LEGAL ADVICE

europropertyonline.com endeavours to provide  independent and competent legal advice concerning all aspects of property purchasing.

Entry to Bulgaria: Citizens of the European Union can come to Bulgaria without a visa and have the statute of short-term staying foreigners. It is necessary to register the address of the foreigner in the Local Police Department for the period of time he/she is staying in the territory of Bulgaria. If you are staying at a hotel the receptionist will do that for you and will give you a receipt which you should keep until you leave the country.

Obtaining Bulgarian residence: To obtain a permanent residence one must spend 5 years in Bulgaria under the long-term stay conditions. A long term stay permit is valid for 1 year and is issued each year. During each year of stay you are issued a Bulgarian Identity Card (the same ID document that each Bulgarian citizen holds). After 5 years under long-term permit one can apply for permanent residence.

To get the first year long-term permit one needs to present the following:

• A valid D-type Visa
• A proof of national insurance or social security in the country of residence (such document can be issued from your local national insurance office).
• Minimum 3000 Bulgarian leva (approx. 1550 EUROS or 1020 GBP) deposit in a personal bank account in Bulgaria.

More information about D Type visa for British citizens can be seen at www.bulgarianembassy.org.uk

Company set up

At present foreigners can own buildings but not land in Bulgaria. This law is under review and is expected to be abolished with Bulgaria's entry into the EU in 2007, but at present foreigners can only own land by registering a company in Bulgaria, which then acquires legal ownership of the land. Most often the company is set as a Limited Liability Company (Ltd).
We will prepare the necessary documentation and register a company in your name in Bulgaria. 5000 lv (approx. 1800 pounds) is required as founding capital for the registration of the company (deposited in your company's bank account), which can be withdrawn in full as soon as registration is completed. The whole process usually takes about 1 week.

Preliminary contract

The preliminary contract contains all of the agreed details and states the deposit paid. The deposit is normally 10% of the selling price. Our solicitor acts on your behalf and do all the checks regarding title deeds, permissions, licenses, debts on the title etc.

Notary act

This is the final stage when you will complete the purchase and become the new owner of the property. You must confirm before the Notary the agreement to buy the property. The state and municipal taxes must be paid and the title deed will be transferred into your name. If you are away you have to authorize someone to act on your behalf and sign the deed.

Notary fee

The transfer is, however, subject to notary and municipal fees. The notary fees are paid on the book value of the property at varying rates, with the maximum being BGN 3,500. In addition, 2% of the book value of the property is paid to the municipality in which the real property is situated upon completion.

Local taxes and rates

The owner of a building or a plot is obliged to pay a real property tax. The annual tax is equal to 0.15% of the book value of the property. Arable land is exempt from local taxes. In addition to the real property tax, owners also pay waste-collection fees.

Please contact us for more information.