Bulgaria - Family member

You must submit an application for family reunification to the Migration Directorate in your home country.

As soon as the application is approved, your family members must obtain a visa "type D" at the Bulgarian embassy or consulate in their country of origin.

Family members who plan to stay in Bulgaria for more than six months must also obtain a residence permit from the Migration Directorate after arrival in Bulgaria.

To be eligible for family reunification, your family members must show:

• copy of a regular document for travelling abroad;
• document for a paid state fee under Tariff N 4;
• accommodation;
• sufficient financial resources;
• medical insurance coverage for the duration of their stay;
• certificate showing no previous convictions;
• marriage certificate or birth certificate.

If you have a permanent or long-term residence status and can prove sufficient financial resources, your family members will not need a work permit to access the labour market.

Family members who themselves have permanent or long-term residence status can also access the labour market without a work permit.

The following family members are immediately eligible for permanent residence:

• spouse;
• children of the third-country national and of his/her spouse, including the adopted children, who have not reached the age of 18 years and are not in matrimony;
• children of the third-country national, including adopted children, who are under the age of 18 years and unmarried, in the cases where he/she is entitled to the parental rights and the children are on alimony provided by him/her;
• children of his/her spouse, including the adopted children, who are under the age of 18 years and are unmarried. Permanent residents can access the labour market without a work permit and enjoy equal access to social security.

Otherwise, your family members will be eligible for a permanent residence status:

• after five years of civil marriage with you, if they are a third-country national permanently residing in the country, and where they have resided legally and uninterruptedly for a period of 5 years on the territory of the country;
• if they are unmarried minor children of a Bulgarian citizen or of a third-country national permanently residing in the country;
• if they are parents of Bulgarian citizens when they provide the due legally established support and have resided legally and continuously for a period of three years within the territory of the country.

Applications for permanent residence must be submitted to the Migration Directorate of the Ministry of Interior.