You can arrive in Bulgaria with a CV and no permit if you hold an EU, EEA or Swiss passport. That is the legal side of working in Bulgaria. The practical side is a short list of rules worth knowing before you sign: the written contract, the trial period, the hours, the leave and what happens if the job ends.
Where do you look for work, and what does working in Bulgaria involve?
EURES lists the Employment Agency (Агенция по заетостта, az.government.bg) and the EURES portal for offers, and says that private portals such as jobs.bg and rabota.bg are widely used, especially in IT and business process outsourcing. Company websites matter too. There are 106 job centres (Бюро по труда) where you can register, in person, online or by post, with an ID, the standard form and a certificate of your address in Bulgaria. Services are free. EURES advisers can help in English, German, Spanish and French.
What does the Bulgarian employment contract look like?
The contract must be in writing and signed before you start. The employer gives you a signed copy and a copy of the notification of the contract to the tax administration (NRA), certified by it. It can be open-ended or fixed-term; a fixed-term contract becomes open-ended if work goes on for five days or more after its end without written objection from the employer.
Main rules, from the Commission's guide and EURES:
- Trial period: up to 6 months. During it, the party for whose benefit it was set can terminate without notice.
- Notice: 1 month for an open-ended contract, 3 months for a fixed-term one (not beyond the remaining term), unless the parties agree otherwise.
- Working time: 40 hours a week over 5 days, 8 hours a day. Days may be extended to 10 hours (48 a week), up to 60 days a year. Rest: 12 hours between days and 48 hours a week; meal break of at least 30 minutes.
- Paid leave: at least 20 working days a year.
Reading an employment contract in a second language is exactly where a second pair of eyes helps. Moovy can explain the clauses you flag, compare them to the rules above and list questions for the employer. It does not negotiate or sign for you, and a labour lawyer is the right call for a dispute.
What is the minimum wage for working in Bulgaria?
The minimum wage for 2026 is 620.20 euros a month, according to the Commission's guide. The country changed to the euro on 1 January 2026. EURES has an example from 2025 in leva: a gross salary of 2,000 leva (about 1,000 euros) gave a net of about 1,550 leva, with income tax at 10 per cent of taxable income; that is a 2025 example and old, so ask for a payslip simulation with current rates before you sign.
Which public holidays should you plan around?
The Labour Code lists 1 January, 3 March, 1 May, 6 May, 24 May, 6 September, 22 September, 24 to 26 December and the Orthodox Good Friday, Holy Saturday, Easter Sunday and Easter Monday. In 2026 Orthodox Easter falls on 12 April. When a holiday (other than the Easter days) falls on a weekend, the next working day or two are days off. 1 November is a day off only for educational institutions. Offices close on these days; see living in Bulgaria.
What if you lose your job?
Register at the job centre no later than 7 working days after the contract ends, then file the benefit claim within 3 months at the regional office of the National Social Security Institute (НОИ). Bring your U1 form if you worked elsewhere in the EU.
Conditions: at least 12 months of contributions to the unemployment fund in the last 18 months. The benefit is 60 per cent of the average insured income of the last 24 months (only Bulgarian periods count), between 9.21 and 54.78 euros a day in 2026. It lasts 4 months (up to 3 years of service), 6 months (3 to 7 years), 8 months (7 to 11), 10 months (11 to 15) or 12 months (15 years or more). If you resign, you receive only the minimum, for 4 months.
If you come with unemployment benefit from another country, register there for at least four weeks, ask for the U2, and register in Bulgaria within 7 days.
What about diplomas and regulated jobs?
For a qualification or regulated profession, contact the national recognition centre (NACID, nacid.bg) or the professional authority; see schools in Bulgaria for school diplomas.
How do you get started working in Bulgaria as a newcomer?
Register as a job seeker if you want the support of the job centres, and prepare a CV in the language of the offers you target. EURES says private portals such as jobs.bg and rabota.bg are widely used, so set up alerts there, and look at company websites in IT and business process outsourcing, where EURES says they are especially used. Ask whether the employer works in English; many roles in international teams do, but the contract itself will be in Bulgarian.
Have the contract read, or at least summarised, before you sign. The points to check are the job title, the duties, the gross salary in euros, the working time, the trial period, the notice period and the leave.
What are your rights during the trial period and notice?
The trial period lasts up to six months, and during it, the party for whom it was agreed can end the contract without notice. After that, the notice period is one month for an open-ended contract and three months for a fixed-term one (not beyond the remaining term), unless the parties agree otherwise. The Commission's guide gives these rules; a collective agreement or the contract can change them within the law.
Keep copies of your contract, your payslips and the NRA notification of your contract. They also serve as proof of your situation for the residence file; see residence in Bulgaria for EU citizens.
What does the working week look like?
The normal week is 40 hours over five days, eight hours a day, with at least 30 minutes for a meal break. Overtime can lengthen a day to 10 hours and a week to 48, up to 60 days a year, and EURES lists a rest of at least 12 hours between working days and 48 hours a week. Night work runs from 22:00 to 06:00 and has a shorter maximum. The Commission's guide and EURES give these figures; for your own case, the contract and the collective agreement apply.
What leave are you entitled to?
At least 20 paid working days a year, with more by contract or collective agreement. According to EURES, a new employee can use paid leave after four months of work. Maternity leave is 410 days per child, 45 of them before birth, and fathers have 15 days from the date the mother leaves hospital. Public holidays come on top: the list is in living in Bulgaria.
How do taxes and contributions affect your salary?
Income tax is 10 per cent of taxable income, and contributions are deducted too. The EURES example above, from 2025 and in the former currency, shows the gap between gross and net pay. Ask your employer for a payslip simulation with current rates. Your health cover is described in healthcare in Bulgaria.
What if you want to be your own boss?
Self-employment works differently from a salaried job. You carry the contributions and the administration yourself, with a minimum insurable base of 620.20 euros a month from 1 August 2026, according to the NRA's page for self-insured persons.
What changes if you are not an EU citizen?
Britons and other non-Europeans generally need a work permit unless protected by the withdrawal agreement; see moving to Bulgaria from the UK. If you want to work for yourself, ask the Migration Directorate whether your permit allows it. Rules change, so verify with the Employment Agency before you start working in Bulgaria. Working in Bulgaria as an EU citizen needs no permit, but it does need a written contract.