Company formation to buy a car?

@Nemecky

This is one of several websites run by a law firm in Plovdiv (the other main ones immigration2bulgaria.com and bulgariancompanies.com). I've used them, and happy to recommend them.

You can buy a local car, or import one from USA (or Germany, or elsewhere), and the company incorporation / car transfer should be quite straightforward.

It sounds like a bit of a faff for a tourist, most folks think it's easier to do planes, trains, and (rented) automobiles. :-) But if you're here for a year or two it might be a good option.

If you want to hang out in Europe on an extended vacation, our two Bulgarian neighbours are quite flexible: Turkey does a one-year tourist visa, and Serbia does official residence based on company incorporation (plus company bank account). (You can buy a car there in your personal name or via your Serbian company.) Spain has the No Lucrativa Visa (NLV) which is a residence permit for non-working, financially-independent foreigners (I can't remember the exact number, but, maybe 30k euros in savings would be enough to qualify).

Thanks so much for the feedback! That's great you're familiar with them, I hadn't heard much about them anywhere else.

Yes  previouslyI lived in Germany for 5 years and loved the access to trains and quick flights. I would still use them from time to time, but I really enjoy having a car for more freedom to do road trips, go hiking, and so on. Plus I've found that I tend to accumulate various items (kitchen stuff, a bike, etc) in this lifestyle and having a car becomes quite handy.

If the process they describe is that simple, I think I'd rather just buy a vehicle there.

I'm actually waiting for Spain to finalize their digital nomad residence permit, but who knows when that might happen. But I've not explored the balkans or Eastern Europe at all, so I'm also quite interested in doing that. I've been to turkey before but not Serbia, thanks for the recommendation.

Do you see any issues with having a Bulgarian plated vehicle and hopping around different countries for a couple months (or longer based on visa requirements) at a time? As long as I have a valid license and insurance of course.

Also, can you recommend a good website for looking at cars?  I think the one they mentioned doesn't work anymore. Thanks again for your help!

@Nemecky

Interesting... If you lived in Germany for 5 years, you would have been able to qualify for permanent residence status / EU long-term resident. Did you do this? Or is your German residence permit still valid, so you could go back and do it now? That would make life much easier!

I think an EU residence permit is good to have, if you can. But you can just use your 90 days visa-free period and move on to the next country (keeping Schengen in mind, of course).

Unfortunately, Bulgaria insists on the D visa first... and doesn't have an easy option to qualify for non-EU folks. And hasn't followed the lead of the digital nomad visas, or Spain's NLV. So I think it's much easier in Spain, Hungary (in EU) and Serbia, Turkey (non-EU). Hungary requires 1,500 euros per month (from outside Hungary) to qualify for the independent means / digital nomad residence permit, it's probably the easiest.

Officially, there's no issue at all with being a tourist, and having a company-owned Bulgarian car. To be clear, it's 100% legitimate. But, to me, it seems a bit unusual, and might raise eyebrows. And you have to keep extra paperwork to show the proof of ownership (company owns car, you own company, company exists/up to date). I would personally prefer to have a residence permit, in, say, Hungary, and have a car registered there in my own personal name. But it's a matter of personal preference.

There's also no issue with an EU company owning a vehicle and using that vehicle throughout Europe. The standard insurance here includes a Green Card which covers all EU countries. Probably includes Serbia and Turkey too, but best to check this when you buy the insurance (and/or specify extra non-EU countries). You need your personal driving license (maybe with an IDP?), and your vehicle must have both valid insurance, and a current annual inspection. Some countries also require vignettes (road tax type) while you're there. You also need the car's ownership/registration document. And, as the car is not owned by you personally, you should keep the company documents around so you could (if asked) prove the chain of ownership. It's probably easier to get the attorney to do some kind of notarized authorized driver document to keep with the registration.

In terms of where to buy, that's kinda wide open. There's a big one here cars.bg and there are loads of dealers. Many dealers import from Germany and Italy (and elsewhere) so you could buy there, then drive back here and transfer. I'm sure there are good car dealers in Bulgaria... but definitely there are dodgy ones! If you're an Ebay fan, you might find something good there. Both my cars came from UK Ebay, and it's pretty cheap as there are loads of vehicles listed (and you don't mind the RHD). You might find a good van / motorhome option on here, so that carrying a sink and bikes is easier. :-)

Thanks so much for the feedback!

unfortunately I don't think I can get the German permanent residency anymore. I haven't lived there in seven years. And I went from a freelancer visa to a student visa to an employment visa in those 5 years, so I doubt I can build off of that now.

ideally I would not stay on a tourist visa longer than I need to, but this idea of buying the car in Bulgaria seems like a pretty good and quick option. Like I mentioned earlier, I'm waiting for Spain to finalize their digital nomad visa, as that seems like my best option for that country. Italy might be an option, too. But I'm also looking at Croatia since they have a DN visa which you can get after arriving. I've looked into buying a car in Croatia but from what I've read they're quite expensive compared to other countries?

regarding all of the company stuff, I do have a company in my name in the US which I use for my freelance/client work. So having all the documents and everything shouldn't be an issue.

so I guess it the tentative plan would be to do the whole car thing in Bulgaria, then stay there for a while exploring the country. Then probably move around to neighboring countries to explore those places, minding any visa and Schengen rules, until I either find a place I might want to stay and/or decide to get a residence permit somewhere. I'd actually love to get one in Slovenia but they don't have a DN visa and the temporary residency permits don't seem applicable to me right now.

