Preliminary approval for Bulgarian Golden Visa

Proving the availability of the funds for the Bulgarian Golden Visa application

The legally required approval in the law

According to the Bulgarian Foreigners Law:

A foreigner who applies for a permanent residence permit under par. 1, p. 6 (the Golden Visa), shall make an investment after verification and assessment by the Bulgarian Investment Agency of the documents submitted by him/her:

1. that identify the person beyond doubt;
2. for available funds in an amount not less than the minimum threshold for the relevant investment, deposited in his payment account;
3. that show the clear origin of the funds for the investment;
4. which show whether the foreigner is a prominent political figure pursuant to Article 36 of the Anti-Money Laundering Act;
5. for employment, professional, and investment activities;
6. a certificate of criminal record from the country of origin or country of permanent residence.

Art. 25, par. 7 of the Bulgarian Foreigners Law

Which countries’ bank accounts qualify as proof of funds for the investment under the Bulgarian Golden Visa program?

So how should the applicant prove that he has the available funds to effect the investment? Many might assume that this should not need to be proven, as effecting the investment itself is a sufficient “proof”. The law however requires the preliminary proof of availability of funds, so the necessity of this, otherwise controversial requirement, will be not discussed here.

According to the Regulations to the foreigners law, the applicant should provide the following:

Bank reference for an account opened in the name of the foreigner with a credit institution in the Republic of Bulgaria, from another EU Member State, or a country party to the Agreement on the European Economic Area, or the Swiss Confederation, or from a third country under Article 27, third sentence, of the Anti-Money Laundering Measures Act (AMLA), containing information on available funds in BGN or EUR in an amount not less than the minimum threshold for the respective investment;

Art. 39, par. 6, p. 2 of the Regulations to the foreigners law

So what this all means?

Currency of the bank account

The bank reference must show available funds in Bulgarian Lev (BGN) or in Euro (EUR). Account balance in other currency (ie in USD) will not be accepted. It will be also not accepted if the account has a balance in a non EUR/BGN currency, even if it shows its current value in EUR or BGN. From 01.01.2026 only balances in EUR will be accepted, as Bulgaria is joining the Euro area and the Bulgarian Lev will cease to exist.

Amount in the bank account

The amount shown on the bank reference must be equal or more than the required minimum for the chosen investment. For example, if the applicant will be investing in ETFs, the minimum amount is one million Bulgarian leva, which is equal to exactly 511291,88 EUR. It is important to note that there is no legal requirement the investment to be done in one instalment. Proving the availability of the entire amount is required however.

Country or jurisdiction of the bank

The bank of which the applicant should provide a bank reference must be located in Bulgaria or any other EU country. It may be also located in Switzerland, Norway, Liechtenstein and Iceland.

Article 27, third sentence, of the Anti-Money Laundering Measures Act (AMLMA)

The bank may be also located in a country under Article 27, third sentence, of the AMLMA. In general, this means that the country, where the bank is located, must not be in the supplementing Directive (EU) 2015/849 of the European Parliament and of the Council by identifying high-risk third countries with strategic deficiencies. The country should also not be mentioned in the High-Risk Jurisdictions subject to a Call for Action list. Also, the country may not be mentioned as non-cooperative in the EU list of non-cooperative jurisdictions for tax purposes. And lastly, the country should not be part of the “List of jurisdictions with preferential tax regimes according to the Ministry of Finance of the Republic of Bulgaria”. Seems complicated? It definitely is!

The countries and jurisdictions, of which the applicant may NOT provide a bank reference

Based on the information above, the following is the current list of countries and jurisdictions, whose bank references are not accepted for the purposes of obtaining a Bulgarian Golden Visa. This list is subject to frequent updates and varying interpretations, and therefore should be used with caution.

If you are uncertain about your bank’s location eligibility, please contact us for assistance.