Bulgaria’s Residence Thresholds in Euro: What BGN 1,000,000 Becomes
3 September 2026Private Clients Insights, Citizenship and Immigration, Citizenship by Investment
The draft Act amending and supplementing the Aliens in the Republic of Bulgaria Act, filed with the National Assembly on 28 July 2026 under reference 52-602-01-29, does more than propose a new physical presence requirement for permanent residence (which we cover in a separate article). It also carries out a piece of pure housekeeping: every monetary threshold in the Act that is currently expressed in Bulgarian leva is restated in euro.
This is arithmetic, not policy. Bulgaria adopted the euro as its currency on 1 January 2026, at the irrevocably fixed conversion rate set on accession: EUR 1 = BGN 1.95583. Sections 7 and 11 of the Bill simply convert each existing lev figure into euro at that rate. No qualifying amount for permanent residence, temporary residence or naturalisation changes in real terms. A foreigner who needed BGN 1,000,000 to qualify before now needs the exact euro equivalent, and nothing more.
Permanent residence – Article 25(1) ARBA
These are the thresholds that matter most for Golden Visa and residence-by-investment clients. Section 11 of the Bill amends Article 25(1) as follows:
| Ground | Current (BGN) | Proposed (EUR) |
| Item 6(a) — listed shares/bonds of a Bulgarian company | 2,000,000 lv | €1,022,583.76 |
| Item 6(c) — units in mutual funds / ETFs (opening threshold) | 1,000,000 lv | €511,291.88 |
| Item 6(c)(aa) — minimum net asset value of the mutual fund / ETF | 5,000,000 lv | €2,556,459.41 |
| Item 6(d) — units in alternative investment funds (opening threshold) | 1,000,000 lv | €511,291.88 |
| Item 6(d)(aa) — minimum net asset value of the AIF | 3,000,000 lv | €1,533,875.64 |
| Item 8 — investment via an increase in company capital | 6,000,000 lv | €3,067,751.29 |
| Item 16 — contribution to the capital of a Bulgarian company, with 10 jobs created for Bulgarian citizens | 500,000 lv | €255,645.94 |
So, in plain terms: the headline fund investment that qualifies a foreign national for the standard Bulgarian Golden Visa route – currently described as “BGN 1,000,000” becomes €511,291.88. The figure most people have been quoting informally as “around €512,000” now has an exact, statutory euro value.
Temporary residence – Article 24(1) ARBA
Section 7 of the Bill makes the equivalent conversions for the investment-linked grounds of temporary residence, the route typically used before a foreign national progresses to permanent residence:
| Ground | Current (BGN) | Proposed (EUR) |
| Item 6 | 100,000 lv | €51,129.19 |
| Item 19 | 600,000 lv | €306,775.13 |
| Item 20 | 250,000 lv | €127,822.97 |
Why the euro thresholds look irregular
The euro amounts do not round neatly because the conversion rate itself does not round neatly. EUR 1 = BGN 1.95583 was fixed by the European Council in July 2023 as part of Bulgaria’s accession to the euro area, and every lev-denominated figure in Bulgarian legislation is being restated by applying that rate and rounding to the nearest cent, in accordance with Council Regulation (EC) No 1103/97 on the rules for conversion to the euro. That is why BGN 1,000,000 becomes €511,291.88 rather than a round €510,000 or €511,000 – the awkward decimals are simply what the fixed rate produces.
What this does and does not change
- The substance of each investment route is unchanged. The qualifying assets, holding periods and eligibility criteria under Article 25(1) ARBA remain as they are. Only the unit of account changes.
- Payment and holding should now be structured in euro. Clients preparing an application, or maintaining an existing qualifying investment, no longer need to manage currency conversion risk between leva and euro — the investment is made, held and (where relevant) redeemed in the same currency the law now uses.
- This is separate from the presence requirement. The euro conversion is a currency housekeeping measure. The proposed six-month-and-one-day physical presence test for permanent residence, discussed in our companion article, is a substantive policy change and carries far greater significance for existing and prospective RBI clients.
- It is still a Bill. Like the rest of the draft Act, Sections 7 and 11 have not been adopted. They must clear committee, first reading, the amendment period and second reading before they take effect. We do not expect this part of the Bill to attract significant opposition, since it changes no substantive right — but until it is promulgated in the State Gazette, the leva figures remain the ones written into law.
How we can help
New Balkans Law Office advises investors on residence by investment in Bulgaria, including structuring qualifying investments in mutual funds, ETFs, alternative investment funds and Bulgarian government securities. If you are planning an application and want to understand exactly what a given euro figure requires, or how to structure an existing lev-denominated investment ahead of the currency changeover, please write to us at cbi@newbalkanslawoffice.com or use our contact form.