Multiple immigration-law sources, including Fragomen, confirm Bulgaria's digital-nomad residence permit income floor is 27,533 euro a year, equal to 50 times the monthly minimum wage, not the 31,000 euro figure carried in earlier coverage when the permit launched.1 The correction lowers the EU entry bar: at 27,533 euro, Bulgaria's permit is cheaper than Greece's equivalent and Portugal's practical pathway, making it the lowest-friction door into the Schengen area for nomads. Pegging the floor to the minimum wage means it will escalate annually with wage growth, mirroring the auto-escalation built into Colombia's Type V Visa in a different jurisdiction.
17APR
Bulgaria nomad floor corrected to 27,533 euro
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13:28UTC
Multiple immigration-law sources confirm Bulgaria's digital-nomad permit income floor is 27,533 euro a year, not the 31,000 figure carried in earlier coverage, making it the EU's lowest-friction entry.
SocietyDeveloping
Key takeaway
Bulgaria's nomad income floor is 27,533 euro, not 31,000, leaving it the EU's lowest-friction Schengen entry.
Deep Analysis
In plain English
Bulgaria launched a digital nomad residence permit in December 2025 for people who work remotely and earn their income from outside Bulgaria. Early reports said the annual income requirement was 31,000 euro. Multiple immigration law sources have now confirmed the correct figure is 27,533 euro per year, which is 3,467 euro lower than widely reported. At 27,533 euro per year (about 2,294 euro per month), Bulgaria's permit is now the cheapest way for a non-EU citizen to obtain a residence permit inside the Schengen Area (the group of European countries with no internal border controls). Greece's equivalent permit costs 42,000 euro per year; Portugal's long-stay routes have become more complicated after the May 2026 nationality law changes. Bulgaria also joined the euro currency in January 2026, so there is no longer any currency conversion uncertainty in the application process.
Causes and effects
This Event
Bulgaria nomad floor corrected to 27,533 euro
The correction lowers the EU entry bar below Greece and Portugal, and the floor's peg to the minimum wage means it escalates annually rather than holding fixed.
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