The key official steps after your move — from a bank account and registration to health insurance, a car and taxes. Every step comes with a checklist and official sources.
1. After arrival: register your address and obtain your personal number
Right after entering the country, register your residence with the 'Migration' Directorate of the Interior Ministry — this is what triggers your personal number (only Bulgarian citizens hold an EGN, while foreign nationals receive an LNCh). Then handle the separate address registration at the municipality and have your proof of address ready, either a notarial deed or a tenancy agreement with the owner's consent. Translate any foreign-language documents in advance so you avoid a second trip to the office.
- ✓Register your residence with the 'Migration' Directorate: EU nationals within 3 months of arrival (certificate + LNCh); non-EU nationals obtain the residence permit first, with the LNCh issued alongside the card
- ✓Note: only Bulgarian citizens have an EGN; foreign nationals receive a ten-digit LNCh
- ✓Prepare proof of address: a notarial deed or a tenancy agreement plus the owner's consent (notarised if the owner is absent)
- ✓Complete the address registration separately at the municipal GRAO office (in the Burgas area: ul. Aleksandrovska 26)
- ✓Translate foreign-language documents in advance and have them apostilled
- ✓Make several copies of all documents and check opening hours or book an appointment
- ✓Scan or photograph every issued document immediately
2. Residence status: EU certificate and non-EU residence card
Start by establishing your status: EU nationals receive a long-term residence certificate, while non-EU nationals obtain a residence card through the migration authority. Mind the deadlines — EU nationals register within three months of arrival, and non-EU nationals apply to renew no later than 14 days before their permit expires. Gather your supporting documents in advance (health insurance and proof of funds, and for non-EU nationals also a passport, accommodation and photos), and book your appointment early.
- ✓Clarify your status: EU (long-term residence certificate) or non-EU (residence card)
- ✓Meet the deadlines: non-EU apply at least 14 days before expiry; EU within three months of arrival
- ✓Prove health insurance that is valid in Bulgaria
- ✓Show proof of funds — for self-sufficient EU nationals, a reference figure of around 5,100 EUR in your own account
- ✓Non-EU additionally: D visa, entry stamp, secured accommodation, criminal-record certificate (first application only), passport photos
- ✓Book an early appointment at the 'Migration' sector of the ODMVR Burgas
- ✓Decide your grounds for residence in advance and budget for the state fee under the applicable tariff
3. Registering for health insurance and choosing a GP
Start by settling how you will be insured: employees are covered through their employer, anyone not otherwise insured pays in themselves as a 'person under Art. 40(5) of the Health Insurance Act' (around 22.03 EUR a month in 2026), EU pensioners use the S1 form, and short visits are covered by the EHIC. Before your first doctor's visit, check your insurance status free of charge online through the revenue authority's portal. Then find a GP near your home who is taking on new patients and hand in the permanent-choice form to them in person.
- ✓Settle your insurance route: employer, self-payment under Art. 40(5) (around 22.03 EUR a month), the S1 form (EU pensioners) or the EHIC (short visits)
- ✓Check your insurance status online free of charge beforehand (revenue authority portal, using your EGN)
- ✓If you are in arrears, pay all contributions for the past 60 months (cover lapses after more than three missing months within 36 months)
- ✓Find a GP near your home who is accepting patients and ask which languages they speak
- ✓Have the permanent-choice form for your GP ready
- ✓Bring your ID card, your EGN and proof of insurance
- ✓Change your GP only in June (1-30) or December (1-31)
4. Re-registering your car and exchanging your driving licence
Gather all your vehicle documents first and arrange a valid roadworthiness certificate and motor liability insurance before you register the car. Registration takes place at the traffic police for your place of residence within one month of purchase. Your EU driving licence stays valid until it expires; an exchange is only mandatory in specific cases.
- ✓Assemble the full set of vehicle documents (registration certificate, purchase contract/COC, transit plates if imported)
- ✓Secure a valid roadworthiness certificate (mandatory for used cars; new cars only from the third year)
- ✓Take out motor liability insurance before registration
- ✓Register the car with the traffic police for your place of residence — within one month of purchase
- ✓Buy the e-vignette only via the official toll portal or app (linked to the plate, no sticker)
- ✓Choose the vignette term (2026, car up to 3.5 t): year EUR 49.60, quarter EUR 27.61, month EUR 15.34, week EUR 7.67, weekend EUR 5.11, day EUR 4.09
- ✓Keep using your EU driving licence; exchange only on expiry, loss or a traffic offence
5. Property tax and waste fee after the purchase
After the purchase, first check with your municipality's local tax office whether the property is already on record and whether you are listed as the taxpayer. For a notarial purchase by a private individual the data has been passed to the municipality since 2019, so a separate return is usually not required. You then pay the property tax and the waste fee on time, securing a 5% discount if you pay the full amount by 30 April.
