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@JuilaOui

In my experience in Plovdiv, yes it needs to be notarized along with the declaration from your landlord giving permission for you to live there - you can skip that if your landlord comes to the immigration office with when you apply but I guess that wouldn't apply in your case as they are overseas.

Because Bulgarian notaries will not accept signatures sent from abroad, you have three primary ways to resolve this:

1. Power of Attorney (PoA): Your landlord can draft and notarize a Power of Attorney in their current country. They must state they are giving a local representative or you the right to sign address declarations and lease agreements on their behalf. This PoA usually needs an Apostille and must be legally translated into Bulgarian.

1. Use a Legal Service or Relocation Agency: Many expats and EU citizens use local law firms or relocation agents to handle the accommodation proof. Firms can coordinate with a cooperating local landlord, prepare the rental agreements, and handle the notarized landlord declarations (the Article 20a declaration) so you have your address proof ready on day one.

1. Draft a Notarized Landlord Declaration via Consulate: If your landlord is near a Bulgarian embassy or consulate abroad, they might be able to sign a declaration of consent in person in front of a consular officer, though this varies in processing time.

@JuilaOui A classic trap. Hope they can make a Power of Attorney.

@PlovdivEd

Thank you for your reply. I hope my landlord can do it from the USA otherwise I am stuck with my registration file.

No, a rental agreement doesn't have to be notarised - people who are legally capable adults can make a legally binding contract with no notarisation (think phone contracts聽 for example). Counter-intuitively, a tenant actually has less protection if their tenancy agreement is notarised.

The Migration Office will usually decline to accept a normal un-notarised rental agreement, purely for their own convenience and not because it's not legally valid. Landlords are perfectly within their rights not to sign a notarised Declaration of Consent for ID registration; a foreign tenant's only recourse is to give notice and find a landlord who will. It pays to always ask the question first rather than just assume that they'll agree.

There are others factors that affect notarised and un-notarised rental contracts but that's another, more complex, area of BG law.

My understanding from other posts on the forum about residency paperwork is that immigration lawyers may be able to assist with an address to use for registration. There will be a fee, of course, but it may be less hassle than trying to get the paperwork from your landlord.

@JuilaOui

Sounds like a pain! Typically, you need a document to be NOTARIZED by your landlord. It can be EITHER the rental contract AND/OR the Landlord Declaration. If he's in the USA, my guess is that it's easiest if he does it at the Bulgarian Embassy (Washington DC, I think). An alternative, as mentioned, is for him to do a POA (for someone in Bulgaria to sign), but a POA is probably just as much (or more) aggravation for him as signing the actual document that you need. You can ask him, but I'd guess he's not super motivated. In which case, just buy a place (if you plan to stay long term) and use the deed/Notary Act... or rent another place from someone you know is willing/able to give you the necessary documents. Finally, you can pay an attorney to get your EU Citizen Registration done, but make sure he can include the necessary rental documents as part of the deal (I'd guess a grand or so and pretty easy/quick - PM me if you want a name/contact details).

You need to be aware that under the Bulgarian Penal Code, Article 313, providing false information/documentation to a State Authority (eg the Migration Authority) is punishable by 3 years in prison and/or a hefty fine.聽 It's also extremely likely to lead to the cancellation of your visa/residence permit and possibly a ban from all Schengen countries (if you're a non-EU citizen). Any real lawyer who provides or facilitates such false information is also liable to be struck off and imprisoned; I'd assume that they're smart enough to leave themselves plenty of plausible deniability and no paper trail - their (non)clients will find themselves carrying the can on their own..

@gwynj

Ok thank you. I just thought things would be much easier for a European citizen moving to another EU country

Also, do you know about the proper format for the proof of funds ? Can it be from an EU bank account ?

Thank you.

Julia

@sogy

Yes indeed. That's the way I feel right now. I don't know how long this is going to take..... In the meantime, I cannot get into any long term contracts with other companies.

@sogy In the meantime, I cannot get into any long term contracts with other companies. - @JuilaOui

Why not? In order to notarise a tenancy agreement, a notary requires proof of your identity and will ask you to declare your address. He/she has no way of verifyng, and doesn't care, if you give an address in your home country and don't mention that you're already living here. Once you have the tenancy agreement notarised then that becomes your Bulgarian address for immigration/residency purposes.

Presumably whatever agreement you currently have specifies a notice period for either side, usually one month (and one month's rent as a security deposit). You can simply give a month's notice and then leave, or delay paying the rent and tell the landlord to keep the deposit in lieu of that month's rent. They may not be too happy but it's not worth wasting money suing you for a month's rent, especially when you'd be due your deposit back anyway..

@JimJ

Even if I have already signed a one year lease ?

The companies want to see some 'Bulgarian documents 'that I don't have except that one year lease without any notarized declaration from the owner. She may do it but since she is abroad, it can take a long time. Same for the banks, they asked me my pin# from Bulgaria. The Migration d茅partement wants to see some proof of sufficient funds. The sad part is that the apartment is great in a good neighborhood, not sure how long it can take to find another one and preferably with the landlord in town for faster registration.

