Moving to Spain from Bulgaria

The Bulgarian community in Spain has been settled for decades, and moving today is easier than ever: there are no work restrictions and, since 2025, Bulgaria is a full Schengen member. What does need attention is registration as an EU citizen and documents in Cyrillic. Here are the steps and the mistakes worth avoiding.

Key facts

• Entry and work: with a Bulgarian лична карта or passport you live and work in Spain without a visa or permit. The accession transitional periods ended on 31 December 2013 at the latest, and Bulgaria has been a full Schengen member since 1 January 2025.
• Registration: if you stay longer than three months, apply within that period for the EU registration certificate (certificado de registro de ciudadano de la UE) at the Central Register of Foreign Nationals; it includes your NIE. After five years of continuous legal residence you can apply for permanent residence.
• Documents: under Regulation (EU) 2016/1191 Bulgarian public documents need no apostille, but because they are in Cyrillic they need a sworn translation unless you use the multilingual standard form.
• Driving: a Bulgarian licence is valid in Spain without exchange; as a resident you will renew it with Spain’s DGT.
• Citizenship: Spanish citizenship requires 10 years of legal residence, DELE A2, CCSE and a declaration of renunciation. The Bulgarian Constitution provides that a Bulgarian by birth cannot be deprived of that nationality; check with your embassy what effect that declaration has.

How people usually move

• Employment. With a contract and social security registration you register as a worker, with no prior permit. EU registration certificate
• Self-employment. Register as self-employed (RETA) and with the tax office, then apply for the certificate.
• Sufficient resources and health cover. For pensioners or people living on savings: resources and comprehensive health cover, public with the S1 form or private.
• Studies. Enrolment at a recognised institution, health insurance and a declaration of resources.
• Non-EU family. A spouse, registered partner, children or dependent parents from outside the EU get the residence card for family members of an EU citizen. Family of EU citizens
• Spanish citizenship. After 10 years of legal, continuous residence. Spanish citizenship

Documents and apostille

• Лична карта or passport, valid. Make sure your name is transliterated the same way in your passport, NIE and translations: differences cause problems later.
• Свидетелство за съдимост: not required for EU registration, but required for citizenship. From Spain you request it by appointment at the Bulgarian Embassy in Madrid; the Ministry of Justice issues it and it arrives electronically in about a week. It is valid for six months.
• Удостоверение за раждане and marriage certificates with the EU multilingual form or a sworn translation into Spanish. Documents and translations
• Proof of the basis for registration: contract and social security registration, self-employment registration, enrolment, or resources and health insurance (with an S1 if you are a pensioner).
• European Health Insurance Card for the first days; it does not replace registration with the Spanish health system.

What to keep in mind

• The registration certificate is requested in person, by appointment, at the immigration office (Oficina de Extranjería) of your province or at a National Police station: form EX-18, fee 790 code 012 and your лична карта or passport. It is issued on the spot.
• Common mistake: submitting Bulgarian certificates without a translation or multilingual form. They need no apostille, but they must be understandable in Spanish.
• Passports, ID cards, registering children born in Spain with Bulgarian civil records and the criminal record certificate are handled by the Bulgarian Embassy in Madrid, by appointment.
• In Spain: padrón, social security registration or S1 registration with the INSS, and a health card. With more than 183 days a year here you are tax resident in Spain; Spain and Bulgaria have a double taxation agreement.

Frequently asked questions

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