For the type of vehicle I like to drive a minivan or something similar, like a sprinter. They have a good disability and a lot of room, especially in the cabin. I'm 194cm haha so good headroom is always a bonus!

i did check out cars.bg in the past and it seemed to have some good options! If I'm not mistaken, I believe the lawyers that helped facilitate the process mention they have connections with some dealerships, so hopefully I could get a good recommendation to a seller.

Thanks again for the insights I really appreciate it!

@Nemecky

The Bulgarian company car option works while you are a tourist, and after you get residence somewhere. I'm not 100% sure, but you might even get away with leaving the car on BG plates, as once you're resident most countries would require you to re-register your car there (when it's in your personal name).

As you're looking at DN type options, go check out Hungary. It's EU, it's a fairly inexpensive country, and I think their DN option is a good one. If I recall correctly they call it a residence permit for "other purposes" (financially independent), or the "white card" for digital nomads.

https://www.atlys.com/country/hungary/the-hungary-digital-nomad-visa

Ok thanks! Yeah I figured I could keep Bulgarian plates until I decide to stay somewhere, at which point I'd probably need to nationalize/import it to that country. Or sell it and buy something else locally. I'd need to compare the costs of both options.

i will look into Hungary more! I've always wanted to visit, so maybe that's a good option

Also, I realized after I my last post that I was referring to my existing company in the states, and the car would be attached to my new company in Bulgaria 🤣🤦🏼‍♂️

@gwynj another option I was looking at is to just get a temporary residence permit in Bulgaria, either through the freelance or regular temporary residency permit. I'm not sure which one would be the easiest/best for me, probably the freelance visa. But nonetheless, what are your thoughts on driving a Bulgarian plated car through Turkey? I'd actually love to drive all the way to Israel but don't think I can drive through Syria, or it's probably not a wise move as an American.

@Nemecky

Residence permit in Bulgaria is not as easy as some of the others mentioned.

They insist you get your D visa first, before coming to Bulgaria and applying for a residence permit here. Usually in your home (or residence) country, unless you have a good reason for going elsewhere.

Freelance is one option for D visa and initial residence. But you need Bulgarian language proficiency for this one. Retiree and student are other common options, but probably not applicable to you.

As you mentioned a US company, that might qualify you (if you've had it more than 2 years, and you put a bit of business through it) on the basis of TRO (Trade Representative Office). This is quite a popular option.

I've driven my BG-plate in Turkey, no problem at all (using standard BG insurance, no extra countries specified). I don't think there's much controversy about hanging out in Turkey, and staying at some nice beach towns.

Syria, Iraq, Iran, Lebanon... that's a different story, and I wouldn't want to do it. And my guess is that the travel advisories from usa.state.gov would agree with me! Which means points south, including Israel, are gonna be out.

I'd suggest driving to Georgia and/or Armenia instead. I really liked Georgia and Tbilisi, and their residence is quite easy too.

Or grab a flight Turkey to Tel Aviv, I'm sure there are several options.

Also, I think there's a ferry from southern Turkey, to northern Cyprus (TRNC). Cyprus is lovely, so that might be a good trip. And while you're there, you can take a flight (from Larnaca, Republic of Cyprus) to Tel Aviv (I think it's an hour) for a few days.

@gwynj ah ok I see, I wasn't aware of some of those other requirements. Thanks for the insight. I actually have had my US business for just over two years, but it's basically set up for tax advantages as a freelancer, so the income isn't astronomical haha. But I'll do some more research on it, thanks.

Good suggestions on other ways to get to Israel! I do really want to see Georgia and Armenia, among other countries in the region. Haha this is my problem, I want to go everywhere at once! 

One drawback I considered to actually getting Bulgarian residency is that I believe you need some sort of housing contract. I see this as a common requirement in many European countries. If I do that, then it makes it harder to travel for two or three months at a time. But if I buy the vehicle as a tourist with the Bulgarian company formation, then I'm not locked into any rental agreements. I can still travel around to all of the different countries, as long as I have all the proper vehicle documentation,  insurance, etc,, and am making sure I'm following any local visa and Schengen rules.

So until I am confident on a place I want to “live” it may make more sense to wait on trying to get  residency anywhere and just be a “tourist” with a Bulgarian car. 🤔

Hi there,

Basically you do not need this company in order to buy a car in Bulgaria. The process requires a formal contract which is signed between you and the seller in front of a public notary. Afterwards you can proceed with issuing numbering plates, car registration at the Traffic Police office, car insurance, third party liability insurance, road vignette and municipal tax.

In my opinion first you need a car mechanic, to consult your choice of a car. All the rest follows.

As for the visa considerations, probably finding a good tax wise location should be a guiding point. In this respect Bulgaria is pretty nice option - 10 % corporate tax + 5 % divident tax. Social security taxes can be paid on a lower income.