What it is for
The Bulgarian administration works with numbers. Citizens have a national number, foreign nationals with dealings in Bulgaria are issued one of their own.
Without it, a great many ordinary-looking things do not happen: opening a bank account, entries in registers, tax registration, certain property steps, administrative proceedings.
People usually discover they need one when they are already in the middle of something else.
Who needs one
Foreign nationals residing in Bulgaria on a given basis, and those with legal relationships here without living permanently. An owner of property, a shareholder in a company, a party to proceedings.
Whether you specifically need one depends on what you intend to do. Sometimes there is a shorter route without it, and sometimes it is put off by people who needed it from the start.
How it is obtained
It is tied to the basis of residence or to the particular reason. The application goes to the relevant service with identity documents and proof of the basis.
The same holds here as for any procedure: delays usually come from the form of the documents, not the substance. A foreign document without an apostille, or with a translation done by the wrong person, sends the file back to the beginning.
Related
If your aim is a company, see company formation. If your aim is residence, see long-term residence.
If you are outside Bulgaria
Part of the preparation is done without you, but some steps require you to appear in person. I will tell you which, so that you can plan one trip rather than three.
What I will need
An identity document. The basis on which you are connected to Bulgaria: property, a company, work, family, residence. And what exactly you want to do, because that shows whether the number is needed and what the shortest route to it is.
This page provides general information and does not constitute legal advice on any specific case. Rights and deadlines depend on the facts and the applicable law.