Moving to Bulgaria
In Bulgaria, the median gross salary is €705 a month (2022) and a single worker on the average wage keeps 77.6% of gross pay after income tax and employee contributions (2025).
Bulgaria had GDP per capita of US$20,328 in 2025, while national unemployment was 3.5%.
Can I move to Bulgaria?
Across 198 passports, 93 passports enter visa-free and 105 passports need a visa for Bulgaria. Check your passport below.
- Visa-free
- 93
- Visa required
- 105
Choose citizenship and purpose to see the relevant entry steps.
Entry.
Living & working.
Official requirements [64] · Visitor-entry rules
Residence rules and exceptions
| Citizenship / situation | Starting point |
|---|---|
| EU / EEA citizenship | Free movement; longer residence has conditions.[63] |
| Swiss citizenship | Separate Swiss arrangements, including residence documentation for longer stays.[63] |
| Other citizenship | Check work, study or family requirements.[64] |
| Existing status or family rights | A passport alone cannot establish your eligibility. Check the relevant authority’s guidance. |
These are national starting points, not an eligibility decision. Long-stay residence, work authorisation and in-country application rules differ by route; a visa-free visit never settles them. Check the route that matches your purpose and circumstances with the responsible authority.
Visa and entry rules
Sources checked through 6 Oct 2026.
Work and income
What is the unemployment rate in Bulgaria?
The national unemployment rate was 3.5 % in 2025. Source: Eurostat — Unemployment by sex and age — annual data (une_rt_a)20
This is the Eurostat labour-force survey series used as the canonical national answer. Other published definitions exist and are shown in the table below.
What is the median gross salary in Bulgaria?
The median gross salary was 705 EUR/month in 2022.
Half of employees earn less than this. Mean gross and national-accounts averages use different definitions and are shown in the table below.
What is the minimum wage in Bulgaria?
The statutory minimum wage is 3.32 EUR/hour, gross (as of 2025). Source: OECD37
National statutory floor, gross, before tax and social contributions.
| Metric | Value | Period | Source |
|---|---|---|---|
| Median gross salary, monthly | 705 EUR/month | 31 Dec 2022 | Eurostat (Structure of Earnings Survey, earn_ses_monthly)21Official · national figure |
| National unemployment rate | 3.5 % | 31 Dec 2025 | Eurostat — Unemployment by sex and age — annual data (une_rt_a)20Official · national figure |
| Minimum gross hourly wage | 3.32 EUR/hour | 31 Dec 2025 | OECD37Official · national figure |
Public employment service in Bulgaria
Official job-search, registration, counselling and training routes. Private recruitment agencies are not included.
Employment Agency — Public employment service
A national service does not prove that an office exists in every city. City pages show an office only after an exact address is linked to that city. Sources checked through 10 Aug 2026.
Taxes in Bulgaria
National rates and comparable published scenarios. Personal tax depends on income, household and residence circumstances.
What does an average earner take home in Bulgaria?
A single person on an average wage keeps about 13,017 EUR/year of about 16,774 EUR/year gross per year — 77.6% of pay.
Standardized Eurostat EARN_NT_NET (standardized scenario): single person, no children, earning the average wage. The same scenario is published for every covered country, so take-home shares compare directly.
| Component | Amount / year |
|---|---|
| Net wage earnings, kept | 13,017 |
| Employee social contributions | −2,312 |
| Income taxes | −1,446 |
| Gross wage earnings | 16,774 |
- Gross-to-net pay for a sample household: single person no children — 16,774 gross → 13,017 net a year (2025, EUR) · Annual net earnings (EARN_NT_NET), single person without children at 100% of average earnings
Benefits newcomers may qualify for in Bulgaria
Public schemes where an official source defines an eligible migration or residence status. Amounts and conditions are kept in their native terms.
