Country Update 2026: BULGARIA

Contributed by: Valeria Ilareva

May 2026

1. Legislative Changes

Two major reform packages were enacted in June 2025 (SG No. 52/2025). A further draft amending both Acts (implementing Directive (EU) 2024/1233 on the Single Permit) was under public consultation as of May 2026. No legislation implementing the EU Pact on Migration and Asylum has been formally adopted (Pact applies from 12 June 2026).

Aliens Act (ZCHRB) amendments (Presidential Decree No. 101/23 June 2025): new Digital Nomad residence permit (1 year, min. income ~€31,010/year); new residence permit for postgraduate trainees (specialisants); Single Permit – health insurance reduced to 3-month minimum, joint in-person appearance by the permit holder and employer at the Migration Directorate required within 14 days of entry, automatic termination of residence on employment termination; Blue Card – no exit required for in-country applicants, change-of-employer simplified after 12 months; Seasonal workers – 5-day accelerated procedure for returnees; new Screening and Return Border Procedure framework (Arts. 21l–21m, implementing Regulations (EU) 2024/1356 and 2024/1349); all fines converted to euros.

Labour Migration Act (ZTMTM) amendments (DV No. 52/2025): the basis for calculating the TCN headcount quota was broadened — all TCNs employed under a labour contract now count towards the quota, not only those with 1-year residence permits; Blue Card alternative professional experience raised to 5 years for non-ICT roles; 6-month bar on new labour market access following expiry of a posting period.

Pending draft (Directive 2024/1233 transposition): 90-day Single Permit processing deadline; right to change employer after 6 months; 3/6-month unemployment protection; prohibition on passing permit fees to workers.

2. Business Immigration

Single Permit (49,179 total accesses in 2025; 18,247 via Single permit): key changes – 3-month health insurance at entry, 14-day joint appearance, automatic residence termination on dismissal. Blue Card (951 in 2025): simplified in-country applications and post-12-month employer changes. Seasonal workers: short-term registrations (up to 90 days) nearly doubled to 19,057 in 2025 (from 10,403 in 2024), led by Uzbekistan, Kyrgyzstan, Turkey, Moldova, Nepal. New Digital Nomad permit introduced.

3. Family based immigration

Simultaneous filing introduced for Blue Card holders and their family members. Beneficiaries of international protection applying for family reunification more than 6 months after the grant of protection must additionally provide proof of housing, health insurance (minimum 3 months) and income (at least minimum monthly wage); the Chairman of SAR must issue a decision within 3 months of the opening of the procedure.

4. Asylum

Applications: 3,895 in 2025 (−68% vs 2024's 12,250). Top nationalities in 2024: Syria (7,646), Afghanistan (1,980), Morocco (871), Egypt (654) and Iraq (541). Bulgaria had the highest share of unaccompanied minors among all under-18 applicants in the EU in 2024 (65%; Eurostat). Reception conditions remained severely deficient throughout 2024–2025, with reception centres failing to provide adequate food, sanitation and healthcare. Legal aid access further deteriorated due to chronic underfunding and political instability. Pact implementation largely stalled in 2025: key legislative reforms foreseen under the national implementation plan — including a new law on asylum and refugees and amendments introducing screening and return border procedures — were not completed within the planned timeframe. A draft asylum law published for public consultation in January 2026 was widely criticised by civil society for failing to establish minimum procedural safeguards required under the Pact. Full-scale EUAA monitoring of Bulgaria begins June 2026, alongside Slovakia and Malta (EC COM(2026) 196 final, 8 May 2026).

5. Deportation

Reforms to the return framework — including simultaneous issuance of return decisions with decisions refusing, terminating or withdrawing international protection, and designation of the Migration Directorate as the return border procedure authority under Regulation (EU) 2024/1349 — are proposed in a draft Law Amending the ZCHRB published by the Ministry of Interior for public consultation in 2026, but remain unenacted. Bulgaria retained internal border controls at its land border with Romania for six months from 1 January 2025, under the Budapest Quadrilateral Declaration (Bulgaria, Romania, Hungary, Austria, 22 November 2024), to address migration risks arising from full Schengen accession. The Bulgarian-Turkish external border is being reinforced through additional national and Frontex deployments.

6. Citizenship

State fees for citizenship proceedings were significantly increased in 2025: acquisition/restoration — BGN 1,000 (€511) for standard applicants; BGN 300 (€153) for persons with Bulgarian-origin parents; BGN 100 (€51) for minors and students up to age 26; release from citizenship — BGN 250 (€128); citizenship certificates under Art. 39 of the Citizenship Act — BGN 250 (€128). The Aliens Act amendments in 2025 also introduced automatic termination of permanent residence rights on acquisition of Bulgarian citizenship (new Art. 25b ZCHRB).