Residence permits for foreigners in the Republic of Bulgaria - 2025

In 2025, the number of first residence permits issued to third-country nationals with a validity of at least three months was 23 577, which is with 19.9% more than in 2024.
The highest was the number of permissions to stay for reasons related to remunerated activities - 12 596, followed by the permissions for reasons related to family formation and reunification - 5 136. Compared to the previous year, the number of permits for the reason ‘work’ increased by 45.6%, while the number of permits for family reasons decreased by 4.1%.
In 2025, 11 880 permits for residence and work type ‘Single Permit for Residence and Work’ were issued in the country. Compared to 2024, the number of this type of permits increased by 68.2%.