| Programme | Published amount | Source and application |
|---|---|---|
Месечните помощи за отглеждане на дете до завършване на средно образование — Family and child support | Amount set per household by formula / Monthly | |
Eligibility and amount detailsThe current ASP 2026 table gives the monthly Article 7 child allowance as BGN 50 / EUR 25.57 for one child, BGN 110 / EUR 56.25 for two children, BGN 165 / EUR 84.37 for three children, BGN 175 / EUR 89.48 for four children and BGN 75 / EUR 38.35 for a twin child. The source states the 2026 income thresholds and that the published rates are unchanged; both the BGN and EUR values are retained as stated, without conversion. The official Family Allowances Act PDF, Article 3(5), states: ‘pregnant women - foreign citizens and families of foreign nationals residing permanently and raising their children in this country, if receipt of such allowances is envisaged in another law or international agreement to which the Republic of Bulgaria is party.’ National Family Permanently Residing In Bulgaria Raising Children Under Applicable Law Or Treaty; it retains the source-defined permanent-residence, child-raising and legal-or-international-agreement conditions and does not generalise to every foreign resident or every child benefit. | ||
Целева помощ за отопление за отоплителен сезон 2026/2027 г. — Housing support | 64.39 EUR / Monthly | |
Eligibility and amount detailsThe current ASP heating page states EUR 64.39 per month for five months, EUR 321.95 for the full 2026/2027 heating season, from 1 November 2026 through 31 March 2027. The official ASP page ‘Помощи за чужденци’, section ‘КАТЕГОРИИ ЛИЦА’, states: ‘Трябва да имате предоставен статут на убежище, бежанец, хуманитарен статут, временна закрила, разрешение за дългосрочно или постоянно пребиваване в Република България.’ This source-defined list is mapped only to foreign National With Asylum Status In Bulgaria Entitled To Social Assistance, refugee Status Holder In Bulgaria Entitled To Social Assistance, humanitarian Status Holder In Bulgaria Entitled To Social Assistance, temporary Protection Holder In Bulgaria Entitled To Social Assistance and long Term Or Permanent Residence Permit Holder In Bulgaria Entitled To Social Assistance. The current ASP heating page then defines the targeted heating-assistance conditions and route; this row does not generalise to other foreign residents or to every housing benefit. | ||
Парично обезщетение за безработица — Unemployment support | Percentage-based / Daily | |
Eligibility and amount detailsFormula: the daily cash unemployment benefit is 60% of the average daily remuneration or social-security income for the last 24 calendar months before termination of insurance, bounded by the annual statutory minimum and maximum daily amounts; the monthly amount is the daily rate multiplied by the month's working days. Cross-border worker with a Bulgarian unemployment-insurance record and an insurance period under another country's law counted under an international treaty or European social-security coordination regulations. The current NSSI wording is: ‘зачетено за осигурителен стаж по законодателството на друга държава на основание на международен договор, по който Република България е страна или на европейските регламенти за координация на системите за социална сигурност’. The row still requires the NSSI conditions of at least 12 months of unemployment-fund contributions in the last 18 months, registration as unemployed with the Employment Agency, no disqualifying pension and no compulsory-insured work; it does not generalise to every foreign resident. | ||
Помощи за чужденци — Minimum-income support | Amount set per household by formula / Monthly | |
Eligibility and amount detailsThe current Bulgarian Social Assistance Agency 2026 update sets the poverty line at EUR 390.63 and the basis used to determine entitlement to monthly social assistance at 30% of the poverty line, EUR 117.19; the exact monthly payment is a differential amount under the applicable social-assistance rules. The same page gives a maximum one-time assistance of EUR 1,171.89 for incident vital needs. The current Bulgarian Social Assistance Agency page ‘Помощи за чужденци’ requires a valid Bulgarian-issued status document and states the exact eligible categories in the section ‘КАТЕГОРИИ ЛИЦА’: ‘Трябва да имате предоставен статут на убежище, бежанец, хуманитарен статут, временна закрила, разрешение за дългосрочно или постоянно пребиваване в Република България.’ National With Asylum Status In Bulgaria Entitled To Social Assistance, refugee Status Holder In Bulgaria Entitled To Social Assistance, humanitarian Status Holder In Bulgaria Entitled To Social Assistance, temporary Protection Holder In Bulgaria Entitled To Social Assistance and long Term Or Permanent Residence Permit Holder In Bulgaria Entitled To Social Assistance. The same page lists monthly social assistance and heating assistance, subject to the source-defined income, address, work-registration and other conditions; it does not generalise to every foreign resident. | ||
Registration and reception center (RRC) Sofia — Arrival and reception support | In-kind support | |
Eligibility and amount detailsThe current State Agency for Refugees page publishes an in-kind reception package: temporary accommodation in Registration and Reception Centres, food, social assistance, medical assistance and psychological assistance for the foreigners accommodated in the centres. The retained official page does not publish one current national fixed BGN cash rate for this package; no fixed amount is asserted. The current State Agency for Refugees at the Council of Ministers page for the Registration and Reception Centre Sofia states that its territorial units organize the reception and temporary accommodation of ‘aliens who have applied for international protection’ and provide food, social, medical and psychological assistance to ‘the foreigners accommodated in the centers’. Protection Applicant Accommodated In Bulgaria Registration Reception Center; it does not generalize the reception package to ordinary foreign residents or to people outside the source-defined centre and application context. | ||
ImmigrationDB shows published rules; it does not decide personal eligibility. Confirm your status, contribution record and household circumstances with the responsible authority before applying. Sources checked through 12 Aug 2026.
