Looking for recommednations on D Visa Options

Welcome to our forum.

And congratulations for your choise of Bulgaria.

First of all, I think you mix the terms. Permanent means uninterrupted residence permit, but for people who are not with a bulgarian origin the single option is with huge investments.

Probably you are asking for "long term" residence permit,  which is annually renewable.

There are a lot of options for non- EU citizens such as marriage, single residence and work permit, Blue card permit, real estate investment and so on.

When you don't have the time and the will to study you can pass up this option.

So, the most used option nowadays for expats in Bulgaria is TRO. This is the best way to get residence permit and to build the fundamental parts of your business.  You need to do something in Bulgaria, right. There is such option for foreigners just to stay in another country and do nothing.

So that's why registration of a foreign business here is the best option for young entrepreneurs.

TRO can be used for you residence permit and research activities, but not commercial activities.

After getting your ID card you can easily establish your own company.

You can aske me a lot of different questions regarding that matter. I have a lot of experience and I will be hapoy to help you with your relocation in Bulgaria.

@Eddiey

Like @Vasilev, I also give Bulgaria "two thumbs up". :-)

He is an experienced immigration attorney and a long-term member here, who has helped many folks get through immigration formalities.

If you just want to check it out, you can stay visa-free (with UK passport) for 90 days in 180. But to stay longer, or study, you will need to get your residence permit.

For Brits (and all non-EU citizens) the process is D visa application in your local Bulgarian Embassy (London, probably)... followed by a residence application here in Bulgaria.

The commonest options for qualifying for D visa are pensioner (won't apply to you), or student (could be appropriate if you want to do a master's degree), or TRO (which might be an option if your parents' business is a UK limited company, more than 2 years old).

The TRO is a bit bureaucratic, with lots of paperwork, and an immigration attorney would definitely make it easier. But it's not cheap. Approximately, I'd guess around 1,000 euros for the first step, which is to get the TRO registered (based on your existing foreign company). Then maybe 500 euros or so to assist with preparing the D visa application paperwork. And maybe another 1,000 euros to then go to immigration with you in Bulgaria for your official biometric residence card. Maybe there's a "package" price, if you ask nicely. :-)

You need to check carefully exactly which documents can be accepted as is (e.g. your passport and passport copy) and which need legalisation/translation, because it's a costly step. Your Swansea degree certificate with "wet stamp" is your original. "Legalisation" is an official step for using a document abroad, which is done at the UK Legalisation Office (in London). Translation normally has to be done by a Bulgarian official translator (either here in Bulgaria, or, I think, at the Bulgarian Embassy).

https://www.gov.uk/get-document-legalised

My guess is that your main task is to get a Bulgarian university to accept you, and this is probably easy if you have a bachelor's degree, speak English, and have 4 grand for your fees. :-) There aren't very many options for degrees in English, so I don't think I'd worry too much whether it's a great uni. It's just a year's vacation in sunny Bulgaria. :-) Your university should have some guidance for applying for your D visa, once you have your official offer letter. There are loads of Brits studying near me at the Plovdiv Medical University, so it's nothing unusual. I don't know NBU, but they're legit and accredited, that's the main thing. I've heard that American University in Bulgaria (AUBG) is good, and has an EMBA (16k, which is a lot more than 4k, but not bad for an MBA). University of Economics, Varna has quite a few graduate options too, so worth a look.

https://www.linkedin.com/school/new-bulgarian-university/

https://www.aubg.edu/academics/executive-mba/

https://www.ue-varna.bg/en/p/8590/admission//master/master-programmes

@Vasilev Thank you for the reply, Sorry for the miscommunciation, you have described what I am after.  I'm leaning towards the study option but possibly opening a business when I'm there (if its possible on student visa  d?) based around my parents UK business in consultancy.  Obviously the tax benefits are relevant but not a huge contritbuting factor.  I'll be in touch to discuss what you recommend. 

@gwynj Yeh sounds like its a bit more of investment in my future and a holiday like you said. 

I'll take a look at that MBA definetly an option!  Thank you for your advice and I'll keep you posted how it turns out!

Thank for the clarification.

Starting and developing a business is not connected with the residence permit. The permit will give you more advantage with the communication with the banks.