Bring my Non EU parent to Bulgaria

@smouse92000

They should be able to get a D visa with their pension. But I would try Family Reunification first.

@gwynj Thank you very much for your help.

I belive the family reunification is better than the visa D but the biggest problem is if we need to prove financial dependency (she has a pension, she is not financially dependent). Do you know if applying for the family reunification (me being a eu citizen) , does she need to prove any dependency?

@smouse92000

You may have to sign a declaration to say that you can and will financially support her..

@Jules999 thank you for your reply.

i can do that for sure but she is a pensionate so  actually she  doesnt depend financially on me.

@smouse92000

It's family reunification and it's also a D type visa for that,.  then residence permit but it's very quick for u being a EU citizen.

@philip Mckay thank you very much

Thank you all for the advice

@smouse92000

Sorry, I had misread your post! 😆

@smouse92000

If you can, Reunification is by far the better option! And it doesn't hurt to try.

I'm not 100% sure of the rules here, so I can't be sure it will work.

However, I am in the process of doing the same thing for my father, and I'm expecting it to work. It better, as I'm dragging the old boy nearly 3,000 km based on their say-so! :-)

I went to the immigration office with a registered interpreter (cost me 50 leva), showed them my (permanent) residence permit, and asked specifically if I could bring my father here in order to provide care for him, due to his age and medical conditions. (If you're worried, I suggest you do the same.) They said no problem, and they gave me two documents (equivalent to a rental contract and the landlord declaration, as I'm providing him with a place to live) to fill in. They also said I need to prove the family connection (my legalised birth certificate including my father's name, to match his passport). They didn't say that they needed any documentation in regards to him needing (or me providing) care. However, I thought that I would, for completeness, provide some kind of declaration to the effect that my father is x years old with y conditions that require 24-hour care... and that I am supporting him by providing accommodation, meals, and care.

Like your parent, mine has a good pension, so he's not truly financially dependent. But they don't know that.

It's possible I get special dispensation as a Permanent Resident, but I don't believe such a thing applies.

I'm guessing the official text is in the Foreigners in Bulgaria Act, here:

https://www.mig.government.bg/wp-content/uploads/2022/11/foreigners_in_the_republic_of_bulgaria_act.pdf

Reunification applies to family members, so who does Bulgaria include?

...members of the family... shall be the persons who live together with him/her in the same household and are:

1. spouse;

2. descendants under 21...

3. descendants over 21... [with] serious health problems [requiring the] citizen to care for them personally;

4. ascendants

5. other members of his/her household... dependent... or serious health problems.

@Jules999 no problem 👍🙂

@gwynj oh waw ! Thank you so much for sharing all of this! I really appreciate it!!  It gives a big insight.

i hope you don't mind me asking but are you going to use a lawyer to do this process or do you think is possible to be done by myself ? You

Most of this is just doing what the embassy says in your home country..  paperwork gathering basically ..  you don't need a lawyer. Just collect what paperwork they require. And copy it all .as they don't want the originals .  Once you got the visa it's exactly  the same paperwork you take to Bulgaria .... In fact because it's reunification   they want birth certificate of the person and maybe your birth certificate to see how you link to this person..  when I start my wife's reunification they only want marriage. Birth and police ACRO check .. that's it ..  no financial info as you the resident are the sponsor for finance etc

@philip Mckay thank you so much for the info! really much appreciate it!

@smouse92000

As the migration office said it's OK, I will try to get the documents ready myself, and go back with the same interpreter. If I have problems I might try again via an attorney. As @philip Mckay says, it's pretty much a box-ticking exercise, so an attorney shouldn't be necessary. However, if you have the funds, it's probably a lot easier to have an attorney deal with it.

They told me they wanted his passport, the two address/landlord documents, health insurance (or EHIC/S1), and my birth certificate, showing my father's name (the certificate to be legalised / apostilled). Fingers crossed. :-)

@gwynj thank you again for sharing and good luck 🤞