Bulgaria Golden Visa Requirements 2026: Investment Routes and Eligibility Checklist

The Bulgaria golden visa requirements for 2026 are: you must be a non-EU or non-EEA national with a clean criminal record, place a qualifying investment from approximately EUR 512,000 in a licensed Bulgarian investment fund or collective investment scheme (directly held listed shares qualify at a higher threshold), hold verified euro-denominated funds in a compliant bank, and maintain the investment for five years. Real estate is not a qualifying route. This checklist sets out every requirement in full, grounded in the investment provisions of the Foreigners in the Republic of Bulgaria Act.

On this page

• Who is eligible for the Bulgaria golden visa?
• The three qualifying investment routes
• The 5 year holding requirement
• Family eligibility
• Document checklist
• Due diligence and the FATF context
• Application steps and timeline
• Requirements at a glance: Bulgaria vs its closest peers
• Frequently asked questions

This guide is general information about the Bulgaria residency-by-investment requirements and is not legal, tax or immigration advice. Thresholds, routes and figures can change, and several are noted below as subject to official confirmation. The document list is indicative rather than an exhaustive statutory checklist. Obtain independent professional advice before making any application or investment decision.

Who is eligible for the Bulgaria golden visa?

Nationality (non-EU/EEA) and clean criminal record

The programme is open to non-EU and non-EEA nationals. EU and EEA citizens already hold free-movement rights and do not need it. Every applicant must hold a clean criminal record, which is verified as part of the background checks. On nationality specifically, we hedge and confirm per file: there is no blanket nationality exclusion recorded in the sources we rely on, but sanctions regimes and bank-level policy can affect specific profiles, and banking practicality under FATF-related enhanced checks can differ from formal eligibility. This is an area to confirm with counsel rather than assume.

Source-of-funds and banking requirements

The investor is expected to hold the qualifying amount in a euro-denominated account in a compliant jurisdiction, with a documented, lawful source of funds. Whether the “compliant jurisdiction” element is a strict statutory condition or established advisory practice should be confirmed per engagement; we present it as a practical requirement because, in reality, a clean and fully evidenced source-of-funds file is what determines whether an application proceeds smoothly. Under Bulgaria’s current FATF grey-list conditions, this scrutiny is heightened, which we address below.

The three qualifying investment routes

The main routes run through regulated market instruments rather than property, under Article 25, paragraph 1, item 6 of the Foreigners in the Republic of Bulgaria Act. The two fund routes share the headline minimum; directly held listed securities carry a higher one.

Licensed alternative investment funds (AIF)

The primary route places the qualifying capital into an alternative investment fund established in Bulgaria and licensed or registered by the Bulgarian Financial Supervision Commission (fsc.bg), with statutory conditions on the fund’s minimum assets and its Bulgarian-asset strategy. The FSC status of the chosen fund is the gatekeeping condition, and its clearance is part of the timeline.

Collective investment schemes and ETFs

The second route uses units or shares of an FSC-licensed Bulgarian collective investment scheme, a category that includes exchange-traded funds, whose investment strategy must be directed mainly at shares and bonds of Bulgarian companies traded on a regulated market, at the same minimum threshold.

Directly held shares of listed Bulgarian companies

The third route places the capital directly into shares or bonds of Bulgarian companies traded on a regulated market in Bulgaria (bse-sofia.bg), at the higher statutory minimum of BGN 2,000,000, approximately EUR 1,022,600. On the headline figure: the commonly cited approximately EUR 512,000 is the statutory BGN 1,000,000 fund-route minimum converted at the fixed euro adoption rate of BGN 1.95583 per euro (EUR 511,292). The Act also contains further, less used investment grounds, including concession rights, certified priority investment projects, larger unlisted-company investments and a job-creating business route; an adviser will confirm which ground fits a specific plan.

Routes that no longer exist: government bonds and direct citizenship

Two routes that older pages still list are gone. Government bonds were removed from the qualifying investment grounds when the provisions were restructured in 2021, and the direct citizenship-purchase route was abolished in 2022 through amendments to the Bulgarian Citizenship Act. Any current page offering Bulgarian residence via bonds, or citizenship via investment, is describing a scheme that no longer operates. We set out that history in the Bulgaria citizenship by investment status guide. Excluding these dead routes cleanly is part of what makes a requirements page current.

The 5 year holding requirement

The qualifying investment must be maintained for five years, a condition set in Article 25, paragraph 11 of the Foreigners Act; ending, transferring or reducing the investment below the statutory minimum within that period is a ground for revoking the permit. A 2025 amendment confirms that after the five years, the investor may end or change the investment without affecting the permanent residence already granted. The five-year mark is also the point from which the naturalisation route is typically assessed, so it functions both as the investment-hold condition and as the natural decision point for an investor weighing a longer-term citizenship ambition.

Family eligibility (who you can include)

Spouse and children under 18

The core family unit is the spouse and unmarried children under 18. Under the Foreigners Act, minor children of a permanent resident qualify for permanent residence in their own right, while a spouse’s own permanent residence is linked to five years of marriage, with the Act waiving the in-country residence requirement for spouses of investors under the investment grounds. In practice a spouse typically holds extended residence in the interim; the exact sequencing should be confirmed with counsel.

