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Moving guides

From Portugal to Bulgaria

What changes in tax when you move from Portugal to Bulgaria: what you pay today, what you would pay there and the rules Portugal applies when you leave.

What you would save

With €150,000 a year in dividends or foreign income, compared as a genuine resident of each country.

Today in Portugal€42,000
In Bulgaria€7,500
Yearly difference+€34,500

Full guide: Bulgaria →

Leaving Portugal

  • More than 183 days in any 12-month period. You are resident if you spend more than 183 days in Portugal, consecutive or not, in any 12-month period starting or ending in the tax year.
  • Habitual residence. With fewer days, you are still resident if at any time in that 12-month period you have a home in Portugal in conditions suggesting you intend to keep and use it as your habitual residence.
  • Part-year residence. Since 2015 residence normally starts on the first day of stay and ends on the last day, so a year can be split into resident and non-resident periods, with some exceptions.

Rules that can follow you after leaving

  • Portuguese nationals moving to a blacklisted territory stay resident 4 more years. Portuguese nationals who move tax residence to a territory on the government blacklist remain Portuguese residents in the year of the move and the four following years, unless they prove valid reasons such as temporary work.

Exit tax in Portugal

No general exit tax for individuals

Leaving Portugal does not trigger tax on unrealised gains on ordinary shares or property. Specific exceptions: gains previously deferred on tax-neutral share exchanges or on transferring a sole-trader business into a company can become taxable on loss of residence, and loss of residence is treated as a disposal of crypto-assets (since 2023).

Exit tax → · Am I still resident? →

Arriving in Bulgaria

Personal income: 10% · Company tax: 10%

EU citizens: residence registration with the migration police. Non-EU: permit through a company, job or investment.

183 days a year or centre of interests in Bulgaria.

Flat 10% income tax and 10% company tax. Dividends at 5%. The lowest rates in the EU, with tax treaties and free movement.

Living there

Monthly cost for one person, rent included
Sofia€1,300–1,600
Plovdiv€1,000–1,300
Climate
Continental; warm summers 28-32°C, cold winters -5 to 5°C.
Direct flights to
London, Frankfurt, Munich, Vienna, Istanbul
Safety
High
International schools
Some
Fixed internet
94 Mbps

Steps to residency

  1. 2 weeksRegister Bulgarian company (EOOD) with Registry Agency
  2. 4 weeksApply for type D visa at Bulgarian consulate (non-EU)
  3. 4 weeksApply for long-term residence permit at Migration Directorate
  4. 2 weeksCollect residence card and register for tax

About 12 weeks in total

Official websites: Tax authority · Immigration

Approximate figures that change often; check them before deciding.

Other destinations from Portugal