Can migrants receive medical care in Bulgaria?
Yes — migrants can receive medical care in Bulgaria when the official insurance or residence conditions are met.
Language courses and integration in Bulgaria
Government programmes, public integration services and exact provider records. The section expands only from fields present in the source; missing prices, refunds or contacts are not replaced with estimates.
Free Bulgarian language courses for people displaced from Ukraine — State Language Course
Government of Bulgaria / Bulgaria for Ukraine
For people displaced from Ukraine, adults, children.
Living and moving context for Bulgaria
Average gross salary was €969 per month in 2024, while national median net income was €480 per month. Life expectancy was 75.8 years in 2024, with 4.328 doctors per 1,000 people in 2022. In 2026, the top income-tax rate and corporate tax rate were each 10%, while standard VAT was 20%. Employee social contributions were 13.4% and employer contributions were 18.5%.
Bulgaria cities by population
The largest published cities appear first. Population is taken from the reusable official city layer; hub labels come from the existing city taxonomy.
All published cities in Bulgaria (44)
44 of 44 shownSearch all cities
Reports with this country
Accepted report pages with a row for this country.
What different occupation groups earn in Bulgaria
Mean gross monthly earnings by ISCO-08 major group, from the Eurostat Structure of Earnings Survey 2022 (employees in enterprises with 10–49 employees).
| Occupation group | Earnings | Period |
|---|---|---|
| Managers | ≈ 1,950 EUR/month (gross) | 2022 |
| Professionals | ≈ 1,187 EUR/month (gross) | 2022 |
| Technicians and associate professionals | ≈ 862 EUR/month (gross) | 2022 |
| Clerical support workers | ≈ 625 EUR/month (gross) | 2022 |
| Service and sales workers | ≈ 489 EUR/month (gross) | 2022 |
Source: Eurostat (Structure of Earnings Survey 2022 (earn_ses22_25)) · observed 2022 · checked 2026-07-30.
Method and sources for these figures
Mean gross monthly earnings in EUR from the Eurostat Structure of Earnings Survey 2022 (earn_ses22_25); employees in enterprises with 10–49 employees; ISCO-08 major groups.
Eurostat — Structure of Earnings Survey 2022 (earn_ses22_25)
An occupation major group (ISCO or national equivalent) is not a job title: each figure is the average across all occupations in the group, so it is never a salary "for" one profession. Rows from different surveys, periods or statistics are shown as separate rows and are never merged or ranked against each other.
Profession pages for Bulgaria: Nurse · Physician · Teacher · Engineer · Architect · Software developer · Accountant · Childcare worker.
Bulgaria facts
Current source-backed observations, grouped the way the city pages are, with geographic scope and observation periods.
Population and profile
How many people live in Bulgaria?
The published population was 6,441,421 people in 2024. Source: World Bank49
National, resident population scope. Foreign-resident and migration-background figures are separate metrics in the table below.
How many foreign residents live in Bulgaria?
The foreign-resident population was 147,419 people in 2025. Source: Eurostat13
Residents without Bulgaria citizenship. The migration-background population is a broader measure and appears in the table below.
