Buying a house in Bulgaria

Paul, yes, there are plenty of detached village houses with a nice bit of land. Though getting more than an acre with a house will cost a lot more, in some areas 1/2 acre blocks are usual. The prices are very low compared to the UK, renovation is still cheaper than the UK, too, but not as cheap as it was.

The first thing to think about, IMO, is how you will get legal residency there. Post-Brexit, and with Bulgaria tightening up residency rules over the past year to qualify for Schengen, it's not as easy as it once was. Brits can stay 90 days per 180, but getting the D visa, the first step to legal permanent residency, is trickier. Also, consider what income you have to will live on. It's not easy for a foreigner to get a work permit, either. Some property sellers make it sound as if it's very easy to just pack up and move, and of course it is easy to simply overstay one's visa. But it's also possible to get caught as an illegal immigrant and get booted out of the country.

So it's not impossible to move, but the legalities are important to consider. We're still in the UK, waiting to legally qualify to move to our Bulgarian house.

Hi Jane

Thanks for your reply sounds tricky then but not impossible is it possible to still live in our own house here in the UK but still apply for residency then sell up here and buy a house in Bulgaria

Thx

Paul

You do need to show you have somewhere to live in Bulgaria as part of the residency application, either a rental contract or the legal paperwork showing ownership of a house there. But provided you can show some acceptable proof you have somewhere to live in Bulgaria, you don't have to own a house before you apply.

It's a good idea to check the various options for getting the D visa and also the paperwork required. This is a helpful site giving more information about that: https://visaforbulgaria.com/bulgarian-d-visa . It's not an "official" site, she's an immigration lawyer based in London. But the information there is up to date and reliable.

@walkerp2

Good info from @janemulberry as always.

Just to add, you don't have to sell your UK property in order to apply for Bulgarian residence. And, you can buy a Bulgarian property even as a tourist, but you'd be limited to a maximum of 90 days in any 180 days. It's perfectly plausible to find a nice Bulgarian property and use it as a holiday property until you retire or otherwise qualify for residence here.

Hello everyone,

Welcome @Paul

Please note that this new thread has been created on the Bulgaria forum for better visibility.

All the best

Bhavna

@walkerp2

We (and most of our near neighbours) have gardens of around 1,000 m2 (1/4 acre). Even this is quite a lot of maintenance, I find. You can also do a surprising amount with such a garden if you fancy a bit of the Good Life. My immediate neighbours have packed theirs with all kinds of fruit, veggies and nuts. It's their main hobby (as in pretty much every day, year round), and a big source of fresh produce. They've also found space for small animals (rabbits, hens, ducks) for food, as well as their cats/dogs.

Separately, many (most?) traditional Bulgarian village houses have a high wall surrounding the property. This wasn't even on my list of wants, and I've certainly never had such a property before. But now I see the appeal. It makes your home very private, and you can, typically, do whatever you want with your house and garden without anyone bothering you. (And without anybody knowing what kind of goodies are hidden behind your walls.) I find it very relaxing.

Thanks Jane something to think about I can apply then take my time researching the process then

Thanks

Paul

Paul, once the D visa is granted, you do need to use it. Post Brexit, Brits applying for a long-stay visa come under the same rules non-EU citizens have always had to comply with, so unfortunately there's a lot of misinformation floating around on the internet about how easy it is for Brits to move there based on people's pre-Brexit experiences.

Once given a D visa and then applying for the initial year's residency, my understanding is that it's use it or lose it. Well, apart from some categories like the golden visas for property or investment which have no residency requirements but needs a property purchase of at least 600,000 BGN or an investment of at least 1,000,000 BGN. Brits can legally spend 90 days per 180 in Bulgaria without a long stay visa, but once we get the long stay visa, we have to spend at least 90 days per 180 there, until we get permanent residency which takes 5 years to achieve. So though getting the visa and applying for that first year's residency doesn't bind you to moving to Bg, it's probably a waste of effort and money to apply for it until you feel sure you want to spend at least half your time there.

Obviously there's no need to sell your UK house at any stage in the process unless you want to, but as Gwyn suggested, taking time to look around and maybe even buying somewhere as a holiday home (and to give you an address to use when applying for the D visa) could be an option in the meantime.

You do need to suss out what category of D visa might work for you, what you'll do there for finances, and whether you're ready to commit to spending more time in Bulgaria. For us, like quite a few members here, as the retirement D-visa is the easiest category for us to use, we bought a house, and now we're waiting till we get a pension and can apply to move there. Some of the other categories might be possible but are extremely complex to apply for.  If you have a UK company registered with Companies House or know someone who does and is willing to do a pile of paperwork for you, that's probably next easiest, but the rules on that are changing.