Permanent Residence Permit (PRP) is a special residence permit which allows the living of foreigners in Republic of Bulgaria for an unlimited period of time. The basic act regulating the issuance of PRP is the Act for the Foreigners in Republic of Bulgaria (AFRB), amended on 15th of May 2009. One of the most important changes affects the procedure for issuance of PRP.
Prior the amendment one of the legal grounds for issuance of PRP was an investment of USD 500,000 in Bulgaria. Currently, the newly adopted law provides for two main types of investment which are legal grounds for issuance of PRP and namely: (i) investment of BGN 1,000,000 with special requirements as to the form of investment or (ii) investment of BGN 6,000,000 in shares of Bulgarian commercial company which is not traded on the regulated market.
In order to be obtained a PRP based on an investment of BGN 1,000,000, there are special requirements as to the form of investment pertaining not only to its volume, namely the investment shall be executed through the acquisition of some of the following:
1. shares of Bulgarian public companies, whose shares are traded on Bulgarian regulated market;
2. bonds and treasure notes, as well as their derivative instruments, issued by the Bulgarian government (the state) or by the Bulgarian municipalities with remaining maturity term at least 6 months;
3. title ownership over the autonomous part of the property of Bulgarian commercial company with more than 50% state or municipality participation in the capital according to the Bulgarian Privatization and Post Privatization Control Act;
4. shares or share participations, property of the Bulgarian state or the Bulgarian municipalities in the capital of Bulgarian commercial companies according to the Bulgarian Privatization and After Privatization Control Act;
5. Bulgarian intellectual property-objects of the copyrights and similar rights, registered and protected inventions, useful designs, trade marks, service marks and production design;
6. rights under concession contracts on the territory of Republic of Bulgaria, or
7. Investment of the amount of BGN 1 000 000 with a licensed Bulgarian credit institution under a trusty management contract for a term not shorter than 5 years.
Currently, the procedure for certification of the circumstances above shall be regulated by an Ordinance on the application of the AFRB, unfortunately still not amended and respectively the procedure is not provided yet.
Please be aware that this article shall be considered as general information only. This can not be deemed a legal advice and the Law Firm shall not be responsible for any actions undertaken on its ground.