Legal, tax and other context
| Metric | Value | Period | Source |
|---|---|---|---|
| Rent deposit can be paid in instalments | 0 | 8 Oct 2026 | Закон за задълженията и договорите (Obligations and Contracts Act)59Official · national figure |
| Public healthcare access for foreign residents | Conditional | 3 Aug 2026 | National Health Insurance Fund (NHIF), Health Insurance Act (Закон за здравното осигуряване)36Official · national figure |
| Area | 110,997 km² | 31 Dec 2023 | World Bank50Official · national figure |
| Gross-to-net pay for a sample household | single person no children — 16,774 gross → 13,017 net a year (2025, EUR) | 31 Dec 2025 | Annual net earnings (EARN_NT_NET), single person without children at 100% of average earnings1Official · country household scenario |
| Population by year | 6,445,481 people (2024) | 1 Jan 2024 | Population on 1 January by age and sex (DEMO_PJAN)46Official · country annual series |
| Doctors per 1,000 residents | 4.33 per 1,000 | 31 Dec 2022 | World Bank indicator SH.MED.PHYS.ZS53Official · national figure |
| Household electricity price | 0.136 EUR/kWh | 31 Dec 2025 | Eurostat14Official · national figure |
| Employer social contribution rate | 18.5 % | 13 Jun 2026 | НАП — Национална агенция за приходите60Official · national |
| People employed in agriculture, forestry and fishing | 488,910 people | 2024 | ec.europa.eu9Official · national figure |
| People employed in mining and quarrying | 19,580 people | 2024 | ec.europa.eu9Official · national figure |
| People employed in manufacturing | 562,920 people | 2024 | ec.europa.eu9Official · national figure |
| People employed in electricity, gas, steam and air conditioning | 29,710 people | 2024 | ec.europa.eu9Official · national figure |
| People employed in water supply, sewerage and waste management | 40,070 people | 2024 | ec.europa.eu9Official · national figure |
| People employed in construction | 203,590 people | 2024 | ec.europa.eu9Official · national figure |
| People employed in wholesale and retail trade; motor vehicle and motorcycle repair | 541,280 people | 2024 | ec.europa.eu9Official · national figure |
| People employed in transportation and storage | 210,210 people | 2024 | ec.europa.eu9Official · national figure |
| People employed in accommodation and food services | 154,310 people | 2024 | ec.europa.eu9Official · national figure |
| People employed in information and communication | 146,440 people | 2024 | ec.europa.eu9Official · national figure |
| People employed in finance and insurance | 70,370 people | 2024 | ec.europa.eu9Official · national figure |
| People employed in real estate | 28,380 people | 2024 | ec.europa.eu9Official · national figure |
| People employed in professional, scientific and technical services | 131,870 people | 2024 | ec.europa.eu9Official · national figure |
| People employed in administrative and support services | 132,390 people | 2024 | ec.europa.eu9Official · national figure |
| People employed in public administration, defence and compulsory social security | 217,770 people | 2024 | ec.europa.eu9Official · national figure |
| People employed in education | 183,240 people | 2024 | ec.europa.eu9Official · national figure |
School for children who move here. School is compulsory from age 7 to 16, and public school is free. Newly arrived pupils get support in the school language: Free Bulgarian-language training for migrant children (school-based intensive language preparation). How to enrol a child (mon.gov.bg).
Sources: eurydice.eacea.ec.europa.eu · 2025–2026.
Typical city (median): about 9.3%
Unemployment rate (%)
Settling-in index
How the conditions a newcomer meets in Bulgaria compare with the other 35 scored destinations: integration policy, getting by in English, an established foreign community and language courses. Every point comes from the component table below.
Below it on integration policy, getting by in English and the size of the foreign community; about the median on language courses.
| Component | Reading | Score (0–100) | Weight | Adds | Source |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Integration policy (MIPEX) | 48 of 100 | 48 | 35 | 16.8 | MIPEX 2020 |
| Getting by in English (EF EPI) | 594 EF EPI points | 72 | 25 | 18 | EF EPI 2025 |
| An established foreign community | 2.3% of residents | 9 | 20 | 1.8 | Eurostat 2025; population 2024 |
| Language courses for newcomers | Free Bulgarian language courses for people displaced from Ukraine (Free) | 100 | 20 | 20 | Free Bulgarian language courses for people displaced from Ukraine |
Working as… in Bulgaria
Open a profession for its available regulation, recognition and work-route evidence.
Common questions
Answered from the published values on this page, each with its source and date.