- ✓Check first: for a notarial private purchase the authorities have reported since 2019 — a separate return is then usually not needed
- ✓File a return within 2 months only for a new build, company or concession; within 6 months for an inheritance
- ✓Ask the municipal local tax office whether the property is on record and you are listed as liable
- ✓Meet the deadlines: by 30 June and by 31 October; 5% discount on full payment by 30 April
- ✓Pay the property tax and the waste fee together (online, at the counter or by bank)
- ✓Keep the payment receipt
- ✓Set a calendar reminder before 30 April
6. Checking purchase costs and avoiding pitfalls
Before you sign, ask for a written list of all incidental costs and check each item against the official rates. Appoint your own lawyer, independent of the seller and the agent, to check the register for the owner and any encumbrances. Pay the deposit and the purchase price traceably through the bank, ideally via the notary's dedicated account.
- ✓Request a written list of incidental costs and check it against the official rates
- ✓Appoint your own independent lawyer (not the one recommended by the seller or agent)
- ✓Check the owner and any encumbrances in the property register
- ✓For a new build, ask for the occupancy permit (Act 16): use permit or certificate of commissioning
- ✓Sign a written preliminary contract with withdrawal and refund clauses
- ✓Pay the deposit and price by bank or the notary's dedicated account; amounts from EUR 5,113 by transfer only, no cash
- ✓Payment concurrent with transfer of ownership at the notary appointment
7. Transferring electricity and water after the purchase
Ask the seller for the last paid electricity and water bills already at the notary appointment, and record the meter readings with a photo and the date on the handover day. Then transfer the electricity account with the grid supplier EVN and the water account with the utility ViK Burgas, which first requires proof that no debts remain. Finally, set up a direct debit so that no reminders pile up.
- ✓Request the seller's paid past bills for electricity and water
- ✓Photograph the meter readings on the handover day, with the date
- ✓Transfer the electricity account at EVN (change of customer, free, online or at a service centre)
- ✓Transfer the water account at ViK Burgas — bring proof that no debts remain
- ✓Have the ownership document, EGN and meter number ready
- ✓Compare internet and mobile providers (A1, Vivacom, Yettel) and test coverage in advance with a prepaid card
- ✓Set up a direct debit or online payment
8. Avoiding fraud when buying property
Before any payment, obtain a current encumbrance certificate from the property register and verify its authenticity online using the check code. Hire your own lawyer, independent of the seller and the agent, and pay no deposit in cash — only by bank transfer, ideally through the notary's special account. Take warning signs such as a price well below market or artificial time pressure seriously, and sign nothing you do not understand.
- ✓Obtain a current encumbrance certificate and verify the check code online
- ✓Check the seller's identity and any certified power of attorney, including whether it was revoked
- ✓Hire your own independent lawyer — not the one recommended to you
- ✓Make no deposit in cash
- ✓Settle payments through the bank or the notary's special account (mandatory anyway from 5,113 euros)
- ✓Take warning signs around price, time pressure and advance payment seriously
- ✓Sign nothing you do not understand
9. Electronic signature or the tax authority's free PIK code
First clarify what you need: if you only use the tax authority's portal, the free PIK code is enough, while a qualified electronic signature (KEP) pays off for the commercial register and several agencies. Choose a provider only from the official register and have your ID and personal number ready, as your identity is verified in person or by video. Decide between a cloud signature via a smartphone app and a USB token, and then run a test login.
- ✓Clarify your need: only the NAP portal — free PIK; several agencies or the commercial register — KEP
- ✓Choose a provider from the official register (B-Trust/Borica, Evrotrust, Infonotary, StampIT, Idocs)
- ✓Have your ID and personal number (EGN or LNCh) ready
- ✓Decide between a cloud KEP via a smartphone app and a USB token or chip card
- ✓Complete the identity check in person or by video
- ✓Check price and validity (personal signature from about 13.80 euros per year; cloud certificate valid for three years)
- ✓Run a test login on the NAP portal
- ✓Store your PIN and backup securely
10. Crossing into Turkey from the southern coast
Take the Malko Tarnovo–Dereköy crossing, the closest gateway into Turkey from the southern coast; it runs around the clock and handles cars and buses. As an EU citizen you enter visa-free for up to 90 days in any 180, and a valid national ID card is enough — a passport is not required. Before you set off, check your vehicle papers and your Green Card so nothing holds you up at the border.
