Moved back to Bulgaria

@mickeyhart

Wonderful and funny story:)  Happy for you man!!!!!

@TonyFF Thanks fellow. Are you up Vratsa way? Snow just starting here.

@mickeyhart

Excellent good luck for the future

@philip Mckay

You too bud enjoy your retirement up in Borovets.

So glad it worked for you, Mickey! Happy return!

Love this story!  Good for you Mickey and welcome back 😁

@mickeyhart

Vratsa immigration did exactly the same for my other half two years ago after she was cheeky enough to ask when the guy who sits on the second desk in came out to do the security checks for my D visa . I still have to visit them every year for another three years , but have always found them really friendly and helpful.

@mickeyhart

Great story, well done! If you don't ask, you don't get. :-)

It's a bit on the QT, but you were a beneficiary of the UK Withdrawal Agreement (Brexit) which grants Brits residence rights, if they established residence in the EU prior to Brexit. Most EU countries had fixed dates for taking advantage of this (and all have long passed). But a few (including Bulgaria), didn't put a date on it. So, even now, if a Brit has the appropriate proofs they'd stand a pretty good chance.

Cyprus has similar rules, and I got my Cyprus residence permit last year using this process. (I had a residence permit from 2005, and proof of paying utility bills and property taxes in Cyprus since that date,)

That's interesting, Gywn! Very interesting! Would that also apply to someone who never applied for resudence?

I know there was some discussion on the forum a couple of years ago about a loophole that allowed Brits who hadn't applied for residency but who had proof of ties to Bulgaria before the Brexit cut-off to apply under the old rules well past the "official" date. At the time hubby was ill so it didn't seem worth trying, then I thought there was a cut-off for getting in that way.

But if theoretically that is still open, I wonder if it would be worth me consulting an immigration lawyer. We're getting tired of waiting till I'm 67 and would love to move sooner!

@janemulberry

Bulgaria has a deadline for getting (or exchanging for) the new Article 50 Residence Permit. But my understanding is that late submissions are possible, but subject to a fine.

However, my immigration attorney in Plovdiv (who did quite a few late submissions) says that the Plovdiv office will no longer accept such applications (for brand-new permits, they will still do exchanges).  I think it might be discretionary, and also depends on where you apply, and how strong your evidence is... and, maybe, whether you get lucky with which immigration person is on duty when you try it. (You should also note that my attorney absolutely thrashed that late submission loophole, so it could be that the Plovdiv office is sick of seeing his face, and think he's made way too much money already!)

Unfortunately, while in theory one might have obtained these "residence rights" before Brexit, the key issue is whether we can prove it. Having previously obtained some kind of residence document for EU citizens (as we were back then) is a much stronger proof (even if the document is expired) than having spent a few months here. If you recall our happy EU days, countries didn't stamp our passports... so even if you physically entered Bulgaria in, say, 2015, and didn't leave until 2020... you would have no evidence in your passport of it.

For the late Cyprus submission I mentioned, I did have an expired residence permit. I also had title deeds to my Cyprus apartment. And a long-standing Cyprus bank account, and proof of payments of my electricity, water, and property taxes for the last 10 years. (Not all of them, but a few for every year.)

@mickeyhart seems to have had multiple Bulgarian properties to point at, going back quite a few years. Plus he pulled out all the stops: British charm, flowers, booze, tickets for the Plovdiv Tom Jones concert. :-)

This is probably a bit disappointing; many apologies for getting your hopes up with my last post! :-)

It's okay! It seemed unlikely it would work for anyone who hadn't previously had a residence permit.

@janemulberry Roll the dice Jane. Pop round your nearest immigration just wing it. Whats the worse they can do? They wont boot you out the country thats for sure!

@gwynj Before the Covid palava I had one of those blue EU cards that ran out. Now I got a pink one and god bless Bulgaria!

Spot on though, it's all about rolling the dice out here.

I reckon if your strut in there like Philip Mckay and give it Mr. Know-It-All they would tell you go do one. No offence Phil mate, your a diamond but the rule book went out the window for me and now I am quids in no thanks to the lawyer mob.

Saw an article there Denmark doing like Cyprus giving us lot one last chance.

    @mickeyhart
Vratsa immigration did exactly the same for my other half two years ago after she was cheeky enough to ask when the guy who sits on the second desk in came out to do the security checks for my D visa . I still have to visit them every year for another three years , but have always found them really friendly and helpful.
   

    -@grahamstark1

Why didn't you go for the family card?

@SimCityAT

My application was already in and we are not married, although Bulgaria says it recognises long term relationships in truth its very difficult to get reunification on those grounds.

@grahamstark1

The EU Directives for Family Reunification allow for unmarried couples in "durable" relationships of 2 years or more. But they allow individual countries some flexibility in how they allow this, and even whether or not they allow it. So you're quite right that it can be tricky.

I believe that Germany and Austria are extremely hostile to this option, but I was told that more cosmopolitan immigration offices (Berlin, etc.) sometimes allow such eccentric lifestyle options. :-) Our local office in darkest (former) East Germany in the middle of the Thuringian Forest seemed shocked to see a non-white person, let alone unmarried people living together. They said "no" to family reunification ("come back when you're married" ), but it was a moot point as they also said "no" to my EU Citizen Registration. When I complained they can't say no to an EU citizen registering, they threatened to call the police... and refused to talk to me any more ("come back when you can speak German" was their additional advice). This office was not significantly more unfriendly than our village, so our whole German experience was at the other end of the hospitality continuum in comparison to the warm welcome and copious fruit and veg of my Bulgarian village neighbours. Very glad to have left, still stresses me out writing about it. :-)

Spain was a bit tricky, but we managed it there.

Bulgaria was very easy when we first arrived. They accepted a notarized declaration that we lived together, and you can't get much easier than that. :-)

Recently, they tightened up, so now they want a registration document of some kind showing that you lived together in another EU country. This would be the Anmeldung in Germany, or a Spanish Padron. This is a simple address certificate given when you register at your local town hall, which shows everyone registered at a particular address. While this is a common thing in Europe, the UK doesn't have an exact equivalent. But I'd guess that there's a good chance they'd accept a Council Tax statement showing both names. Ideally, backed up by joint property deeds or a rental contract with both names. My Plovdiv attorney is sending unmarried couples to Spain for a Padron, if they don't have anything else convincing. (If anyone needs this, send me a private message and I'll give you the deets.)