Bulgaria spouse visa for family members of Bulgarian citizens

Article 24(1)(18) of the Foreigners Act gives long-stay residence to family members of a Bulgarian citizen when the foreign documents proving the family ties and the right to maintenance have been recognised and registered, or admitted for execution, under Bulgarian law. In practice this means that a marriage concluded abroad must be entered in the Bulgarian civil register, and the Foreign Ministry’s leaflet asks for a civil marriage certificate or birth certificate issued by the Republic of Bulgaria.

A family member of a Bulgarian citizen who has exercised free movement and holds an EU residence document as the family member of a Union citizen from another member state follows the EU free movement rules: the application goes to the Migration Directorate for a residence card under Regulation 2019/1157, no D visa is needed, and a temporary certificate is issued immediately.

For the D visa the Foreign Ministry lists, besides the general long-stay documents, the civil marriage certificate and/or birth certificate issued by Bulgaria, a copy of the Bulgarian citizen’s identity card, and a notarised declaration on housing and funding of the family members or medical documents on serious health reasons where relevant. Documents issued in an Apostille Convention country need an apostille and a certified Bulgarian translation.

After entering on the D visa, register your address within five days and apply to the Migration Directorate or the regional migration unit for long-stay residence before the visa expires. The application is examined within 14 days; in complex cases the period can be extended by one month and you are given 14 days to provide extra documents.

Family members of a Bulgarian citizen can obtain permanent residence after five years of legal and continuous residence in Bulgaria. Unmarried minor children of a Bulgarian citizen qualify directly, and parents of a Bulgarian citizen who are maintained by the citizen qualify after three years of legal residence. The permanent residence application is filed in person and decided within two months, extendable by two.

Under Article 9 of the Labour Migration Act, family members of Bulgarian citizens do not need a permit for access to the labour market. If the marriage ends by divorce or death, an independent one-off permit can be issued when the family has lived continuously and lawfully in Bulgaria for at least two years; additional protections apply to family members whose right derives from EU free movement rules.