What is the unemployment rate in Bulgaria?
The national unemployment rate was 3.5 % in 2025. Source: Eurostat — Unemployment by sex and age — annual data (une_rt_a).
How many people live in Bulgaria?
The published population was 6,441,421 people in 2024. Source: World Bank.
What is the median gross salary in Bulgaria?
The median gross salary was 705 EUR/month in 2022. Source: Eurostat (Structure of Earnings Survey, earn_ses_monthly).
What is the minimum wage in Bulgaria?
The statutory minimum wage is 3.32 EUR/hour, gross (as of 2025). Source: OECD.
Cite this page
Open a format to select or copy this ImmigrationDB compilation citation. The native disclosure and text fallback work without JavaScript.
APA citation
ImmigrationDB. (2026, October 16). Moving to Bulgaria: population, rent, salary, cost of living [ImmigrationDB compilation; version e705495ef91f4818486c472adc45688a]. ImmigrationDB. https://immigrationdb.com/countries/bulgaria/ Retrieved 2026-10-16. Compilation license: CC BY 4.0, https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/BibTeX citation
@misc{immigrationdb_immigrationdb_moving-to-bulgaria-population-rent-salary-cost-of-living_b1a1a9620cb2,
author = {ImmigrationDB},
title = {Moving to Bulgaria: population, rent, salary, cost of living},
publisher = {ImmigrationDB},
year = {2026},
date = {2026-10-16},
version = {e705495ef91f4818486c472adc45688a},
url = {https://immigrationdb.com/countries/bulgaria/},
note = {Retrieved 2026-10-16. ImmigrationDB compilation. Compilation license: CC BY 4.0, https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/},
}Markdown citation
[Moving to Bulgaria: population, rent, salary, cost of living](https://immigrationdb.com/countries/bulgaria/) — ImmigrationDB; ImmigrationDB; version e705495ef91f4818486c472adc45688a; retrieved 2026-10-16; built 2026-10-16.This citation identifies the ImmigrationDB compilation/page. Underlying source publishers and datasets retain their own terms; inspect the Sources section and cite those records separately. View the underlying source records.
Sources
Every number above comes from one of these records. Open the original source for its geographic scope and publication date.
- Annual net earnings (EARN_NT_NET), single person without children at 100% of average earnings ec.europa.eu · checked 2026-07-30
- Bulgaria — compulsory education age range Bulgaria · eurydice.eacea.ec.europa.eu · checked 2026-09-20
- Bulgaria — public school free Bulgaria · eurydice.eacea.ec.europa.eu · checked 2026-09-20
- Bulgaria — school enrolment authority url Bulgaria · eurydice.eacea.ec.europa.eu · checked 2026-09-20
- Bulgaria — school language support programme Bulgaria · eurydice.eacea.ec.europa.eu · checked 2026-09-20
- Census 2021 — religion table Census 2021 · nsi.bg · checked 2026-07-30
- Council of Ministers, Bulgarian public holidays; Labour Code Art.154(2) government.bg · checked 2026-09-25
- crc.bg crc.bg · checked 2026-08-10
- ec.europa.eu ec.europa.eu · checked 2026-08-12
- EF EPI ef.com · checked 2026-08-03
Show 54 more sources
- Eurofound, Working time in 2021–2022 (EF23007EN), Figure 11 'Minimum number of days of paid annual leave, 2022' and Annex 2 notes assets.eurofound.europa.eu · checked 2026-09-18
- European Medicines Agency ema.europa.eu · checked 2026-08-03
- Eurostat ec.europa.eu · checked 2026-08-20
- Eurostat ec.europa.eu · checked 2026-08-03
- Eurostat ec.europa.eu · checked 2026-08-03
- Eurostat ec.europa.eu · checked 2026-08-07
- Eurostat ec.europa.eu · checked 2026-08-03
- Eurostat — Distribution of income by household composition (ilc_di04) Eurostat · ec.europa.eu · checked 2026-07-26
- Eurostat — National accounts aggregates (nama_10_a10) and employment (nama_10_a10_e) Eurostat · ec.europa.eu · checked 2026-07-26