- ✓Use the Malko Tarnovo–Dereköy crossing (open around the clock, for cars and buses)
- ✓Sort out your travel document: EU citizens only need a valid national ID card (90 days in 180, visa-free); non-EU citizens and anyone seeking a later Turkish residence permit need a passport
- ✓Carry the vehicle papers and registration
- ✓Check your Green Card: the TR code must be present and not crossed out, otherwise buy insurance at the border
- ✓Avoid peak times and travel early in the morning
- ✓Entering Turkey: up to 10,000 euros in cash and goods up to 300 euros stay free of declaration
- ✓Returning across the EU land border: 40 cigarettes, 1 litre of spirits over 22%, 4 litres of wine, 16 litres of beer, goods up to 300 euros; cash of 10,000 euros or more must be declared
11. Making foreign documents usable: apostille and translation
Start by checking the document type: for civil-status documents issued in an EU country — birth, marriage, death, proof of registration or a certificate of good conduct — no apostille is needed between EU states. Order the multilingual standard form from the issuing office at the same time, and you usually save the translation as well. Only for documents from outside the EU does the sequence apply: apostille first, then a certified translation into Bulgarian.
- ✓Check the document type: is it an EU civil-status document (birth, marriage, death, certificate of good conduct, proof of registration)?
- ✓EU documents need no apostille (since 16 February 2019); ask the issuing office for the multilingual standard form to save the translation
- ✓For documents from outside the EU, obtain the apostille in the issuing country first
- ✓Then have a certified translation into Bulgarian prepared
- ✓Have the translator's signature certified by a Bulgarian notary
- ✓Only process the documents you actually need (residence, marriage, school, company)
- ✓Have several certified copies made
- ✓Watch the validity periods and provide a certificate of good conduct or single-status certificate as recent as possible
12. Enrolling your child in daycare or school
As soon as you arrive, register your home address within the catchment area of your preferred facility, because in Burgas the registered address is what mainly determines your place in the daycare queue. You then apply through the municipality's online system; deadlines differ from one coastal municipality to the next, so check them every spring and prepare the child's medical papers and personal documents in good time.
- ✓Register your home address in the preferred facility's catchment area as soon as you arrive – it earns the most enrolment points.
- ✓Apply through the municipality's online system and check the deadlines every spring.
- ✓Note that pre-school is compulsory from age 4, and Year 1 starts in the year the child turns 7 (from 6 if ready for school).
- ✓Have your GP issue the child's preventive health card.
- ✓Provide proof of the vaccinations required for the child's age – without it, the child cannot be admitted.
- ✓Obtain a negative stool test (no older than 15 days before entry) and a doctor's certificate confirming the child is clinically healthy.
- ✓Prepare the birth certificate and the child's personal number; apostille and certify translations of non-EU documents, while EU documents need no apostille.
- ✓List several preferred facilities and follow up with the municipality and the nursery.
13. Bringing your pet to Bulgaria
Have your pet fitted with an ISO-compliant microchip first, and only then vaccinate against rabies, because a vaccination dated before the chip is invalid and must be repeated. After that, observe the waiting period and, depending on the country of origin, carry the EU pet passport or an official veterinary certificate; pets coming from Russia, Belarus or Ukraine also need a rabies antibody test.
- ✓Have the ISO-compliant microchip (15 digits) fitted first.
- ✓Only then vaccinate against rabies – the vaccination date must not precede the chip date, and the animal must be at least 12 weeks old.
- ✓Observe the 21-day waiting period after the first vaccination before entering.
- ✓Depending on the country of origin, carry the EU pet passport or an official veterinary certificate.
- ✓For pets from Russia, Belarus or Ukraine, arrange a rabies antibody test: blood drawn no earlier than 30 days after vaccination, result at least 0.5 IU/ml, EU-approved laboratory.
- ✓Then wait three months before entering.
- ✓At the border, keep the passport or certificate, the chip number and the vaccination record to hand; the chip must be readable and match the document.
- ✓After arriving on the southern coast, find a vet for the EU passport, registration and follow-up vaccinations.
14. Opening a bank account as a foreigner
Before visiting a branch, call two or three banks on the southern coast and settle one key question: is a passport or EU identity card plus a registered address enough, or does the bank insist on the foreigner's personal number? In the same call, ask about English- or Russian-speaking staff; if your request is refused, you can expressly demand a basic payment account, to which you are legally entitled.
- ✓Call two or three branches on the southern coast in advance and ask whether a passport or EU ID card with a registered address is enough, or whether the foreigner's personal number is mandatory.
- ✓Ask whether they have English- or Russian-speaking staff.
- ✓If refused, expressly request the basic payment account — you are legally entitled to it, and it may only be refused on justified suspicion of money laundering.
- ✓Bring your passport or EU ID card, a second form of ID, proof of address and, if you already have it, the foreigner's personal number.
- ✓Plan an in-person appointment; a fully online setup is usually not available to foreigners.
- ✓Euro payments from within the EU arrive at the domestic price, so compare only the variable costs: monthly account fee, card fee and the fee for non-euro incoming payments.
- ✓Ask them to confirm that SEPA and SEPA Instant are active by default, and obtain your IBAN.
- ✓Activate online banking and your card straight away, and send yourself a small test transfer before any salary or deposit runs through the account.
This overview is for orientation and does not replace individual legal or tax advice. The current information from the official bodies linked here prevails.
