The long awaited amendments to the regulations of the Foreigners Law are now enacted
The investment residence program, in its current form, was launched in 2021. Since then, the investors were expecting the legally required regulations to the Foreigners Law. Without these regulations, it was virtually impossible for one to obtain permanent residence permit by investment after 2021.
For more information, please read the article of Uglobal, with major input of Mr Alexander Dobrinov.
The Bulgarian Golden Visa in short
To remind the readers, the 2021 amendments of the Foreigners Law provide the possibility to obtain Bulgarian permanent residence permit for an investment of one million Bulgarian Lev (+-512 000 EUR). The qualifying investment instruments are quite versatile. Moreover, in the realms of the (still) low bank deposit interest rates, the investment options are also quite attractive. The acceptable investment instruments are:
- Bulgarian shares (min. 1 024 000 EUR);
- Bulgarian corporate bonds (min. 1 024 000 EUR);
- Concession contracts and rights;
- EU regulated UCITs, ETFs and AIFs;
- CPIP (min. 1 024 000 EUR);
- Certified investment projects;
- Bulgarian trading company (min. 256 000 EUR + employment of10 Bulgarian nationals).
If nothing else is stated, the required investment is 512 000 EUR.
What are the regulations all about?
So, as we wrote above, without the legal regulations until now, it was virtually impossible to invest under the 2021 amendments. Now however, quite unexpectedly, the caretaker government has enacted the regulations. Thereby, the investment procedure and the whole process now is legally sustained, but also quite clear.
With the investment citizenship and residence under fierce fire in the EU, it is now Bulgaria to lead the RBI (residence by investment) dance. The recent fall of the Portuguese Golden Visa is also directing many foreign investors to Bulgaria, where RBI is still a feasible opportunity.
Don’t hesitate to contact us f you want to take advantage of the new opportunities and to obtain Bulgarian (EU) residence by investment through a fast-track route. It’s also worth mentioning that, provided the legal prerequisites are met, the applicant will become eligible for full Bulgarian citizenship in 5 years after permanent residence is granted.