A foreign
individual in accordance with the law in the Republic of Bulgaria is any person
who is not a Bulgarian citizen, or is not a citizen of another Member State of
the European Union, or a state party to the Agreement on European Economic
Area, or of the Swiss Confederation.
A
short-stay visa shall be issued to a foreign individual who enters the country
once or repeatedly (multiple short-stay visa) for a period of 90 days within 6
months commencing from the date of the first entry. The multiple short-stay
visa can be valid for a period of up to one year or, in the event of extraordinary
circumstances, for up to 5 years.
A long-stay
visa with a validity term of up to 6 months and with right to stay for up to
180 days shall be issued to a foreign individual who wishes to settle for a
continuous period or permanently in the Republic of Bulgaria.
Long-stay
visas with a validity term of up to one year and with right of stay for up to
360 days may be issued to foreign individuals
who carry
out scientific research, or
who are
students in one-year educational programmes, post-graduate students or
trainees, or
foreign
individuals sent on a business trip by a foreign employer in order to perform
specific tasks.
A long-stay
visa shall entitle the foreign individual to repeated entry to the Republic of
Bulgaria within the validity term.
Employment
visas
Under the
Work Permit procedure the employer will be required to advertise the position
in Bulgaria and the EU, before the Department will consider issuing a WP to a
non-EU national where a suitable candidate cannot be found. A Residence Visa
must also be acquired to allow the expatriate to live in Bulgaria.
Where the
expatriate's spouse and family relocates to Bulgaria, relevant visas and a
separate WP (where the spouse will also work) will be required.
Where the
expatriate is an EU national the above procedure is usually not required; there
are also certain circumstances where a foreign individual will be not require a
WP.
Tax year
The
Bulgarian tax year runs from 1 January to 31 December.
Tax returns
and compliance
Most
Bulgarian national employees working in Bulgaria pay their tax through payroll
withholding and are not required to file a tax return. However, foreign
nationals on assignment to Bulgaria may have a more complicated tax position
and may be required to file a Bulgarian tax return even if their taxes are
being paid by their employer.
The
personal tax return should be filed by 30 April following the end of the tax
year concerned.
Income tax
rates
The tax
rate is flat and amounts to 10%.
Sample
income tax calculation
Employment
Income 120 000
Tax at 10% 12
000
