A bill tabled in Bulgaria’s National Assembly would replace the current EU-wide absence rule with a Bulgaria-specific presence requirement. If enacted as drafted, the amendment would materially affect a defining feature of Bulgaria’s investment residence program.
Summary
On July 27, 2026, Bulgaria’s Council of Ministers approved a draft bill (Decision 575) amending the Aliens in the Republic of Bulgaria Act. Prime Minister Rumen Radev signed the transmittal letter, and the National Assembly registered the bill on July 28, 2026, under reference 52-602-01-29.
The bill forms part of a broader package of amendments, the majority of which convert statutory currency thresholds from lev to euro following Bulgaria’s adoption of the euro on January 1, 2026. Within that package, however, is a single provision that would fundamentally alter the conditions for retaining Bulgarian permanent residence. As drafted, the bill would require permanent residence holders to have spent more than six months of the preceding calendar year physically present in Bulgaria, failing which their status would become subject to withdrawal.
This alert explains the mechanics of the change, who it affects, what remains unclear, and what current and prospective permit holders should consider while the bill moves through the legislative process.
The current rule, and what would replace it
Article 40(1) of the Aliens Act sets out the grounds on which Bulgarian authorities may withdraw a foreigner’s right of residence. Item 6 of that list currently applies to both long-term and permanent residence permit holders and is triggered by 12 consecutive months of absence from the territory of the European Union as a whole, rather than from Bulgaria specifically.
Section 17 of the bill would split this single provision into two:
Revised Item 6 would continue to apply the 12-month EU-wide absence test, but only to long-term residence permit holders.
New Item 24 would apply exclusively to permanent residence holders, and it inverts the test entirely: instead of measuring absence from the EU, it measures presence in Bulgaria. A permanent resident who spent six months and one day or less in Bulgaria during the preceding calendar year would fall within the ground for withdrawal.
This represents a material shift along two distinct dimensions. First, the relevant territory for compliance purposes narrows from the European Union as a whole to Bulgaria alone. Second, the applicable standard is reversed: the current framework penalizes only a full year of continuous absence from the EU, whereas the proposed framework requires affirmative, majority-of-year presence within Bulgaria itself.
Consequences for the investment residence route
Under Bulgaria’s investment-based permanent residence route, a qualifying fund subscription of BGN 1 million (€511,291.88 at the fixed conversion rate) currently secures permanent residence outright, with no accompanying obligation to reside in the country. This feature of immediate, unconditional permanent residence has been a principal basis on which the program has been marketed internationally as a comparatively low-commitment option relative to similar EU schemes.
New Item 24 would remove that flexibility for permanent residence holders whose status does not also carry long-term residence. A holder who cannot also point to long-term residence status would fall entirely outside the protection of Item 6 and into the new provision, with no exemption available.
Scope of the Investor Carve-Out Remains Uncertain
Under the version of Item 6 currently in force, permanent residence granted on investment grounds, specifically under Article 25(1), items 6 to 8, 13, and 16, and under Article 25g, is expressly excluded from the 12-month absence rule. The bill retains an equivalent exclusion in the redrafted Item 6; however, that provision would apply only to long-term residence permits.
Whether investor permanent residence holders retain any protection under the amended framework therefore turns on a threshold question of Bulgarian law that the bill does not resolve: namely, whether a foreigner may concurrently hold both long-term residence and permanent residence status. If concurrent status is possible, an investor holding both would remain shielded by the exclusion in Item 6. If it is not possible, and investment-based grants confer permanent residence alone, the holder would fall outside Item 6 entirely and would instead be governed by new Item 24, which provides no exemption of any kind. It should also be noted that Item 24, as drafted, omits the exception that Item 6 retains for foreigners kept abroad by a declared state of emergency.
This ambiguity is likely to be a focal point for legal argument and potential amendment as the bill proceeds through committee.
Currency Conversions Do Not Alter Substantive Thresholds
Several provisions of the bill, notably Section 11, restate existing lev-denominated investment thresholds in euro, consistent with Bulgaria’s adoption of the euro. These conversions are arithmetic in nature and do not alter the underlying qualifying thresholds.
Extended residence thresholds under Article 24(1), addressed at Section 7 of the bill, receive equivalent treatment: BGN 100,000, 250,000, and 600,000 convert to €51,129.19, €127,822.97, and €306,775.13, respectively, with no change to the underlying qualifying conditions. Extended residence permits are not affected by new Item 24, which is confined in its application to permanent residence.
The Stated Legislative Rationale Is Limited
The bill’s explanatory memorandum offers a single sentence in support of the permanent residence amendment, stating that rising numbers of residence applications necessitate conditions permitting stricter control over permanent residence holders. The memorandum does not articulate any security rationale, EU obligation, or reference to the investment routes. The memorandum’s broader statement of reasons addresses the single permit for residence and work, border screening, Schengen accession, personal documents, labor migration, health matters, and the euro conversion of fines. Permanent residence is not addressed in that statement of reasons at all, and appears only subsequently, as an objective stated without accompanying justification.
The Bill Contains No Transitional Provision
The bill, which extends to Section 38, contains no commencement date specific to Section 17, no grandfathering provision for existing permit holders, and no indication of which calendar year would first be assessed for compliance. Under Article 5(5) of the Bulgarian Constitution, legislation enters into force three days after promulgation in the State Gazette unless it provides otherwise. On a literal reading, a law promulgated later in 2026 could place the current calendar year’s attendance in issue for permit holders who were subject to no such requirement at the time that year began.
The Provision’s Scope Extends Beyond Investment Migrants
The permanent residence category addressed by new Item 24 is not limited to investment migrants. It also encompasses spouses of Bulgarian citizens, persons of Bulgarian descent, and long-settled foreigners holding the same underlying permit.
The bill draws no distinction between these categories of holder, a feature likely to constitute a significant source of objection during committee consideration.
The grant of immediate permanent residence at the outset of an investment program is not unique to Bulgaria; both Malta and Cyprus offer comparable arrangements. What has distinguished the Bulgarian program is the combination of immediate permanent residence, the absence of any obligation to reside in the country, and eligibility for naturalization after five years on the basis of an A1 language qualification. This represents a materially lighter obligation than the actual years of residence required by Malta and Cyprus before citizenship eligibility arises.
New Item 24, if enacted as drafted, would remove the residence-free element of that combination for permanent residence holders not otherwise protected by the long-term residence exclusion.
Recommendations
The bill has not been enacted. It remains subject to committee review, a first reading, and a second reading with amendments, and Bulgarian legislative text has historically changed materially between introduction and passage.
The legislative direction is nonetheless significant. The government has formally proposed a presence requirement, accompanied by an express stated intention to tighten control over this category of permit holder. This should be treated as a genuine and active legislative risk warranting monitoring, rather than a remote contingency.
Permit holders approaching the five-year naturalization threshold merit particular attention. Because withdrawal of permanent residence would reset the qualifying period for naturalization, clients approaching eligibility have a concrete basis to review their position and timing in advance of the bill’s final form.
The committee stage should be monitored closely. The scope of the investor exclusion, the treatment of the state-of-emergency exception, and the inclusion of any transitional or grandfathering provisions remain open questions likely to be addressed as the legislative process continues.
This alert is provided for general informational purposes and does not constitute legal advice. Clients with existing Bulgarian residence status, or those considering an application, should seek advice tailored to their specific circumstances before taking any action in reliance on this summary.