- Dividend tax is 5% in 2026, not 10% — the increase was dropped.
- Property, a company or a visa don't, on their own, give you the right to live in Bulgaria. A residence route does.
- No one can guarantee approval. The decision belongs to the Bulgarian authorities.
- You can't stay at home and pay Bulgarian tax. The regime is for people who genuinely move.
- Bulgaria uses the euro since 1 January 2026. Anything still quoting the lev is out of date.
Why there are so many myths
Moving to Bulgaria sits at the crossroads of three things that change often: immigration rules, tax rules and, this year, the currency. Add Brexit for British readers, Schengen membership from 2025 and the euro from 2026, and a page written two years ago can be wrong on almost every line — while still ranking on Google.
Then there's who writes it. Most pages are written by someone selling one piece of the move: a company, a visa, a flat. Each piece gets presented as the whole answer. We know how confusing that is because we went through it ourselves, as foreigners, and it took us a full year to sort out what actually applied. This article is the list we wish we'd had on day one.
Myth 1: Is the dividend tax in Bulgaria now 10%?
Bulgaria doubled its dividend tax to 10% in 2026.
The rate in 2026 is 5%. A rise to 10% appeared in the first draft of the 2026 budget, then was withdrawn in December 2025 and never became law.
This one spreads because it was true for a few weeks — as a proposal. Headlines announced the "doubling" when the draft came out; far fewer reported that it was dropped. Corporate tax is still a flat 10%, personal income tax a flat 10%, and dividends 5%. We go through the detail, and how 10% + 5% comes to around 14.5%, in Bulgaria dividend tax 2026: is it 5% or 10%?
Myth 2: Does buying a flat in Bulgaria give you residency?
If I buy property in Bulgaria, I can live there.
Owning a home doesn't, by itself, give you the right to live in Bulgaria. You still need a residence route that fits your situation.
It sounds logical — you own a home, so surely you can live in it — and some sellers are happy to let you believe it. But property and residence are two separate questions. As a non-EU citizen, you can own a flat in Sofia and still be limited to 90 days in any 180 as a visitor. If you want to buy, buy because you want the home, and plan your residence separately.
Myth 3: Does a Bulgarian company give you the right to live there?
Once I've set up a Bulgarian company, I can move.
A company isn't a residence permit. You can own one from anywhere in the world. Residence comes from a specific route — and only some company structures lead to one.
This is the myth that company-formation agencies benefit from most. Registering a company is quick; living here legally is a different process. The routes that do link a company to residence are specific: a representative office of your existing foreign company, administered from Bulgaria (which needs two years of clean compliance and a lease for premises), or a new Bulgarian company that creates ten local jobs. Which one, if any, fits you is exactly what our route guide helps you work out.
Myth 4: Once you have the visa, can you stay?
The visa is the hard part. Once it's stamped, I'm in.
For non-EU citizens, the type D visa is a six-month entry window. It lets you enter and apply for residence. The permission to live in Bulgaria is the residence permit that comes after it.
People celebrate the visa and relax — and then discover the second half of the process. The residence application has its own documents, its own office and its own timing, and that's where an address registration, a landlord's paperwork or a missing notarisation can stall everything. Treat the visa as the halfway point, not the finish line.
Myth 5: Is approval guaranteed if you use the right agent?
Pay the right agent and approval is guaranteed.
No one can guarantee a decision that belongs to the Bulgarian authorities. Visa refusals happen even with a complete, compliant file.
A guarantee is one of the clearest warning signs we know. What a good adviser can do is tell you honestly whether you qualify for a route at all, prepare the file properly and give you the best possible chance — and stay with you whatever the answer. If someone promises more than that, ask yourself what else they're promising that they can't deliver.
Want us to check which route fits you? Book a free strategy call.
Myth 6: Can you live at home and pay 10% in Bulgaria?
I can keep living where I am and run everything through a Bulgarian company at 10%.
If you remain resident in your home country, your home country taxes you. The Bulgarian regime works when it's real on both sides: you genuinely live in Bulgaria, and the business is genuinely run from Bulgaria.
This is the most expensive myth on the list, because it tends to fall apart years later rather than straight away. Where you're tax resident follows where you actually live, under your own country's rules — not where a company is registered. And a company managed from your home office may well be treated as run from your home country. That's why every route we work with starts from a real move, and why we'll say so on the first call if what someone wants is a rate rather than a relocation. If you're British, can a UK citizen live in Bulgaria explains why leaving the UK properly is its own step.
Myth 7: Does Bulgaria still use the lev?
Bulgaria uses the lev, so expect to change money and think in leva.
Bulgaria adopted the euro on 1 January 2026. The lev stopped being legal tender on 1 February 2026, and the conversion rate was fixed at 1.95583 lev to the euro.
This one is harmless on its own, but it's a useful test: if a guide still talks about the lev as the current currency, it was written before 2026 and hasn't been updated. Ask yourself what else in it might be out of date — the visa rules, the tax rates, the Schengen position. For a business moving here, the euro also means one less currency to deal with for clients and suppliers in the eurozone.
All seven at a glance
| What you read | What's actually true in 2026 |
|---|---|
| Dividend tax is now 10% | It's 5% — the increase was dropped |
| Buy a flat, get residency | Property doesn't give you the right to live there |
| A Bulgarian company lets you move | Only specific routes link a company to residence |
| The visa means you can stay | The type D visa is a six-month entry window; residence comes after |
| The right agent guarantees approval | No one can guarantee it; refusals happen with clean files |
| Stay at home, pay Bulgarian tax | Your home country taxes you while you live there |
| Bulgaria uses the lev | Euro since 1 January 2026 |
We moved without a lawyer or an accountant, and it took us a full year. We queued at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs at least ten times, chased landlords for documents and notarisations they didn't want to give us, and listened at the migration office as the rules were explained to us in Bulgarian — louder each time — until we understood.
And along the way, some of the people offering to "help" weren't who they said they were. That's why we're blunt about myths: the people who spread them aren't always mistaken by accident.
Questions we get asked every week
Is the dividend tax in Bulgaria 10% in 2026?
No. The rise to 10% was proposed in the first draft of the 2026 budget and withdrawn in December 2025. The rate in 2026 is 5%.
Does buying property in Bulgaria give you residency?
No. Owning a home doesn't, on its own, give you the right to live there. You still need a residence route.
Does opening a Bulgarian company give me the right to live in Bulgaria?
Not by itself. Residence comes from a specific route, such as a representative office of your existing foreign company or a new Bulgarian company that creates ten local jobs.
Does a type D visa let me live in Bulgaria?
No. It's a six-month entry window that lets you enter and apply for residence. The residence permit is what lets you live there.
Can I live in my home country and pay Bulgarian tax through a Bulgarian company?
No. If you remain resident at home, your home country taxes you. The regime works when you genuinely live in Bulgaria and the business is run from here.
Does Bulgaria still use the lev?
No. Bulgaria has used the euro since 1 January 2026, and the lev stopped being legal tender on 1 February 2026.
Tired of contradictory answers?
Book a free strategy call. We'll look at your passport, your business and your plans, and tell you plainly which route works for you — or if none does. No pressure, no sales script.
Book your free strategy call → Takes 2 minutes to request. In English or Italian.The Bulgaria Move coordinates your relocation end to end. Tax and legal advice on your specific situation is given by licensed Bulgarian lawyers and accountants, who take professional responsibility for it. Figures shown on this site are illustrative and depend on your circumstances — nothing here is tax or legal advice.