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@Cheryl in common with most banks service is bad but in bg it also comes with a high cost

@Johnkwt

Have to say my experience with UBB in Vratsa has been nothing short of brilliant, unlike British Banks if you can still find one open on the High Street, I can get excellent one on one, face to face service with a customer service representative.

Admittedly charges have gone up for new customers opening accounts since the recent merger, but my current account still only cost 2.50 leva per month, if you keep a business account open its obviously more expensive, but if your not constantly buying and selling property, then close it if you had to open one for a Company.

This is a great topic and for me quite timely. I recently reviewed my charges at DSK bank compared to others. For example, DSK charges 500 lev per year for a safety deposit box and I found one for 30 at Fibank   

thus far, I have found that DSK is either the most expensive or certainly in the group of being very expensive. As I will be moving several different accounts for businesses and personal, I would appreciate if anybody has gotten further along in their evaluation than I have.

Mostly bank with the old U.S. brick and morter legacies and Western Union.

My main concern is security.

Old U.S. banks are better at stopping I.D. theft. I've been sniped many times over the years.  At each attempt the brick and morters blocked and reversed the charges. I remember once, waking up with -30k, logging in and seeing screens of charge reverses.

They are better at security.

I believe I will be required to have my pension check sent to a BG bank to qualify for residency. It sounds like a hassle if there are a lot of fees. i personally like to just pull my monthly money out and pay as I go in cash.

@jetmon135

Not in my experience, all you need to be able to show annually for the first five years is that you have the necessary funds to support you for the forthcoming year in your Bulgarian bank account.

If you are receiving a private pension and are under the Bulgarian retirement age(66 and 10 months) this is currently the national minimum wage of around 400 euros a month so 4800 euros for the year.

If you are receiving a state pension then it is very low, the minimum pension here is around 160 euros per month, so 1320 euros per year..

The only requirement for both Visa and your prolonged stay residency card is you have a Bulgarian current account registered to your permanent Bulgarian address , you can have your pension paid entirely where you want.

@jetmon135

The fees aren't very high, so I don't think will be an issue. And you're certainly free to withdraw your pension each month as cash and continue with your PAYG habit. However, a local debit card is a very easy alternative. :-)

The hassle will perhaps be that the banks here are a bit reluctant to open accounts for non-residents, as they've tightened up a lot since the old days when they were happy with just a passport. You might get lucky with the first bank/branch that you ask, but you might also find that you spend a couple of hours traipsing around Sofia/Plovdiv/Varna (big city better) to different banks/branches. I'd try these (Bulbank, Fibank, UBB, Postbank, DSK), for sure, but you will see others. It should help if you have plenty of KYC documents (like USA bank statements, proof of your pension, proof of your address in USA or Bulgaria).

Ok thanks,

I have much to learn for sure.

@gwynj

echo the advice!     are use Postbank for my Social Security deposit, and it works very well with very low fees. I did have to pay a fee for a background investigation prior to opening the account. However, since then, I’ve had no problems with them. For the person looking to withdraw their money every month, you may find that you would be better off, leaving a minimum deposit on balance to reduce the fees. Having a debit card is great but beware of the euro net machines and before you press the OK button read any disclosures about fees for Use, currency transaction, etc.. I also found Unibank to be very good economical and easy to work with Fibank is mentioned a lot and everyone I know seems to be very pleased with what they’ve done for them , I recommend staying away from DSK because it seems to be the most rigid and high fee bank. I really can’t document that because I have not compared 100% of all fees but I have found that for what I use which are safe deposit and wire transfers, that they are much more expensive  than the other banks mentioned

This seems to me likely to be the biggest issue with getting my D visa when the time comes. Can't get it without a Bg bank account, can't open a Bg bank account without it. I am hoping (though not holding my breath while waiting!) that Wise will start offering BGN accounts with proper account numbers, as they do for so many other currencies.

Please don’t despair. I think you need to get a good confident professional advice with the actual facts, because I think you are perceiving that it is much more difficult than it really is. If you have a pension, as far as I know, all governments, have an arrangement to send a pension to a Bulgarian bank. I was able to accomplish this myself without a professional by carefully reading the websites available for golf Bulgaria and my US Embassy, posters and retirement funding postings.

Thanks! I don't think arranging for my pension to be paid to a Bg bank will be difficult. The part I feel may be difficult is actually getting that Bulgarian bank account. We will see! 

I think I will ask my lovely Bulgarian neighbour to go with me to her bank, a small-town branch of DSK. She's sure to know everyone in the bank. Having her vouch for me and being willing to make a decent deposit and let it sit there will probably help.

@janemulberry

Hi Jane,

I think there are more scare stories on here than positives, I found exactly as you're planning, take someone in the know.

We now have an excellent personal banker in our UBB branch that helps us all the time. Security checks generally take a few days, but as long as you have a Bulgarian address you should be fine.

Personally I have my Pensions paid to a UK account and then swap it to Revolut to spend over here so i dont lose out on exchange rates and charges for non leva transfers, its a fallacy that you have to have it paid into a Bulgarian account for your residency.

Graham

@janemulberry

The Foreigners in the Republic of Bulgaria Act which covers the D visa (among other things), and the grounds for issuing it, but it doesn't even mention bank accounts. So I'm not sure that the bank account is a strict requirement, rather than a discretionary aspect of the process at different Bulgarian embassies.

If you have all the required documents, including your proof of pension entitlement, and you can honestly tell them that you visited banks X, Y and Z and they all said they can't help until you're a resident... then my guess is that they could accept you.

Moreover, the preference for residence is just that, not a requirement. So there is variation between banks (and even branches) as to how they react. Even if you are not yet legally resident, your proof of Bulgarian address (property), proof of pension (that they know you will pay in every month), and proof of existing banking (UK bank statements) will help a lot. As will going to a friendly branch with an existing customer.

If you were to take all your documents, and spend a few hours traipsing round a big city (Sofia, Plovdiv, Varna, Burgas) to visit several banks... I'd be extremely surprised if you couldn't find one that accepts you.

@grahamstark1 and @gwyn, thanks for the reassurance. It will get done, and if it's not easy, it will still get done eventually.

I'll certainly be able to show I've held a longstanding balance in BGN in my Wise account that's more than the required minimum for the pensioner D visa, and maybe that will be enough proof. But if the London Embassy insist on a Bg account before I can get my D visa, my neighbour is a force of nature and I doubt the bank will be able to resist her!

@janemulberry

I found it all relatively straight forward but here in Vratsa you definitely need to have a Bulgarian account open for the residency application and because I am under the official retirement age I have to have 4800 euros on account every year in advance with  statements from the bank even though I am here on Pensioner status albeit private.

Graham

@grahamstark1 Good to know. Thank you. I might try opening an account soon, just plonk the required amount for the year in there and leave it. Hopefully carrying a reasonable balance will reduce or eliminate any monthly fees, too. My neighbour's almost finished the busy time in her garden and with her preserving now, and once she has more free time I'm sure she'll be glad to assist.

That is correct.  You must prove money in the bank. I saw earlier contributing comments that simply said do not become overwhelmed.  Every administrative process  in Bg is frustrating to expats however you vwill always find someone to assist and get you thru it.  Imagine what it is like for a person who does not speak your country,s language entering.   It will all work out and Bg is a lovely place. 

This site can and will help you so dive in.  You will make it through all of the barriers that are there and look back with a commitment to guide others. 

All foreigners must now pay 150 for the security check in banks

My friend paid and is waiting three weeks at UBB and they did not answer her.