- Eurostat — Unemployment by sex and age — annual data (une_rt_a) Eurostat · ec.europa.eu · checked 2026-07-26
- Eurostat (Structure of Earnings Survey, earn_ses_monthly) ec.europa.eu · checked 2026-08-03
- Eurostat crim off cat (ICCS0101, NR) ec.europa.eu · checked 2026-09-05
- Eurostat demo_pjan ec.europa.eu · checked 2026-09-05
- Eurostat earn mw cur ec.europa.eu · checked 2026-09-06
- Eurostat hbs exp t121 ec.europa.eu · checked 2026-09-06
- Eurostat ilc_di03 ec.europa.eu · checked 2026-09-06
- Eurostat lfsta_ewhuis — Usual weekly hours of work of full-time employees (sex total, 15-64, employees, main job) Eurostat lfsta_ewhuis · ec.europa.eu · checked 2026-09-18
- Fees mfa.bg · checked 2026-10-08
- Globalization and World Cities (GaWC), Loughborough University gawc.lboro.ac.uk · checked 2026-08-03
- Hospital beds (per 1,000 people) data.worldbank.org · checked 2026-08-13
- Labour Code, Article 136(1) mlsp.government.bg · checked 2026-09-25
- Labour migration and labour mobility mlsp.government.bg · checked 2026-10-07
- Mean monthly earnings by sex, occupation and size class of the enterprise (2022) ec.europa.eu · checked 2026-07-30
- migrationfit.com migrationfit.com · checked 2026-06-14
- MIPEX mirovni-institut.si · checked 2026-08-03
- National Health Insurance Fund (NHIF), Health Insurance Act (Закон за здравното осигуряване) nhif.bg · checked 2026-08-03
- OECD sdmx.oecd.org · checked 2026-08-07
- OECD Directorate for Science, Technology and Innovation sdmx.oecd.org · checked 2026-08-07
- OECD Directorate for Science, Technology and Innovation sdmx.oecd.org · checked 2026-08-07
- OECD Directorate for Science, Technology and Innovation sdmx.oecd.org · checked 2026-08-07
- OECD Directorate for Science, Technology and Innovation sdmx.oecd.org · checked 2026-08-07
- OECD Directorate for Science, Technology and Innovation sdmx.oecd.org · checked 2026-08-07
- Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development sdmx.oecd.org · checked 2026-08-05
- Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development sdmx.oecd.org · checked 2026-08-05
- Physicians (per 1,000 people) data.worldbank.org · checked 2026-08-13
- Population on 1 January by age and sex (DEMO_PJAN) ec.europa.eu · checked 2026-07-29
- WHO GHO RS_196/RS_198 ghoapi.azureedge.net · checked 2026-09-05
- WHO GHO RS_196/RS_198 ghoapi.azureedge.net · checked 2026-09-05
- World Bank api.worldbank.org · checked 2026-08-02
- World Bank api.worldbank.org · checked 2026-08-02
- World Bank api.worldbank.org · checked 2026-08-02
- World Bank indicator NY.GDP.PCAP.CD api.worldbank.org · checked 2026-07-14
- World Bank indicator SH.MED.PHYS.ZS api.worldbank.org · checked 2026-07-14
- World Bank indicator SP.DYN.LE00.IN api.worldbank.org · checked 2026-07-14
- World Bank Open Data api.worldbank.org · checked 2026-08-07
- World Bank Open Data api.worldbank.org · checked 2026-08-07
- World Bank SP.POP.TOTL api.worldbank.org · checked 2026-09-05
- Важна информация за гражданите на Украйна / Important Information for Ukrainian citizens aref.government.bg · checked 2026-10-08
- Закон за задълженията и договорите (Obligations and Contracts Act) portal.justice.government.bg · checked 2026-10-08
- НАП — Национална агенция за приходите НАП · nap.bg · checked 2026-07-14
- Правителството одобри нов механизъм за по-справедлива и предвидима минимална работна заплата mlsp.government.bg · checked 2026-09-17
- Такси и банкова сметка (Fees and bank account) mvr.bg · checked 2026-10-08
- Bulgarian Ministry of Interior — documents for EU citizens and family members
Official Bulgaria starting point for EU/EEA/Swiss residence; national guidance only, not a personal eligibility decision.
- Bulgarian Ministry of Interior — residence permits for third-country nationals
Official Bulgaria national residence and immigration guidance; not a personal eligibility decision.