Who applies for a work permit in Bulgaria?
The employer, not you. Under the Foreigners Act (Art. 24i) the Bulgarian employer applies to the Employment Agency, and a labour market test applies unless your job falls into an exempt category.
You then need a type D visa to enter Bulgaria. The single permit itself — one document for both work and residence — is issued by the Migration Directorate for 3 years15 or the contract term if shorter.
One detail trips people up: the EU Immigration Portal still shows a validity of 1 year. The Foreigners Act says 3. We work from the Act and confirm the term with the Migration Directorate on each case.
What documents do you actually hold, and when?
No agent can sell you a Bulgarian work permit: only the employer applies, and only the authorities issue it.
Before departure: your signed employment contract and the decision on the employer’s application. At the border: the type D visa in your passport. After arrival: the single permit card from the Migration Directorate — the document that lets you live and work here and renew later.
Bulgaria does not publish a total processing time for the whole chain, and neither do we invent one. The stage-by-stage picture is on the processing time page.
Single permit or EU Blue Card?
If your contract pays 1.5 x average gross monthly salary in Bulgaria46, the EU Blue Card is often the better paper: no labour market test and validity up to 5 years16. Below that salary, the single permit is the route.
Who this route is not for
- ❌Freelancers and remote workers without a Bulgarian employer — the single permit needs a local contract.
- ❌People who want to invest instead of work: the investor residence route is separate, and citizenship by investment was abolished in 2022.
- ❌Applicants whose only “offer” is a paper from a recruitment agent, with no employer named in it.