Bulgaria's 20 and 35 percent cap on third country workers per employer
Article 7(1) of Bulgaria's Labour Migration Act holds third country nationals to 20 percent of average headcount, and to 35 percent in small and medium firms.
Bulgaria runs no annual national quota for third country workers. The limit sits at employer level. Under Article 7(1)(1) of the Labour Migration and Labour Mobility Act, third country nationals employed over the preceding 12 months may not exceed 20 percent of average headcount, and for small and medium enterprises the ceiling is 35 percent.
That is a ceiling percentage, not a quota to be allocated. Nobody applies for a share of a national limit. The Employment Agency checks the ratio inside each individual file and refuses access when it is exceeded.
How the ratio is calculated
Three inputs decide the arithmetic, and each is read more narrowly than employers expect.
The base is average headcount under employment contracts, not the number of people employed today. A seasonal dip in headcount shrinks the base and with it the permitted number of foreign nationals.
The period is the preceding 12 months, which is a closed period rather than a forecast for the coming year. A company that is only now expanding its workforce cannot rely on future hires.
The enterprise category follows Article 3(1)(1) of the Small and Medium Enterprises Act. The thresholds there cover average staff numbers and either annual turnover or asset value, so growing out of the category drops the ceiling from 35 to 20 percent in the middle of a production cycle.
| Employer profile | Applicable ceiling | Effect at 100 average headcount |
|---|---|---|
| Large enterprise | 20 percent | up to 20 third country nationals |
| Small or medium enterprise under the SME Act | 35 percent | up to 35 third country nationals |
| Enterprise that crossed the SME threshold in year | 20 percent | the ceiling falls by 15 people |
Who sits outside the calculation
The limit does not cover every hire. Outside the ratio are cases where the employment arises from an international treaty to which Bulgaria is a party, guest lecturers and teachers in Bulgarian schools and universities, performing artists, professional athletes and coaches. Outside its scope too are the routes that carry their own conditions: the EU Blue Card, the intra corporate transfer, and seasonal employment, where the worker keeps a main place of residence in a third country.
The practical consequence is that a seasonal registration does not eat the ceiling a hotel company is preserving for its year round staff. Employers who merge the two routes in one plan routinely give up hiring the law would have allowed.
What is on the table in 2026, and what the error costs
In January 2026 the Ministry of Labour and Social Policy published a draft act amending the Labour Migration and Labour Mobility Act for public consultation. The consultation on the strategy.bg portal ran from 8 to 22 January 2026, on a shortened fourteen day period.
The draft raises both ceilings by 5 percentage points, introduces a way to change the place of work, allows hiring outside the quotas for sites and activities of national significance, and sets a legal framework for mediation services in the hiring of third country nationals. It also bans employing a third country national in unlawful residence and adds penalties for the breach. The explanatory notes tie part of the package to aligning Bulgarian law with Directive 2014/36/EU on seasonal workers under infringement procedure 2023/2017.
A draft is not a law. Until the amendments are promulgated in the State Gazette, 20 and 35 percent remain in force. An employer planning a 2027 headcount on the proposed 25 and 40 percent is planning on a consultation document.
Here is how the error looks in practice. A manufacturer with 120 average headcount and medium enterprise status hires 38 third country nationals over a year. In February the prior year turnover comes in above the Small and Medium Enterprises Act threshold and the company stops being a medium enterprise. The ceiling drops to 20 percent, which is 24 people. The Employment Agency issues negative opinions on the next applications, renewals included. Fourteen workers are left without a route to continue, and replacing them costs two full single permit cycles.
The check takes ten minutes and belongs before selection, not after it. The ratio is the first thing the Employment Agency reads, not the last. Its place in the chain is set out in the single permit procedure, and the justification assessed alongside it in the labour market test. How Bulgaria sits against neighbouring corridors on timing is compared in the corridor by corridor timeline. The terms on which Werklist runs this check before selection starts are set out on the employers page.
The ceiling moves with the workforce. A company that calculates it once and treats it as fixed will meet it again at the moment it renews its permits.
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