Parents: temporary residency only

Based on the available sources, dependent parents may qualify for temporary residency rather than the permanent residence grant, and adult-children eligibility is not clearly established. We hedge and confirm all family claims per file, because family provisions are precisely where programme detail varies. Bulgaria’s family reach is narrower than programmes like Malta or Greece; a family whose planning centres on parents or adult children should weigh that difference. We compare family scope across programmes in the golden visa family members hub.

Document checklist

Your adviser will confirm the exact list for your circumstances, and this should be read as indicative rather than an exhaustive statutory list. A Bulgarian residency-by-investment file typically requires:

• A valid passport for every applicant and dependant.
• Clean criminal-record certificates for each adult applicant.
• Comprehensive source-of-funds and source-of-wealth evidence (bank statements, business or employment income, sale of assets, inheritance, investment records).
• Confirmation of the qualifying investment (fund subscription, ETF or share purchase documentation).
• Financial Supervision Commission documentation for the chosen approved fund.
• Proof of the euro-denominated account holding the qualifying amount.
• Birth and marriage certificates establishing family relationships, for included dependants.
• Proof of health insurance where required.

Every document must be current, internally consistent and, where required, apostilled or officially translated. Consistency across the file is itself a practical requirement, because the due diligence process cross-checks the documents against each other.

Due diligence and the FATF context

Due diligence is the requirement that decides most applications. Expect identity verification, criminal-record and security screening, and detailed source-of-wealth and source-of-funds analysis. Under Bulgaria’s current FATF grey-list conditions, this scrutiny is heightened: at the June 2026 plenary Bulgaria remained on the grey list, although the FATF determined its action plan is substantially complete and authorised the final on-site assessment before removal (verify the current status against fatf-gafi.org at the point of application). In practice this means enhanced know-your-customer checks and, in some banking contexts, slower onboarding. The single most common reason a strong applicant is delayed is an incomplete or inconsistent source-of-funds picture. We cover the pillar’s full risk treatment in the Bulgaria golden visa guide and the KYC discipline in our due diligence guide.

Application steps and timeline

The sequence is investment first, then residence:

1. Prepare the file: passports, clean-record certificates, and the full source-of-funds evidence.
2. Select and subscribe to an FSC-licensed fund, collective investment scheme or qualifying listed securities at the statutory amount.
3. Obtain certification of the investment by the Bulgarian Investment Agency (investbg.government.bg), with securities holdings confirmed through the central securities depository.
4. File the permanent residence application through the Migration Directorate of the Ministry of Interior (mvr.bg).
5. Receive permanent residence, granted immediately on approval, with no temporary phase.

In our advisory experience, and consistent with the sources we rely on, the permanent residence application typically runs around four to six months, depending on document readiness and fund clearance. Timelines are indicative rather than guaranteed. For the cross-programme process view, see the golden visa application process hub.

Requirements at a glance: Bulgaria vs its closest peers

A compact comparison of headline entry thresholds against Bulgaria’s nearest peers. Figures are indicative and should be confirmed against each programme’s official sources.

For the detail behind these figures, see the Hungary golden visa cost and requirements guide, the Malta MPRP requirements guide, and the full side-by-side in the best golden visa countries in Europe guide.

Frequently asked questions

What are the requirements for the Bulgaria golden visa?
A qualifying investment from approximately EUR 512,000 in a licensed Bulgarian fund or collective investment scheme (or approximately EUR 1,022,600 in directly held listed shares), non-EU nationality, a clean criminal record, verified source of funds, and a 5 year investment holding period.

What is the minimum investment for Bulgarian residency?
Approximately EUR 512,000 for the fund routes, the statutory BGN 1,000,000 converted at the fixed euro rate of 1.95583. Directly held shares or bonds of listed Bulgarian companies qualify from BGN 2,000,000, approximately EUR 1,022,600.

Can I buy real estate for the Bulgaria golden visa?
No. The investment grounds in Article 25 of the Foreigners in the Republic of Bulgaria Act do not include a real-estate purchase route. The programme runs through licensed funds, collective investment schemes and listed securities. Confirm the position against official sources for any specific plan.

Who can I include in my application?
Your spouse and children under 18. Parents may qualify for temporary residency only, which is narrower than programmes like Malta or Greece. Family provisions should be confirmed per file.

Do I need to live in Bulgaria?
No. There is no minimum stay requirement to keep the permanent residence permit. Citizenship through naturalisation is a separate matter with its own residence expectations.

How long does the Bulgarian golden visa take?
Typically around four to six months in our advisory experience, depending on document readiness and Financial Supervision Commission clearance of the chosen fund.

The bottom line

The Bulgaria golden visa requirements reward a clean, complete, correctly-scoped file: a genuine non-EU applicant, a qualifying investment into an approved fund or listed instrument, verified funds, and the patience for a five-year hold. Two things separate a smooth application from a stalled one: the quality of the source-of-funds preparation, and awareness of the FATF grey-list conditions that make that preparation matter even more right now. Excluding the dead bond and citizenship routes, and confirming every threshold against official sources, is how a current adviser protects you from stale guidance. To see what the Schengen upgrade adds on top of these requirements, read our Bulgaria Schengen golden visa guide, and for the full programme picture, the Bulgaria golden visa pillar. The Aegir Global team advises HNW investors and their professional advisors on exactly this assessment, and advisory fees are quoted per engagement.