Pre Brexit Residency Card Renewal

Oh, goodness! I hope the rest of the process is more straightforward!

Visiting immigration is definitely my least favourite thing about living in Bulgaria! I find it incredibly frustrating that each office or even person you see has their own interpretation of the rules and what needs to be notarized etc.

When I renewed my pre Brexit card they were happy with a print out from the NRA site showing I paid and was up to date with contributions, I checked the site and that service is gone, you need an electronic signature to access it now which I'll need to get at some point.

I didn't need to notarize proof of funds/business either, only rental agreement and landlord's declaration, everywhere is different it seems.

@cyberescue1

OK, it's bureaucracy, but nothing out of the ordinary. And it sounds like everybody was rather helpful, and you have a clear path to your PR. 10-15 minutes waiting is excellent from a bureaucracy perspective, I've sat in some immigration lines that were several hours long (Latin America especially).

Proof of funds, proof of health insurance and proof of address are the standard requirements for EU residence permits. And also for Article 50 (Brexit) residence permits for Brits who arrived in time. You didn't mention address, so maybe you got lucky, but I suspect your address is part of the funds declaration, and immigration will ask for your notary act.

Proof of funds is very easy if they're happy to accept a mere declaration, rather than any proof. :-) The form does not need to be translated. But it's a legal requirement for notaries that foreigners who are not fluent in Bulgarian have a registered translator present. This is for your protection, and applies to all documents that need to be witnessed and stamped by the notary.

Proof of health insurance is also very easy here as they will accept an EHIC (including a UK one, which you can still get for free) or an S1 or confirmation from NHIF (if you're already paying in). Yes, the EHIC application here is a separate process handled by a bank. And they issue it for only 1 year, not the 5 years we're used to in the UK. But this was an optional extra if you had your confirmation letter.

@PlovdivEd

Not my experience at all! The rules are pretty clear, and the immigration office appears to follow them. However, sometimes it's us, the applicants, who are a bit confused about exactly what is needed. :-) And, in general, immigration folks have been very helpful to me here, I've had FAR worse experiences elsewhere. I've had to do this process in lots of countries, and I can assure that Bulgaria is one of the easiest/quickest/cheapest!

I think all declarations (as they are sworn statements) need to be notarized. Swearing that you have money and won't ask Bulgaria for any is a declaration, and thus needs to notarized. Providing a bank statement from your bank showing you have lots of money is a proof, and doesn't need to be notarized. (But they might insist on a branch-stamped statement, rather than one printed from the internet.)

Yes, my proof of health insurance was my NHIF. I didn't go ask for a letter, I printed the standard status report that every doctor/hospital/EHIC-issuing bank checks. This shows the date, and that you are covered. This option (report 576) is still available on their website, without any login requirement, just using your 10-digit LNC and date of birth. (Same for making contributions.) However, the website address changed a few months ago.

https://portal.nra.bg/free-access-services

I just did it, and it showed the following message (which one can print):

Health insurance status as of 09.01.2025

Personal Identification Number/Personal Identification Number/Statistical Number: 100******

Date and time of printing: 09.01.2025 09:40:16

THE PERSON HAS UNINTERRUPTED HEALTH INSURANCE RIGHTS

Proof of address is either by rental agreement, or notary act. Your notary act has already been notarized, so they accept that. Rental agreements, as standard, have to be accompanied by a landlord's declaration. The rule is that one OR the other MUST be notarized, but it's NOT necessary to have both notarized. In other words, it's the landlord who must go to notary and confirm that you really do have a place to live. :-)

Thanks Gwyn, couldn't for the life of me find the NHIF portal after it moved, safely bookmarked!

The translator and I are meeting tomorrow at 10am, at the Notary Office again, after which, I shall have a chat with her about something else (wills).

- @cyberescue1

You don't need a notary or a translator to make a Bulgarian will - a holographic one, in English or any other language you might prefer, is perfectly acceptable.  It must be entirely handwritten, by the testator, and signed and dated; no witness is needed.

@janemulberry

Thank you Jane!

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@PlovdivEd

Went to the Notary today, with my translator. She is closely connected to a solicitor and knows all the rules, which is a bonus.  She told me they no longer accept banks statements as proof of income, as the EU's GDPR regulations do not allow them to see transactions in the statements.  Hence, the legal declaration, is now the way to do it.   Interestingly, I'd already filled the form yesterday, but they wanted a fresh one done as t the Notary, as they have to witness you getting it translated.  Thankfully, the Notary we were at, had the form to print out, so no need to return to the immigration office.

After the Notary, went for a coffee with my translator and discussed wills.  Another story!

@gwynj

Went to the Notary today, with my translator. She is closely connected to a solicitor and knows all the rules, which is a bonus.  She told me they no longer accept banks statements as proof of income, as the EU's GDPR regulations do not allow them to see transactions in the statements.  Hence, the legal declaration, is now the way to do it.   Interestingly, I'd already filled the form yesterday, but they wanted a fresh one done as t the Notary, as they have to witness you getting it translated.  Thankfully, the Notary we were at, had the form to print out, so no need to return to the immigration office.

After the Notary, went for a coffee with my translator and discussed wills.  Another story!

That's new, about the bank statement. I do my residence stuff at the main MVR office in Maria Luisa; the last renewal was at the back end of last year. I printed out a statement via internet banking, showing just my name, address and the account balance: as before, it was accepted without demur.

This being Bulgaria, I'd be a bit wary of using familiar UK terms like "solicitor" and "estate agent", which can give rise to a false sense of confidence in the seemingly-familiar. It's rare to find a lawyer here with the professionalism and attention to detail one would normally expect from a UK solicitor, and the various Bar Associations in BG are pretty hopeless when it comes to regulatory issues. Lawyers, and judges, who break the law act with impunity.

As for "estate agents", they simply don't exist here and there are no standards or regulations to control property brokers; calling it the Lawless Wild West is a simple statement of fact!  😁