Seasonal Worker Visa for Up To 90 days

Registration for seasonal work of up to 90 consecutive days within a period of 12 months is carried out based on a declaration submitted by the employer and in compliance with the Bulgarian law. The foreigner must have a valid visa for the purposes of seasonal work, when such is required.

Seasonal Employment Registration Procedure

Seasonal work is defined as temporary work that satisfies business needs in certain periods. The necessity for such work arises whenever work demands increase or where a job position is only temporarily needed.

A seasonal worker, within the meaning of the Labour Migration and Labour Mobility Act, is a third country national who keeps their main place of residence back at home and temporarily resides in Bulgaria under specific immigration rules to perform seasonal work, based on one or more fixed-term employment contracts signed directly with a Bulgarian employer.

What Are The Requirements for a Seasonal Employment Registration?

The procedure for access to the labour market for seasonal workers is subject to the following conditions:

1. List of key economic sectors, released by the Minister of Labour and Social Policy. The current list includes sectors such as agriculture, forestry and fisheries; hotels and restaurants.
2. Overseas employees must not be treated less favourably than Bulgarian employees doing the same or largely the same job, unless the employer can demonstrate that there is a good reason for doing so.
3. The employer has provided the seasonal worker with suitable accommodation that meets all safety and health requirements until the end of the employment contract.
4. The employer is obliged to reimburse the seasonal worker for any reasonable and necessary expenses incurred during approved work related travel, as well as the costs of the seasonal worker's mandatory health insurance and insurance.
5. The procedure requires that the registration in the Employment Agency be carried out before the start of employment of the foreigners on the territory of the country.

Seasonal Worker Registration Document Checklist

Necessary documents for registration:

1. Declaration for the registration of short-term employment. The beginning of the employment should be no earlier than 10 days after the submission of the documents by the employer. The duration of employment is up to 90 days from its start date.
2. Copy of permits/certificates issued to the employer by the competent authorities for hotel and/or catering activities. The document is required only when registering employment in the "hotel and restaurant" sector. For the "agriculture, forestry and fisheries" sector, information is required for relevant registration with the Ministry of Agriculture or with another competent authority.
3. Declaration from the employer that the working conditions are appropriate and fit to work in. The name of the seasonal worker should be stated in the declaration. A sample of the declaration is published on the official page of the Employment Agency on the Internet.
4. Certified by the employer, a copy of a fixed-term employment contract, signed by all parties and with the clause "entering into force after registration of employment in the Employment Agency and entry of the foreigner in Bulgaria". A copy of the job description, signed by the employee when it is an integral part of the contract, is attached. The notice period for termination of fixed-term employment contracts is 3 months, but not more than the remainder of the contract term. The employment contract should state that the transport costs from the seasonal worker's place of origin to his workplace in Bulgaria are at the expense of the employer, who also covers the travel costs for the return, regardless of the reasons for terminating the employment relationship with the employed worker. The place of work is also specified in the contract. The headquarters of the enterprise with which the employment contract was concluded is considered to be such, unless otherwise agreed or does not follow from the nature of the work. It is also necessary to specify the workplace where the worker will work.
5. A document that the conditions for practising a profession included in the List of regulated professions in Bulgaria are met.
6. Declaration by the employer that the seasonal worker is provided with suitable housing that meets all safety and health requirements until the end of the contract.
7. A copy of the passport or a replacement document with the photo pages and personal data of the seasonal worker.

What is The Official Documentation Collected About the Employer by the Employment Agency?

Through the Application review process, the Employment Agency collects and evaluates official information about the employer.

The Employment Agency requests official information on:

• The data for the employer, entered in the BULSTAT Register, or for the Unified Identification Code (UIC) of the employer.
• Registration with the Bulgarian Chamber of Commerce and Industry, if applicable.
• The current status - in the case of companies without a UIC.

The Employment Agency requests official information from:

• The National Revenue Agency for the existence of any obligations of the employer in labour and industrial relations.
• Executive Agency "General Labour Inspectorate" for enacted penalty decrees for infringements.

Bulgarian Visa Application For The Purposes Of Seasonal Employment

The employer has a commitment to inform all seasonal oversea’s staff about the registered employment by providing them with the declaration certified by the Employment Agency. Foreigners should submit to the nearest diplomatic or consular representation of the Republic of Bulgaria the relevant documents for obtaining a visa for the purposes of seasonal work, when one is required.

The conditions and procedure for issuing visas are regulated in the Ordinance on the conditions and procedure for issuing visas and determining the visa regime, as the competent authority is the Ministry of Foreign Affairs.

Notification Of The Executive Agency "General Labour Inspectorate"

It is a statutory requirement for employers to inform the relevant territorial directorate of the executive agency "General Labour Inspectorate" within 7 days of the employee commencing work.

The executive agency "General Labour Inspectorate" carries out specialised control activities related to the employment of foreign workforce in Bulgaria, within which the control bodies have the right to visit all sites where work is performed, as well as to request personal information held by the employer about all hired seasonal overseas workers.