Bulgaria has introduced legislation that would revoke permanent residence from foreigners who spend less than six months and one day in the country during a calendar year, a rule that would apply to current golden visa investors for the first time.
The Council of Ministers approved the draft amendments in July, and Prime Minister Rumen Radev signed the decision along with the letter submitting the bill to parliament.
If this bill becomes law as drafted, it will completely change how Bulgaria’s Golden Visa works for both current holders and new applicants. The measure would apply to every permanent resident regardless of how the status was obtained, ending a long-standing feature of Bulgaria’s investor program that did not require physical presence.
Under Bulgaria’s current program, golden visa holders become eligible to apply for Bulgarian citizenship by naturalization after maintaining permanent or long-term residency for five years under the €512,000 fund route, or for 10 years under the € 312,000 real estate route.
The current guidelines stipulate that no annual physical presence is required during the qualifying period under the fund route, meaning applicants can accumulate the five years without relocating to Bulgaria.
What Are The Proposed Changes to Bulgaria’s Permanent Residence Law?
Under current law, Article 40 of the Law on Foreigners allows withdrawal of long-term and permanent residence permits after 12 consecutive months spent outside the European Union.
If approved as it is, the new bill would limit that provision to long-term permits only. A separate new item, numbered 24, would apply exclusively to permanent residents and would be based on time spent inside Bulgaria rather than time spent outside the EU.
Furthermore, the new provision contains no exemptions. It would not protect investors or foreigners who were abroad during a declared state of emergency, an allowance that remains available to long-term permit holders. Withdrawal under the new rule would be mandatory rather than discretionary. Authorities would still be required to weigh length of residence, family ties, and social and cultural ties before acting, and a separate EU directive permits member states to excuse long absences in some cases, though that directive applies to EU long-term resident status rather than the national permanent residence category the bill addresses.
Much of the bill also converts existing investment minimums into euros following Bulgaria’s Jan. 1 currency change. A 1 million lev threshold is €511,291.88, 2 million lev is €1,022,583.76, and 6 million lev is €3,067,751.29. Smaller thresholds for extended residence permits were also converted, including 100,000 lev to €51,129.19 and 600,000 lev to €306,775.13. Those permits would not fall under the new presence requirement.
The bill’s explanatory memorandum cites rising numbers of permanent residence applications and a need for tighter oversight, without naming a specific security concern or referencing investment migration.
The proposal still requires committee review, a first reading, potential amendments, and a second reading before final passage, which means the provisions could change before or if it is enacted.
