Bulgaria – New legislative amendments are now official

• Posted on Jul 11, 2013
• In Bulgaria

We are very happy to announce that the voted amendments in the Investment Promotion Act and resulting changes in the Foreigners in the Republic of Bulgaria Act and the Bulgarian Citizenship Act are now published in the State Gazette and came in force on February 23rd, 2013.

With the amendments, the Investor Program for Residence and Citizenship in Bulgaria has become very competitive with other European and international programs.

Please find below a more detailed description of the voted changes:

• Language Competence Requirement
  The language competence requirement for applicants who invest in government bonds is WAIVED.
• Relinquishment of the current nationality
  The relinquishment of the current nationality requirement for applicants who invest in government bonds is WAIVED.
• New Fast Track Option
  A new fast track option that leads to Citizenship is introduced for applicants who invest in government bonds.

The requirements for the Fast Track Option are:

• for the applicant to have at least 1 year of Permanent Resident status; and
• to double the investment by putting €512,000 in the capital of a Bulgarian company which is carrying out a Priority Investment Project (as defined in the Investment Promotion Act); and
• once citizenship is granted, the applicant to hold the two investments for a period of two years.

Furthermore, new investment options were introduced:

1) Entrepreneurial Options: Risk capital with job creation

• Leading to prolonged residence. The minimum amount of €125,000 must be invested in risk capital. The foreign person must invest at least 50% of the capital in a Bulgarian company operating in one of the underdeveloped regions and must create minimum 5 jobs for Bulgarian citizens. The residence must be renewed every year.
• Leading to permanent residence. The minimum amount of €250,000 must be invested in risk capital. The foreign person must invest at least 50% of the capital in a Bulgarian company and create minimum 10 jobs for Bulgarian citizens. There is physical exemption. There is no requirement for language competence and relinquishment of the current nationality for the citizenship application in 5 years.

2) Real Estate Option

• It leads only to prolonged residence and requires minimum investment of €300,000. The residence must be renewed every year.

These new options will enable us to enrich the portfolio of additional products and services provided to our partners and their clients.

For more information, please contact us.