Bulgaria is one of the countries of the European Union, but it still has a spirit of the Soviet past. A combination of modern and retro vibes makes this country unique and engaging, so foreigners are either travelling to this country as tourists or moving to Bulgaria from the USA, Canada, the UK, and other European countries to live there. Eurosender has prepared a detailed guide for those who are eager to immigrate to Bulgaria in the nearest time. Check this article to learn essential facts about Bulgaria and get some pieces of advice regarding visa information, cost of living, healthcare, education system, and international removals to Bulgaria.
Whether you are relocating from the USA to Bulgaria or immigrate from any other country in the world, you definitely need to learn more about Bulgaria. Furthermore, it is essential to take care of the official documents for legal immigration and choose the right services for the international removals to Bulgaria.
We have prepared some basic facts about Bulgaria, including information about climate, location, and currency. These tips will help to get ready before moving to Bulgaria and decide what items you need to send via courier to relocate fast and easy.
| Location | Bulgaria is the country in Eastern Europe which has access to the Black Sea. |
| Capital city | Sofia |
| Climate | The weather is really changeable in Bulgaria because of its location and a variety of landscapes. Continental and Mediterranean air masses greatly influence the country’s climate, so expats notice both very hot days in summer and heavy snowfalls in winter. |
| Currency | Lev (BGN) |
| Population | There are about 7 million people living in Bulgaria, 75% of whom reside in urban areas. |
| Language | Bulgarian is the official language of the country. Be prepared to figure out what the Cyrillic script is. |
| Timezone | UTC +1 |
| Surprising fact | Bulgarians shake their heads to mean yes and nod for no. |
Eurosender is a leading parcel broker that incorporated a proprietary algorithm in its booking engine. Depending on your chosen route, you always get the best offer at affordable prices along with fast delivery services. International removals to Bulgaria with Eurosender will bring you the following advantages:
Bulgaria has much to offer for foreigners because it has access to the Black Sea, picturesque sites, and welcoming people. Its geopolitical location provides enormous opportunities for country development. At the same time, expats moving to Bulgaria will notice strict immigration policies, unstable economy, and not very high standards of living. That is why we have decided to outline the advantages and drawbacks of living in Bulgaria.
Advantages
Disadvantages
While the average salary across all industries is about $500-600, the cost of living is also not very high in Bulgaria. If you want to rent an apartment in Sofia, you will spend half of your income for that purpose. The other items of expenditure would be more cost-saving. Check a detailed table below with average prices and monthly expenses of expats living in Bulgaria.
| Apartment rental | $250 |
| Utility bills | $100 |
| Internet | $20 |
| A cup of cappuccino | $10 |
| A meal of the day | $2 |
All non-EU nationals who would like to live and work in Bulgaria for a long term need to apply for a visa obligatorily. Expats usually immigrate to Bulgaria based on the following visa types:
The healthcare system in Bulgaria is supervised by the National Health Insurance entity. If you are hired by a Bulgarian firm, your employer is responsible for enrolling employees into the healthcare insurance program. The working population in Bulgaria needs to take care of mandatory monthly healthcare insurance contributions, though fees are usually split between an employer and an employee. Self-employed individuals are obliged to pay the entire amount by themselves. The healthcare insurance could be extended for dependent family members as well.
There is plenty of public and private hospitals in bigger cities in Bulgaria, but only one medical point could be available in a rural area sometimes. Even though the standards of the public healthcare system in Bulgaria are beyond those in other EU countries, the healthcare institutions in the private sector in Bulgaria have high standards of medical services and employ qualified professionals.
The Bulgarian education system is funded by the state, so it is free of charge for Bulgarian citizens and nationals. If you immigrate to Bulgaria with your family and kids, consider the international school option in advance because your children must be proficient in Bulgarian to study in a local school. Bulgaria is also famous for its decent quality of higher education, so many students from all over the world come to study in local universities. Indeed, a diploma issued by one of the higher education establishments in Bulgaria is highly valued all over Europe.
The unemployment rate in Bulgaria was about 9% but it has decreased to 7% recently. As for young people, they often find it difficult to build a career right after graduation, so they are looking for appealing internship programs.
The main industries contributing to the country’s GDP are machine building, metallurgy, agriculture, and tourism. Given that the average salary rate in Bulgaria is much lower than that in Germany, France, or Italy, for instance, and there is plenty of qualified professionals in the country, many international companies decide to outsource services to Bulgaria. Thus, there are many job vacancies in the IT sector and marketing field. Expats with medical and engineering education are also in demand in Bulgaria.
The real estate property purchase in Bulgaria has always been popular among foreigners. The climate and ecological situation in the country is favourable and attractive for expats moving to Bulgaria for a long term. Furthermore, many people tend to buy apartments and houses in Bulgaria as a place of summer holiday. The real estate sector in Bulgaria was not suffering even during the world crisis in the late 2000s.
You can buy a small house in the urban area or in the mountains for about $20,000, while an apartment or a family villa would be about $30,000-40,000 in the coastal area. In case you are interested in buying property in Bulgaria, you need to find a reliable local real estate agent for a detailed consultation.
The first thing you need to remember is that Bulgarians drive on the right side of the road. If you want to drive a car upon your arrival to Bulgaria, take a valid driver license with you, make sure that you have all the necessary documents for a vehicle, and purchase a vignette sticker as well. Consider that the quality on the roads could be poor especially in the rural and remote areas of the country, the Bulgarian drives are usually aggressive, and there are not enough parking lots in metropolitan areas. To be confident on Bulgarian roads, it is strongly recommended to take several lessons with a local instructor to get accustomed to the driving style in the country.
Relocation to Bulgaria is not that scary, expensive, and difficult as you might think. The cost of moving house to Bulgaria will be really affordable as our smart engine based on the intelligent algorithm chooses the cheapest and fastest shipping option depending on your route. We have also prepared some shipping tips to move personal belongings to Bulgaria safely, cheaply, and fast. Eurosender offers shipping services for expats and international students planning to relocate to Bulgaria. Moreover, you can discover the cheapest way to move furniture to Bulgaria or learn how much is shipping from the USA to Bulgaria.
When using Eurosender platform for booking shipping services, you get a range of benefits:
If you are moving to Bulgaria from the United Kingdom, take advantage of our services to send your packages, suitcases, or pallets safely. Eurosender has a wide network of international logistics companies with a possibility to send a shipment of any size and get the most affordable cost of moving house to Bulgaria. By using our online platform, you can automatically see the cost of your shipment and the estimated delivery time for shipping from the United Kingdom to Bulgaria.
Disclaimer: The materials provided in this article were collected from other credible resources to be used for general information purposes only. Given that the legislative basis of the country and its economic development have a changing nature, the information provided in the article could be subject to change. Whilst we endeavour to keep the information up-to-date and correct, Eurosender will not be liable for any inappropriate, incomplete, or inaccurate information. Certain links will lead to websites which are not under control of Eurosender. Thus, Eurosender accepts no liability in respect of materials, products or services being not under control of Eurosender.