The presented draft law amending and supplementing the Law on Foreigners in the Republic of Bulgaria (ZChRB) introduces into national legislation the requirements of Directive (EU) 2024/1233 of the European Parliament and of the Council of April 24, 2024 regarding a single application procedure for citizens of third countries for a single permit to reside and work in the territory of a member state and regarding a general set of rights for workers from third countries legally residing in a member state.
The Bulgarian Industrial Capital Association (BICA) shares the need for a timely transposition of the directive and the creation of a faster, more transparent and more predictable procedure for the access of citizens of third countries to the Bulgarian labor market. This is a key issue not only of migration policy, but of economic competitiveness. The Bulgarian economy is experiencing a systemic labor shortage, and enterprises in industry, construction, transport, tourism, agriculture and services are now planning their production not according to orders, but according to whether they can find people to work.
It is for this reason that the transposition of Directive (EU) 2024/1233 should not be formal, but should be a tool for real easing of access to labor force from third countries with minimum administrative burdens, minimum costs, maximum predictability and maximum acceleration of procedures. Bulgaria to stop being a slow, expensive and uncertain jurisdiction for the legal employment of workers from third countries.
In its current form, the bill does not achieve this goal. It introduces some of the requirements of the directive, but does not make sufficient use of the possibilities that the directive itself provides to the Member States to protect the national labor market, to speed up the procedures and to guarantee the legitimate interest of the employer who has invested time, funds, organization, mediation, documents, transport, accommodation and training to attract a particular worker.
The bill improves the rights of the holder of a single permit, including through the possibility of changing employers and maintaining residence in case of temporary unemployment. This is a requirement of the directive and cannot be ignored. The problem is that the draft law lacks the balancing mechanisms that the directive allows: a mandatory full six-month initial period with the first employer, a mandatory notification procedure in the event of a change, verification of conditions and the labor market, temporary suspension of the right to change until the verification is completed, the possibility of opposition by the competent authority, as well as clear regulations for internal mobility within an enterprise or group of enterprises.
This is a significant drawback. If the employer assumes all the risk and all the costs, but the worker can practically immediately or after a short period switch to another employer or use Bulgaria as an entrance to the EU labor market, then the Bulgarian company finances the access to the workforce, and the benefit is realized by another employer or another country. Thus, Bulgaria becomes a service point of entry for the European labor market for workers from third countries.
BICA insists that the transposition of the directive be carried out under the principle of minimum necessary regulation. No additional national burdens, documents, fees, requirements, certifications and checks beyond those required under EU law should be introduced, except where they serve to expedite, control against abuse or protect the employer's investment.
Any new procedure must be tested whether it reduces time for the employer, reduces cost, reduces the risk of abuse, increases real access to the workforce. If the answer is negative, the text should not be accepted.
The lack of personnel cannot be recognized politically, but the same slow, expensive and non-transparent procedure can be administratively reproduced. This is incompatible with the needs of the economy.
BICA does not object to the envisaged norms relating to border control, the authorities responsible for asylum procedures and the reception of applicants, the authorities responsible for the protection of public health, as well as the authorities responsible for carrying out return procedures, insofar as they are necessary for the implementation of Regulation (EU) 2024/1356.
The main problem for employers is the transposition of Art. 11 of Directive (EU) 2024/1233. The Directive actually obliges Member States to allow the holder of a single permit to change employers. But it expressly allows the member state to subject this right to conditions, including: notification to the competent authorities; verification of the situation on the labor market, if such verification is also carried out at the time of the initial application; and a minimum period during which the worker is required to work for the first employer. This minimum period cannot exceed six months.
The Bulgarian project must make full use of this opportunity. A six-month minimum period of employment with the first employer should be explicitly introduced, except in duly proven cases of serious violation of the terms of the employment relationship by the employer. This is not a "restriction of the rights" of the worker, but a minimum protection against abuse of the system and against the transformation of Bulgaria into a transit channel.
It should also be provided that the change of employer before or after this period does not occur automatically, but is carried out after mandatory notification and verification by the competent authorities. The directive allows for the right of replacement to be temporarily suspended for a period of up to 45 days from the notification, during which the authorities can check whether the conditions are met and whether the requirements under EU law and national law continue to be met. Bulgaria should introduce this mechanism, and not leave the employer without real protection.
It is also necessary to provide for the possibility for the competent authority to oppose the change of employer within this period, when the conditions for access to the labor market are not met, when the new employer does not meet the requirements, when there is evidence of abuse, fictitious employment or circumvention of the regime, or when the minimum period has not expired with the first employer and no serious violation on his part has been proven.
BICA considers the introduction of a text that only formally states that the minimum period "cannot exceed six months" to be insufficient and economically unjustified, without guaranteeing that Bulgaria actually uses the maximum protection allowed by the directive for the first employer. Any shorter decision is directly detrimental to Bulgarian enterprises
The Directive provides that application processing fees must not be disproportionate or excessive, and where such fees are paid by the employer, he is not entitled to recover them from the worker. This norm should be accounted for correctly, but it does not cancel the need for national law to recognize the fact that the employer incurs significant additional costs that are not exhausted by the administrative fees.
The possibility of lawful contractual mechanisms for the reimbursement of proven costs of training, qualification, specialized training, transport, accommodation or other real costs should be discussed and arranged when the worker leaves without a valid reason within a short period of his arrival, as far as this is compatible with the Labor Code, with the civil law and with the express prohibition of the Directive on the reimbursement of the fees for processing the application itself. This should be arranged carefully so as not to create forced labor or unacceptable dependence, but also so as not to make the investment of the correct employer meaningless.
