Card itself. This must happen within seven days of arrival. The card is the physical document confirming both their right to work and their right to reside.
Employer obligations during and after employment
Your compliance responsibilities don’t end when the Blue Card is issued. There are ongoing obligations throughout the employment relationship, and specific rules apply when employment ends.
During employment
The Blue Card is tied to the specific role and employer stated in the original application. If employment terms change materially, for example if the salary drops below the €23,500 threshold or the role changes significantly, the permit status may be affected. Keep records that make it easy to track compliance throughout the contract.
When employment ends
If you terminate a non-EU/EEA national employee’s employment, you must notify immigration authorities within seven days. The clock starts from the date of termination.
After the permit is revoked following termination, the employee has between 7 and 14 days to depart Bulgaria. As the employer, you bear responsibility for the situation during that window. Non-compliance with immigration rules can result in penalties of up to BGN 20,000 per violation, so the notification process should be treated as a hard deadline, not an administrative afterthought.
How an EOR supports international hiring in bulgaria
If you’re a foreign company without a legal entity in Bulgaria, sponsoring an EU Blue Card directly presents a practical problem: the application process requires an established Bulgarian employer. That’s where an Employer of Record (EOR) makes the arrangement workable.
An EOR acts as the legal employer in Bulgaria, handling the Ministry application, employment contract, payroll, and ongoing compliance on your behalf. You manage the day-to-day work relationship; the EOR manages the legal infrastructure that makes it possible. This includes the post-termination notification obligations, which can be easy to miss if you’re not running an in-country HR operation.
Even if you have a Bulgarian entity, EOR services are worth considering if you don’t want to build internal expertise for a small number of sponsored hires. The compliance obligations are time-sensitive, and the penalty exposure for getting them wrong is significant.
Getting started
Bulgaria’s Blue Card process is manageable once you know what it requires, but the timeline is longer than many employers expect. The Ministry approval stage alone can take up to two months, before the visa application and arrival registration steps. If you’re planning a hire that needs to be in place by a specific date, start the process earlier than feels necessary.
For companies hiring across borders without established entities, RemotePass can act as your EOR in Bulgaria and handle the full process. Book a demo to see how it works in practice.
