Can I get Bulgarian residence by owning a company?

Not automatically. Owning an EOOD gives you a company, not residence. Non-EU owners need a separate residence route (employment, a trade representative office, or other grounds), designed with a lawyer. EU citizens simply register residence.

What is the trade representative office route?

A foreign company can register a non-trading representative office in Bulgaria, and its appointed representative can obtain residence on that basis. It is one of the established non-EU routes, and whether it fits you is a legal question.

Do EU citizens need a residence permit?

No. EU and EEA citizens move to Bulgaria freely and register their residence directly. Residence permits in this sense are for non-EU nationals.

Why does this need a lawyer?

Because residence law is case-specific: the right ground, documents, and outcome depend on your nationality, business, and current migration-directorate practice. It is not a self-serve template, and no honest provider guarantees a permit.

Is this the same as the digital nomad visa?

No. The [digital nomad visa](/digital-nomad-visa) is for income earned outside Bulgaria and does not suit running a Bulgarian company. These routes are the alternatives when the nomad visa does not fit.

Can you handle the whole thing?

We scope your situation and connect you with a licensed Bulgarian immigration lawyer for the application itself. Tell us the details on the [intake](/get-started) and we come back with the realistic options.

Bulgaria residence permits for non-EU company owners

When the digital nomad visa does not fit, non-EU nationals have other routes to residence in Bulgaria: the trade representative office, employment, and long-stay grounds. These are case-by-case and handled with a licensed lawyer. Here is the honest overview.

General information, not legal or tax advice.

Type D

Long-stay visa first

Non-EU

Who this is for

Case by case

No template

Lawyer

Required

When you need this page

EU and EEA citizens do not need any of this: they move and register residence. This page is for non-EU nationals whose situation does not fit the digital nomad visa, typically because they want to run a Bulgarian company rather than earn from abroad.

This is genuinely case by case

Residence law is not a template you self-serve. Grounds, documents, and outcomes depend on your nationality, your business, and current practice at the migration directorate. We describe the routes honestly and hand the actual application to a licensed Bulgarian immigration lawyer. Anyone promising a guaranteed permit is a red flag.

The main non-EU routes

Non-EU residence routes, at a glance
Route	Roughly for
Trade representative office	Foreign companies establishing a non-trading representative presence, whose representative gets residence
Employment / EU Blue Card	People employed by a Bulgarian company meeting salary and qualification tests
Business / investment grounds	Owners meeting specific activity, hiring, or investment conditions
Other long-stay grounds	Family, study, and case-specific bases

This is orientation, not eligibility. Which, if any, fits you is a question for a lawyer, not a web table.

How it generally works

1
Establish the legal basis
Weeks
A lawyer identifies a route that genuinely fits your nationality and business, and sets up whatever it requires (an entity, a representative office, an employment contract).
2
Apply for the type D visa
Weeks
At a Bulgarian consulate in your country, on the chosen ground, with apostilled and translated documents.
3
Apply for the residence permit
Weeks
Enter on the type D visa and apply for residence at the migration directorate.
4
Maintain and renew
Keep the underlying basis alive (the office, the job, the activity) and renew on schedule.

Owning a company is not the same as residence

A common misunderstanding: forming a Bulgarian EOOD gives you a company, not the right to live in Bulgaria. Ownership and residence are separate. If your goal is both a company and residence as a non-EU national, they are two projects, and the residence half is the one that needs a lawyer.

Written by

Petar Georgiev

Founder, BulgariaHQ

Petar runs Kohi Solutions Ltd, a Bulgarian EOOD registered in Veliko Tarnovo (EU VAT BG206220247), and has built and shipped software products from Bulgaria through it. He writes these guides from the paperwork he has actually filed, and cites the primary source for every number. He is not an accountant or a lawyer, and says so on every page that touches tax or immigration.

Last reviewed July 23, 2026

Frequently asked questions

Sources

Every figure on this page is checked against a primary source. Dates show when we last verified it.

Migration Directorate, Ministry of InteriorRepublic of Bulgaria, Ministry of Interior · checked Jul 23, 2026
Foreigners in the Republic of Bulgaria Actlex.bg (Bulgarian legislation) · checked Jul 23, 2026
Long-stay (type D) visas and consular informationRepublic of Bulgaria, Ministry of Foreign Affairs · checked Jul 23, 2026