Otherwise, a clear incentive will be created for disloyal behavior and situations where one employer invests in attracting and training the worker, another employer attracts the ready worker, and the state formally reports "liberalization".
The draft law does not contain sufficiently clear and flexible regulations for the internal mobility of the worker within an enterprise. This is especially important for employers with multiple sites, manufacturing sites, seasonal operations, construction sites, logistics bases or related businesses.
It should be expressly provided that a change of place of work within the same employer, including moving to another city, another site, production site, construction site or structural unit, does not constitute a change of employer and does not require a new permit, when the work function remains within the scope of the permitted activity and the conditions of the labor law are observed. In these cases, electronic notification or reflection in the next data update is sufficient.
The same principle should also be applied to the temporary performance of work in a related enterprise or an enterprise of the same economic group, when the responsibility of the original employer is preserved or when the change is intra-group and does not lead to the circumvention of the regime for access to the labor market. For such cases, an accelerated procedure for amending the data should be created, without going through the entire authorization procedure again.
It is also necessary to consider the possibility of controlled temporary employment or provision of labor through enterprises that legally carry out such activity, with clear responsibility, traceability, notification and protection of labor rights. If such a possibility is not settled, the business will continue to operate in conditions of formal prohibition and actual need, which always creates a gray area.
The Directive requires that a decision on the application be made as soon as possible and in any case within 90 days of the submission of a complete application. This term is a maximum ceiling, not a goal to which Bulgaria should strive. For the Bulgarian economy, 90 days often means a missed production cycle, an unfulfilled order or a refused contract.
Therefore, we insist that the national regulation introduce shorter internal deadlines and a regime ("fast track") for reliable employers, for deficient professions and for employers without violations of labor, insurance and migration legislation. The status of "reliable employer" should be created, which would give the right to an accelerated procedure, reduced volume of documents for re-applications, electronic communication and pre-validation of part of the circumstances.
The procedure should be fully electronic with a single entry, one-time submission of data, official exchange between the Ministry of Internal Affairs, the Employment Agency, the IA "Main Labor Inspection", the NRA and other competent authorities. The employer must not be a courier between institutions. If the state has data, it must collect it ex officio.
It is also necessary to introduce clear consequences for administrative inaction, such as at least a reasoned notification obligation, automatic extension of validity when a renewal application is submitted, and priority adjudication when deadlines expire. Otherwise, the terms remain wishful thinking.
The directive provides that unemployment in itself is not a reason to withdraw the single permit if the total period of unemployment does not exceed three months during the period of validity of the permit or six months if the person has been the holder of the single permit for more than two years. The state may allow a longer period, but is not obliged to do so.
BICA considers that Bulgaria should not introduce a regime more favorable than the minimum required, as this would increase the risk of the country being used as an entry point for residence without real employment. The minimum period under the directive should be introduced, mandatory notification of the start and end of unemployment and a requirement to prove sufficient means of subsistence for periods longer than three months where this is permissible.
In case of serious violations by the employer, the protection of the worker must be guaranteed. But in normal termination or leaving without good reason, the system should not encourage unemployment, sham contracts or subsequent diversion to other markets.
At the same time, we emphasize that these provisions should not be used as a reason to further delay or complicate legal labor migration. Controlling illegal migration and accelerating legal access to the labor market are two different policies and should not be conflated to the detriment of employers.
BICA considers that the project to amend and supplement the Law on Foreigners in the Republic of Bulgaria can be supported only if it is substantially revised and includes at least the following elements:
• Explicit introduction of the maximum six-month minimum period of work permitted by the directive with the first employer, except in case of proven serious violation of labor obligations by the employer.
• Mandatory notification when changing employer and temporary suspension of the right to change for up to 45 days, during which the competent authority checks the conditions and can oppose the change.
• Verification of the situation on the labor market when changing employers, when such verification is applied to the initial application.
• Introduction of the possibility of refusal/opposition when changing employers in case of unfulfilled conditions, abuse, fictitious employment, violations of the new employer or unexpired minimum period with the first employer.
• Clear provision that a change of place of work within the same employer is not a change of employer and does not require a new permit.
• Accelerated procedure for intra-group mobility and work in a related enterprise, without a complete repetition of the procedure when there is no circumvention of the regime.
• Regulation of admissible supervised temporary employment/provision of labor when it is carried out by legally authorized enterprises and with full protection of labor rights.
• Introduction of "reliable employer" status and regime for them with shorter deadlines, reduced document volume and official verification of data.
• Complete electronicization of the procedure through a single entry and official exchange of data between institutions.
• Setting shorter national deadlines than the maximum allowed under the directive, especially for re-applications, renewals and applications from credible employers.
• Introduction of the minimum permissible regime for temporary unemployment, without national expansion beyond the requirements of the directive, except in cases of proven serious violations by the employer.
• Possibility of lawful contractual mechanisms to protect proven costs of the employer without violating the prohibition on reimbursement by the employee of the fees for processing the application.
In conclusion, BICA believes that the proposed draft law in its current form should not be supported without substantial revision. It transposes the directive formally, but does not make sufficient use of the opportunities that EU law provides to member states to accelerate legal labor migration, protect the national labor market, limit abuses and protect the correct employer.
BICA supports the goal of harmonization with EU law and the introduction of a single procedure, but insists that the transposition be economically reasonable, nationally responsible and tailored to the real needs of Bulgarian business. Bulgaria cannot afford a legal arrangement where the employer invests, the administration delays, the worker leaves, and the economy loses.
Read the full opinion here.
