long-stay residence permit — family member of a foreigner with long-stay or permanent residence, asylum or international protection (Foreigners Act, art. 24(1)(13))
Residency route facts
Identity
| Official name (local) | разрешение за продължително пребиваване по чл. 24, ал. 1, т. 13 от ЗЧРБ as of 2026-08-25[1] |
|---|---|
| Official name (English) | long-stay residence permit — family member of a foreigner with long-stay or permanent residence, asylum or international protection (Foreigners Act, art. 24(1)(13)) as of 2026-08-25[1] Translation. |
| Legal basis | Закон за чужденците в Република България, чл. 24, ал. 1, т. 13 as of 2026-08-25[1][4] |
| 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[4] 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[1] The register's filing rule — no later than 14 days before the permitted stay expires — presupposes extension. |
| Work rights | authorisation required as of 2026-08-25[2][5] ЗТМТМ чл. 8, ал. 2, т. 4: family members of a foreigner with продължително residence may be granted access to the labour market outside the grounds listed in чл. 8, ал. 1. The Employment Agency issues them a 'Разрешение за работа' under ЗТМТМ чл. 40, ал. 2, observing чл. 7, ал. 1, т. 3 — specialised knowledge, skills and professional experience — and the ceiling at чл. 7, ал. 1, т. 1 is not applied to this category. The permit runs to the term of the contract or of the person's residence and may be extended. |
Permanent residence and citizenship
| Counts toward permanent residence | Not established from a qualifying source |
|---|
Requirements
| Who can sponsor | temporary permit holder, permanent resident, specific permits as of 2026-08-25[1] The register's entry for this ground: family members of a foreigner who has obtained продължително or постоянно residence, and of a foreigner granted asylum or international protection. `specific_permits` carries the asylum and international-protection limb, for which the vocabulary has no value of its own. |
|---|---|
| Eligible relations | Not established from a qualifying source as of 2026-08-25[1] |
| Sponsor income requirement | Recorded at the source, but not reducible to a single value as of 2026-08-25[1] |
| Sponsor accommodation requirement | Yes as of 2026-08-25[1] ЗЧРБ чл. 24, ал. 2 as reproduced by the register: secured accommodation, compulsory health insurance and sufficient means of maintenance for the period of residence. |
Process
| Where to apply from | in-country only as of 2026-08-25[1][3] The register: filed in person no later than 14 days before the permitted stay or the type D visa expires. ПМС № 286 of 12 December 2025 rewrote чл. 13, ал. 1 of the implementing rules so that, after entry into Bulgaria, the family member applying on the grounds of чл. 24, ал. 1, т. 5 and 13, чл. 24е, ал. 1, чл. 33г, ал. 4, чл. 33о, ал. 1 and 2 and чл. 33р, ал. 1 files a form under Annex 2a with the Migration Directorate or a regional directorate no later than 14 days before the visa expires, attaching a passport copy and compulsory medical insurance to the documents already filed. |
|---|---|
| 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. |
| Fees |
|
| Quota |
|
Physical presence
| none stated | to keep the permit as of 2026-08-25[1] |
|---|
Family inclusion
| Family members may be included | Not established from a qualifying source |
|---|
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 | 5 |
|---|---|
| of which official (tier 1) | 5 |
| 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] Постановление № 286 от 12 декември 2025 г. за изменение и допълнение на нормативни актове (изм. и доп. на Правилника за прилагане на Закона за чужденците в Република България)
Държавен вестник · gazette · Tier 1 · Published 2025-12-16 · Accessed 2026-08-25 - [4] 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 - [5] Закон за трудовата миграция и трудовата мобилност (консолидиран текст, PDF)
Министерство на труда и социалната политика · statute · Tier 1 · Accessed 2026-08-25