long-stay residence permit — posted or seconded worker in the provision of services (Foreigners Act, art. 24(1)(1))
Residency route facts
Identity
| Official name (local) | разрешение за продължително пребиваване по чл. 24, ал. 1, т. 1 от ЗЧРБ as of 2026-08-25[1] |
|---|---|
| Official name (English) | long-stay residence permit — posted or seconded worker in the provision of services (Foreigners Act, art. 24(1)(1)) as of 2026-08-25[1] Translation. |
| Legal basis | Закон за чужденците в Република България, чл. 24, ал. 1, т. 1; Закон за трудовата миграция и трудовата мобилност, чл. 40, ал. 2 as of 2026-08-25[1][2] |
| Instrument type | residence permit as of 2026-08-25[1] |
Who can apply
| Nationals not served by this route | EU, EEA as of 2026-08-25[1] |
|---|---|
| Criminal-record condition | Yes as of 2026-08-25[1] ЗЧРБ чл. 24, ал. 2 as reproduced by the register: foreigners aged 18 and over, other than stateless persons with status in Bulgaria, produce a criminal-record or police-registration certificate issued under the law of the state of nationality, of origin or of habitual residence, at first application. |
Permit terms
| Initial duration | up to 1 year as of 2026-08-25[3] ЗЧРБ чл. 23, ал. 1, т. 2: продължително residence is 'with a permitted term of up to one year, save in the cases provided for in this Act'. The register prices the permit in two bands, up to 6 months and up to 1 year. |
|---|---|
| Renewable | Yes as of 2026-08-25[2] The register: the Employment Agency's permit for posted workers runs for up to one year and may exceptionally be extended by up to 6 months where the activity requires the originally declared duration to be exceeded. |
| Work rights | own activity only as of 2026-08-25[2][4] The register: posted or seconded third-country workers carry out work in Bulgaria only for the specific receiving undertaking which filed the application with the Employment Agency; ЗТМТМ чл. 7, ал. 2 confines them to the place of work, position and term stated in the permit. ЗТМТМ чл. 7, ал. 1, т. 1 — the employer headcount ratio — is not applied to this category. |
Permanent residence and citizenship
| Counts toward permanent residence | Not established from a qualifying source |
|---|
Requirements
| Job offer required | Yes as of 2026-08-25[2] The receiving local person files the application; the documents include the service contract with the foreign undertaking, a legalised registration document for the foreign employer, and a legalised confirmation letter from the foreign employer certifying the employment relationship, the specific tasks, the posting period and a guarantee that the salary, social security and health insurance of the posted worker will be paid. |
|---|---|
| Labour-market test | No as of 2026-08-25[2] The register: for this category the restriction of ЗТМТМ чл. 7, ал. 1, т. 1 is not applied. |
| Qualification requirement | Not established from a qualifying source as of 2026-08-25[2] |
| Employer sponsorship | Yes as of 2026-08-25[2] ЗТМТМ чл. 40, ал. 2: the Employment Agency issues a 'Разрешение за работа' on the request of the local employer or of the local person receiving the posted or seconded worker. The Employment Agency's procedure must be completed before the employment begins, and the employer must notify the Agency in writing within 3 days if the employment or the posting ends early. |
| Own means requirement | Recorded at the source, but not reducible to a single value as of 2026-08-25[1] |
| Paid in-country | No as of 2026-08-25[2] The posted worker remains employed by the foreign undertaking, which guarantees payment of the salary and the social-security and health-insurance costs; the register requires a legalised confirmation letter to that effect. |
Process
| Where to apply from | in-country only as of 2026-08-25[1] The register: the application is filed in person at the Migration Directorate or a regional Migration unit no later than 14 days before the permitted stay or the type D visa expires. |
|---|---|
| Statutory processing time | up to 14 days as of 2026-08-25[1] Register: up to 14 days from filing, extendable by one month where the case is legally or factually complex or additional documents are required. The Employment Agency's own decision on the work permit takes up to 30 days and precedes it. |
| Fees |
|
| Quota |
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Physical presence
| none stated | to keep the permit as of 2026-08-25[1] |
|---|
Family inclusion
| Family members may be included | Yes as of 2026-08-25[1] ЗЧРБ чл. 24, ал. 1, т. 13 as published by the register: family members of a foreigner who has been granted продължително or постоянно residence, and of a foreigner granted asylum or international protection, may themselves obtain продължително residence where the documents evidencing the family tie and the maintenance right are recognised under Bulgarian law. The family route itself is recorded separately as bg-semeystvo-na-chuzhdenets. |
|---|---|
| Eligible relations | Not established from a qualifying source |
| Family members' work rights | authorisation required as of 2026-08-25[2][4] ЗТМТМ чл. 8, ал. 2, т. 4 lists family members of a foreigner with продължително residence among those who may be granted access to the labour market, and the Employment Agency issues them a work permit under ЗТМТМ чл. 40, ал. 2 subject to чл. 7, ал. 1, т. 3 (specialised knowledge, skills and professional experience). Access is therefore permitted but conditional on a prior authorisation. |
Your next step
Read the requirements above considering your own situation: the income multiple, the absence limits, who you can bring. Check the country record for the reference figure those amounts are calculated from, and for anything that has changed recently.
The next step is your own case. That assessment is legal work. Create profile for our assistance in this.
Profile benefits
- A 30-minute call with our consultant, who reads your profile first.
- An offer for legal support built around your case, covering the whole process.
Verification
| Sources cited | 4 |
|---|---|
| of which official (tier 1) | 4 |
| Oldest as-of date | 2026-08-25 |
| Newest as-of date | 2026-08-25 |
| Reviewed on | 2026-08-26 |
| Schema version | 1.1 |
Sources
- [1] Разрешаване на продължително пребиваване на чужденци — информация за предоставяне на услуга
Администрация на Министерския съвет — Административен регистър (ИИСДА) · official guidance · Tier 1 · Accessed 2026-08-25 - [2] Режим 1271: Издаване на разрешение за работа на работници-граждани на трети държави в Република България (Административен регистър, услуга на Агенцията по заетостта)
Администрация на Министерския съвет / Агенция по заетостта · official guidance · Tier 1 · Accessed 2026-08-25 - [3] Закон за чужденците в Република България (консолидиран текст)
Министерство на иновациите и растежа (публикуван текст на закона) · statute · Tier 1 · Published 2022-03-18 · Accessed 2026-08-25 · Amended by bg-dv-zid-zchrb-52-2025 - [4] Закон за трудовата миграция и трудовата мобилност (консолидиран текст, PDF)
Министерство на труда и социалната политика · statute · Tier 1 · Accessed 2026-08-25