Bulgaria
Destination country · migration, permits and visas
- First residence permits, 2025 (Eurostat)
- 23,553
- Schengen visa refusal rate, 2024
- 10.0%
DS<BGBULGARIA<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<< BG5<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<0
International migrants
People living in Bulgaria who were born in another country, or who hold foreign citizenship where country of birth is not recorded: mid-year estimates (UN DESA).
- Ukraine61,074
- Russia45,089
- Syria24,543
- Türkiye19,877
- Germany17,311
- United Kingdom16,476
- Greece11,085
- Spain10,245
- North Macedonia6,345
- Italy5,492
- Romania4,839
- United States4,750
International migrants by year
Data table
| 1990 | 21,510 |
| 1995 | 32,435 |
| 2000 | 43,360 |
| 2005 | 61,074 |
| 2010 | 76,287 |
| 2015 | 123,803 |
| 2020 | 184,363 |
| 2024 | 299,100 |
- International migrants, 2024
- 299,100
- Share of the population, 2024
- 4.4%
- Counted by
- country of birth
Migrants in the labour market
Labour force survey results for Bulgaria: residents aged 15 and over who were born abroad, compared with those born in the country (ILOSTAT).
| Indicator | Born in the country | Born abroad |
|---|---|---|
| Employment-to-population ratio, 2025 | 53.2% | 48.1% |
- Born abroad: share of all workers, 2025
- 0.5%
- Born abroad: share of high-skill jobs, 2025
- 0.8%
- Born abroad: share of medium-skill jobs, 2025
- 0.4%
Earnings by occupation
Mean gross annual earnings of employees in Bulgaria by major occupation group, in enterprises with 10 or more employees (Eurostat, Structure of Earnings Survey 2022).
| Occupation group | Mean annual earnings, BGN | Index, all occupations = 100 |
|---|---|---|
| All occupations | 24,628 | 100 |
| Managers | 57,466 | 233 |
| Professionals | 36,684 | 149 |
| Technicians and associate professionals | 27,544 | 112 |
| Clerical support workers | 18,485 | 75 |
| Service and sales workers | 13,961 | 57 |
| Skilled agricultural, forestry and fishery workers | 11,320 | 46 |
| Craft and related trades workers | 18,985 | 77 |
| Plant and machine operators and assemblers | 17,292 | 70 |
| Elementary occupations | 12,877 | 52 |
- Mean gross annual earnings, all employees, 2022
- 24,628 BGN
- Women's mean earnings as a share of men's, 2022
- 84.9%
Residence permits
First residence permits issued by Bulgaria to non-EU citizens (Eurostat).
First permits by year
Data table
| 2008 | 3,913 |
| 2009 | 4,358 |
| 2010 | 4,024 |
| 2011 | 5,004 |
| 2012 | 6,392 |
| 2013 | 6,394 |
| 2014 | 8,748 |
| 2015 | 9,553 |
| 2016 | 7,916 |
| 2017 | 10,918 |
| 2018 | 11,833 |
| 2019 | 13,450 |
| 2020 | 10,252 |
| 2021 | 11,759 |
| 2022 | 15,806 |
| 2023 | 19,346 |
| 2024 | 19,635 |
| 2025 | 23,553 |
- Work12,596
- Family5,121
- Other reasons3,370
- Education2,466
- Türkiye5,155
- Uzbekistan3,756
- Russia2,633
- Nepal2,188
- India1,338
- Ukraine1,037
- United Kingdom885
- Kyrgyzstan620
- North Macedonia536
- Vietnam522
- Israel423
- China402
- Serbia381
- Bangladesh325
- United States266
- Other paid activities12,109
- EU Blue Card449
- Researchers38
- Valid residence permits, 31 Dec 2025
- 134,611
- Long-term residence permits issued, 2025
- 4,151
- Changed status into work, 2025
- 145
- Intra-corporate transferee permits, 2025
- 238
- Seasonal work authorisations, 2024
- 9,542
Schengen visas issued by Bulgaria
Short-stay visa applications at Bulgaria's consulates worldwide.