@JuilaOui

Everything depends on your lease agreement - the "standard" terms are: one year contract, renewable; one (sometimes two) months "security deposit"; one month's notice of termination from either side for any/no reason.

Have a good look at what your contract contains - whatever's in there is what you agreed to when you signed it... 馃槉

@JuilaOui

As I mentioned before, not all landlords are agreeable to tenants being registered at their properties, so even if they live in BG it may not help. You need to let them know that this is a requirement before you sign a lease..

@JuilaOui

You are right, it's MUCH easier for EU citizens. You're entitled to live and work in Bulgaria by virtue of your passport, so the EU Citizen Registration step is just a formality that you SHOULD do, if you wish stay longer than 90 days. If you are one of the idle rich and just hanging out on a Black Sea beach, then I doubt there's much impact if you didn't bother to do this step. However, it's what makes you a legal resident so you can have a tax number (if you want to work and pay taxes) and you can join NHIF (so you can have proper public health cover, rather than relying on your French EHIC).

Having said that, the requirements include a proof of address, hence the issue with something (the rental contract or the landlord declaration) being notarized. The proof of funds seems more flexible, I'd guess they'd accept a Bulgarian or foreign bank account statement with a few thousand euros. I gave them a copy of my bank card, along with a notarized declaration that I'd pay all my expenses from my own pocket, without any recourse to the Bulgarian state. The third requirement is proof of health insurance. They will accept your French EHIC, I think, or you can get a very inexpensive local policy (health insurance for foreigners in Bulgaria) for about 100 euros. Plus it sounds like you're working, so if you have an employment contract from a Sofia company that should help a lot, and they might not need all the other stuff (e.g. it's your proof of financial means). IF you have an employment contract, it might be worth spending the morning at immigration anyway, just to see if they'll accept your non-notarized rental contract (get an email from your landlord to support you, perhaps}.

In terms of changing your situation, I don't see any huge problems. (a) You can legally work for any employer by virtue of your EU passport, so you can change your job if you wish/need to, (b) most "leases" are rental agreements that are not binding on the whole term (whatever it is), unlike in many other countries. If you leave early, your potential loss is your deposit (and the agent commission if you found the rental via one). As long as you only paid 1 month deposit, and not 6 or 12, it's usually no big deal. (c) If it's a great apartment and you don't want to leave it, and you ask your landlord and he can't/won't do a notarized doc for you... then get yourself an ADDITIONAL rental contract from someone who will give you the necessary docs. You can easily get a rental online from a big agent like Bulgarian Properties who still have stuff starting at 250 euros per month. So one month deposit, one month commission, and a couple of months rent is still a grand or so. Whereas bailing on your fancy Sofia apartment will likely cost more (I'd guess it's more like 600-800 euros pm) when you lose your deposit and commission... and you still need somewhere to live in Sofia where you're working.

To be clear, such a cheap pad will be in the middle of nowhere, or maybe Bansko, say, so the only issue is you need to go to immigration office nearest your new home, not Sofia. You can get a contract done in a few days... and most immigration departments will issue your EU citizen registration certificate/residence permit within 2 days... and once you have your card, you can cancel this extra rental contract. Also, I doubt It even has to to be a rental contract. If you have a friend in Sofia who owns (or rents long term) a property, it's perfectly plausible that they allow you to stay in the spare room for little or no rent until you get settled in Bulgaria. It just has to be a proper written document between the two of you, with the landlord declaration, and getting them notarized.

Your problem is an annoying minor inconvenience, rather than a massive problem, so I don't see any reason to stress about it unduly. And, to be fair, it's kinda your own fault for entering into a one year lease without asking about a notarized rental contract beforehand (which is a pretty standard requirement for immigration folks around the world). :-) Good luck!

They might accept a French EHIC - but they shouldn't as it's only for emergency use. However, even if they do accept it to issue a residence permit it isn't valid for long term residence and you'll need to either register with NHIF (if you're eligible to) or buy an insurance policy that meets the criteria.聽 You can also, if applicable, transfer your French health rights to Bulgaria or, if you're a pensioner, you can obtain an S1 from France (or another country if you are entitled to), which will enable you to join NHIF with full coverage.

@JimJ

Many EU countries, including Bulgaria, routinely accept a foreign EHIC as proof of health insurance. Even though, as you say, it's officially only for emergencies. In any case, the local policy here in Bulgaria is a very cheap policy that also has very limited cover (accident/emergency/repatriation)... not like a grand-ish in Spain where they laugh at your foreign EHIC and insist on a proper private health insurance policy with no exclusions and zero deductible. :-)

@gwynj

Indeed - things here in BG are pretty lax in comparison with most other EU countries, especially Greece where there seems to be a hidden agenda to keep out as many TCNs as possible, which makes life rather difficult for the latter-day Shirley Valentines of this world...馃榿

@JimJ

Thank you for your reply.