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BUYING PROCEDURE
COMPANY REGISTRATION
APOSTILE PROCEDURE
NOTARY DEED
BULGARIAN RESIDENCE
ACCOUNTING
INSURANCE
STEP BY STEP
GUIDE
1.
Make your own research browsing all available properties on the
market.
2. Contact
our experts to get professional advice, help narrow down your
search criteria and find a suitable property.
3. Arrange a viewing trip (sign an
order for purchase) to view the selected properties and areas.
4.
Start the procedure of
setting up a company (this could be
done from a distance ?
Apostile procedure)
5.
Choose a property; negotiate price and terms, do legal checks,
conveyance and
survey.
6.
Take the property off the market by signing a
preliminary contract (this could be
done from a distance by the proxy you have authorized to act on your
behalf). The preliminary contract involves paying a deposit, usually 10%
of the purchasing price when you take the property off the market for a
month or 1000 Euro for a week.
7.
Complete the deal by transferring final funds and
signing the
Notary Deed (Title Deed).
8.
Arrange further
management of the property
(declare the property in Tax office, change the title name of utility
bills, arrange insurance, accounting, etc)
9.
Bring the property you have bought
up to your standards. Arrange building,
renovation, restoration, furnishing, etc.
COMPANY
REGISTRATION
According to the
Bulgarian Constitution foreign nationals and foreign legal entities may not
directly acquire ownership rights of land. If foreigners inherit land in the
country, they are obliged to transfer the ownership of the land to Bulgarian
nationals or Bulgarian legal entity within three years after the inheritance becomes
effective. The above restrictions, however, do not concern Bulgarian
companies with foreign participation, irrespective of the percentage of the
foreign participation in the company. Thus foreign persons can acquire full
land ownership rights, including ownership rights on agricultural land by
setting up or joining a company incorporated under the Bulgarian
legislation.
PRIVATE LIMITED
COMPANY (OOD
? joint ownership; EOOD ? single ownership) is the most common type of
business organization used by foreigners to acquire ownership right over
land. It is a commercial company with share capital owned by its members
whose liability is limited to the amount of the capital subscribed. One or
more persons, including foreign natural or legal persons, may found a
private liability company. The minimum foundation capital is 5 000 LEVA
divided into shares and at least 70% must be deposited on registration. The
company capital could be withdrawn as soon as the company is registered.
Our fee: 400 euro
APOSTILE PROCEDURE
The
Hague Convention, abolishing the requirement for Legalisation of Foreign
Public Documents ("Hague Legalisation Convention") has been in force in
Bulgaria since 2001. If you need to use official British documents in
Bulgaria, be it for business purposes (registration of companies, trade
marks, patents) or personal and family reasons such as getting married in
Bulgaria, they have to be legalised at the Legalisation Office of the
Foreign and Commonwealth Office in London. Once legalised by the Foreign and
Commonwealth Office, such documents do not need further legalisation by the
Embassy of the Republic of Bulgaria in London.
The
Legalisation Office
Foreign and Commonwealth Office
Old Admiralty Building,Whitehall
London SW1A 2LG
Tel: 020 7008 1111
Fax: 020 7008 1010
Legalisation simply means confirming that a signature, seal or stamp
appearing on a document is genuine. It does not mean that the content of a
document is accurate or that the Foreign & Commonwealth office approves of
the content.
If you are going to use British documents overseas, for business or personal
reasons, you will probably be asked to have your documents stamped by the
Foreign and Commonwealth Office
before they can be accepted. If you are not sure what documents need to be legalised you should contact the authority who require the documents. Advice
can often be found at the relevant embassy in London.
You can send your documents by post or bring them to public counter
in London for a same day service. The fee for legalisation is £19.00 per
document.
Source:
www.fco.gov.uk/legalisation;
www.bulgarianembassy.org.uk
SIGNING THE NOTARY DEED
Title
Deed (Notary Act) is a standard document transferring ownership of the
property. You or the person acting on your behalf with a Power of Attorney (POA) will receive it within 3-5 days
from the Public Office.
According to the Local Taxes and Fees Law, 2% local tax and up to 1.5% Stamp
Duty tax (defined on a regressive scale), are payable upon signing the Title
Deed. These are calculated on the price written in the Title Deed.
BULGARIAN RESIDENCE
Getting Bulgarian residence will give you all rights of a Bulgarian citizen
except the right of voting. You will be able to buy land and other
properties without any limitations and you will be able to enter and leave
the country as many times you like without visas.
To obtain a permanent residence one must spend 5 years in Bulgaria under the
long-term stay conditions and we can fully assist you in this process.
A long term stay permit is valid for 1 year and is issued each year. During
each year of stay you are issued a Bulgarian Identity Card (the same ID
document that each Bulgarian citizen holds.) After 5 years under long-term
permit one can apply for permanent residence.
Short term Visa Type ?C?.
A short-stay visa is issued
to an alien for a single or multiple entries into Bulgaria and a cumulative
duration of the stay not exceeding 90 days within any six-month period,
reckoned from the date of the first entry. A multiple entry short-stay visa may
be with a period of validity not exceeding 12 months, save in so far as
otherwise provided in an international treaty in force for the Republic of
Bulgaria or in an act of the Council of Ministers. Note: The duration of a
short stay may not exceed 90 days, reckoned from the date of entry into
Bulgaria. This duration may be extended by the aliens administrative control
services for humanitarian reasons.
Our fee: 200 euro
Long
term Visa Type ?D?.
A
long-term stay in Bulgaria can be continuous with a one-year leave to remain
(D-type visas), and permanent with an indefinite leave to remain (permanent
residence). Applications for D-type visas can be submitted to Bulgarias
consular representations abroad. Applications for permanent residence can
only be submitted in Bulgaria.
Our fee: 450 euro
ACCOUNTING
We can provide foreign
investors owning property in Bulgaria through their Bulgarian registered
companies with accountancy services to comply with the rules and regulations
of the Bulgarian tax law.
Bulgarian law still
does not allow foreign nationals to own land. The majority of investors are
purchasing their properties through a company registered in this country.
However even if your company is registered just to own a property and not
actively trading, it is still subject to control and inspection by the local
tax officers.
Each company is
obliged to prepare an annual tax report for its business activities. The
report should be submitted to the local tax office before 31st Mart each
year. The companies which don?t comply with the requirements are subject to
fines and penalties. Even if your
company is renting properties and has rental income, it is then
considered as fully operational company.
We work with company
which has experience with foreign owners. They will not only prepare the
necessary paperwork, but will also advise you on how to legally minimize the
tax due. Your assigned accountant will issue invoices, represent your
company, pay tax advances as well as all other necessary actions required.
Our fees depend on the
type of the company registration,
whether it is active, VAT
registered etc.
INSURANCE
We are an authorized
agent of ING and we can arrange insurance for your
property in Bulgaria.
We offer company property insurance and life
insurance. All we need is: Title Deeds for a
property, estimated value of the property in Euros, and the estimated value of the
furniture or other personal items.
All paperwork is
filled in and organized by us and it is not necessary to visit us in order
to insure your property. Payment is made by bank transfer and you
will receive your insurance policy to your Bulgarian address or directly to
your home address abroad.
For more information
and quotations, please
contact us.
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