Applications by year
Data table
| 2009 | 545,240 |
| 2024 | 122,229 |
| Country of the consulate | Applications 2024 | Refusal rate |
|---|---|---|
| Türkiye | 48,902 | 10.7% |
| Russia | 15,586 | 4.0% |
| Uzbekistan | 6,201 | 10.4% |
| Kazakhstan | 5,673 | 2.2% |
| India | 4,889 | 15.5% |
| Armenia | 4,719 | 1.0% |
| Belarus | 4,309 | 1.9% |
| China | 2,424 | 7.5% |
| United Arab Emirates | 2,224 | 37.1% |
| United Kingdom | 1,962 | 9.8% |
| Jordan | 1,871 | 11.7% |
| Iran | 1,698 | 27.0% |
| Lebanon | 1,697 | 5.5% |
| Serbia | 1,666 | 1.1% |
| Kuwait | 1,568 | 5.9% |
Bulgaria's embassies and consulates abroad
Countries in which Bulgaria has an embassy or consulate, as recorded in Wikidata.
| Country | Embassies | Consulates-general | Consulates |
|---|---|---|---|
| Afghanistan | 1 | — | — |
| Albania | 1 | — | — |
| Algeria | 1 | — | — |
| Argentina | 1 | — | — |
| Armenia | 1 | — | — |
| Australia | 1 | — | — |
| Austria | 1 | — | — |
| Azerbaijan | 1 | — | — |
| Belarus | 1 | — | — |
| Belgium | 1 | — | — |
| Bosnia and Herzegovina | 1 | — | — |
| Brazil | 1 | — | — |
| Canada | 1 | — | — |
| China | 1 | 1 | — |
| Croatia | 1 | — | — |
| Cuba | 1 | — | — |
| Cyprus | 1 | — | — |
| Czechia | 1 | — | — |
| Egypt | 1 | — | — |
| Ethiopia | 1 | — | — |
| Finland | 1 | — | — |
| France | 1 | 1 | — |
| Georgia | 1 | — | — |
| Germany | 1 | — | — |
| Greece | 1 | — | 1 |
| Hungary | 1 | — | — |
| India | 1 | — | — |
| Indonesia | 1 | — | — |
| Iran | 1 | — | — |
| Ireland | 1 | — | — |
| Israel | 1 | — | — |
| Italy | 2 | — | — |
| Japan | 1 | — | — |
| Jordan | 1 | — | — |
| Kazakhstan | 1 | — | — |
| Kosovo | 1 | — | — |
| Kuwait | 1 | — | — |
| Lebanon | 1 | — | — |
| Mexico | 1 | — | — |
| Moldova | 1 | — | — |
| Mongolia | 1 | — | — |
| Montenegro | 1 | — | — |
| Morocco | 1 | — | — |
| Nigeria | 1 | — | — |
| North Korea | 1 | — | — |
| North Macedonia | 1 | 1 | — |
| Norway | 1 | — | — |
| Pakistan | 1 | — | — |
| Poland | 1 | — | — |
| Portugal | 1 | — | — |
| Qatar | 1 | — | — |
| Romania | 1 | — | — |
| Russia | 1 | — | — |
| Saudi Arabia | 1 | — | — |
| Serbia | 1 | — | — |
| Slovakia | 1 | — | — |
| Slovenia | 1 | — | — |
| South Africa | 1 | — | — |
| South Korea | 1 | — | — |
| Spain | 1 | 2 | — |
| Sweden | 1 | — | — |
| Switzerland | 1 | — | — |
| Tunisia | 1 | — | — |
| Türkiye | 1 | — | — |
| Ukraine | 1 | — | — |
| United Kingdom | 1 | — | 1 |
| United States | 1 | — | — |
| Uzbekistan | 1 | — | — |
| Vietnam | 1 | — | — |
| Yemen | 1 | — | — |
- Countries
- 70
- Missions
- 78
Remittances sent abroad
Personal remittances paid from Bulgaria to other countries, in current US dollars (World Bank).
Remittances paid by year, US$ million
Data table
| 2000 | 26 |
| 2001 | 27 |
| 2002 | 14 |
| 2003 | 13 |
| 2004 | 29 |
| 2005 | 35 |
| 2006 | 50 |
| 2007 | 103 |
| 2008 | 162 |
| 2009 | 101 |
| 2010 | 90 |
| 2011 | 105 |
| 2012 | 107 |
| 2013 | 162 |
| 2014 | 169 |
| 2015 | 115 |
| 2016 | 127 |
| 2017 | 163 |
| 2018 | 195 |
| 2019 | 205 |
| 2020 | 189 |
| 2021 | 157 |
| 2022 | 188 |
| 2023 | 174 |
| 2024 | 423 |
| 2025 | 559 |
- Remittances paid, 2025
- US$559 million
Corridors into Bulgaria
Nationalities with a dedicated corridor page.
Official data, not advice. Visa Atlas publishes figures from government registers and statistics. It does not assess eligibility or give immigration advice; for advice, consult a regulated adviser. Read more