Record number of work permits issued to non-EU workers in Bulgaria

A growing shortage of staff is prompting more Bulgarian employers to hire workers from abroad, according to data from the National Employment Agency. More than 35,000 permits have been issued since the beginning of 2025. "This year will set a new record for the number of registrations issued in Bulgaria to workers from non-EU countries," said Tomcho Tomov, director of the National Competence Assessment Centre at the Bulgarian Industrial Association.

Workers from Uzbekistan, Turkey, Kyrgyzstan, Nepal, India and Indonesia make up the largest groups of foreign labour coming to Bulgaria. At the same time, the trend of Bulgarians returning from abroad continues.

"This year alone, around 60,000 Bulgarian emigrants have returned. Of the 2.5 million Bulgarians living abroad, approximately 400,000 have come back over the past two to three years," said Tomcho Tomov, director of the National Competence Assessment Centre at the Bulgarian Industrial Association.

Despite a serious shortage of workers on the labour market, roughly 800,000 people remain outside it, according to employers. "These are individuals who are not studying, not working and not otherwise economically active. Among young people under 29, the number of those neither studying nor working is estimated at 200,000 to 250,000," Tomov added