Bansko turned a ski town into one of Europe's densest seasonal nomad communities, dirt-cheap living, coworking culture, and mountain air, with EU/Schengen rules governing most short stays.
Photo: Unsplash, free-to-use licence
Bulgaria in short
We cover 1 city in Bulgaria. A mid-range solo month in Bansko is about $1,100 (our planning estimate, method). The visa tracker has 1 record for Bulgaria, read on official pages and last checked 29 Sept 2026.
Statute confirmed: State Gazette no. 52 of 27 Jun 2025 adds digital nomads (Art. 24 para 1 item 23; conditions in new Art. 24s) to the Law on Foreigners. Fees, processing time and insurance come from the general long-term residence service page, which does not mention digital nomads; implementing rules and D-visa steps not confirmed (mfa.bg blocked)
Income rule
COMPUTED. Art. 24c requires an average annual income of not less than 50 minimum monthly wages for the previous calendar year (dv.parliament.bg, translated). Formula: 50 x BGN 1,077 = BGN 53,850, where BGN 1,077 is the minimum monthly wage from 1 Jan 2025 (Council of Ministers Decree No. 359/23.10.2024, per Ministry of Economy page https://www.mi.government.bg/en/general/vaznagrajdeniya-i-osigurovki/). Applies to applications made in 2026 (previous calendar year = 2025); the 2026 wage is higher (BGN 1,213 per a search result on Decree No. 243/13.11.2025, not read directly), so the figure rises yearly. The statute itself states no amount
Stay
Permit valid for one year, renewable once (translated)
Government fee
Generic long-term residence service page (not nomad-specific; it does not mention digital nomads) lists (translated): application fee 10 BGN; residence permit up to 6 months 200 BGN, up to 1 year 500 BGN; currency as stated on the page, which may pre-date the euro changeover
Processing
[general long-term residence service, not nomad-specific] Up to 120 days from application submission (standard 14-60 days, extendable by up to two months) (translated)
Insurance
[general long-term residence service, not nomad-specific] Health insurance valid in Bulgaria, if not covered by law (translated)
How this page is built: visa rows are read from the audited tracker, which links each figure to an official page and dates the check; city figures are editorial planning estimates (method). Rules change, so confirm with the authority before you apply. Researched from official immigration pages and the site's cost dataset.
Earlier summary of the visa route
Scheme
Schengen 90/180 or freelance/residence routes
Maximum stay
90/180 for short stays; longer via national residence if eligible
Income or savings
None for visa-free Schengen tourism; residence paths vary
Difficulty
Easy
These summary figures were carried over from the earlier site and are not individually dated. Where they differ from the official-source records above, the records win.
