The procedure under which foreign citizens aquire and exercise the right of ownership over real estates on the territory of the Republic of Bulgaria is regulated by the Constitution of the Republic of Bulgaria (Article 22), the Ownership Act (Article 29 and Article 29a), as well as by a number of other enactments, containing special rules – Ownership and Use of Farm Land Act (Article 3, Article 3a, Article 36, Article 10a), Forestry Act (Article 23 and Article 24), Inheritance Act (Article 5), Protected Areas Act (Article 10), etc.
The citizens of the EU member states or of the member states under the Agreement on the European Economic Area may acquire right of ownership over land in compliance with the requirements that have been stipulated by the law in compliance with the Treaty concerning the accession of the Republic of Bulgaria to the European Union. Until the end of the year 2011 foreign physical entities were restricted from possessing land as a second home. Since 1st January 2012 this restriction no longer exists and foreign investors may acquire the land on which their dwellings have been constructed. The restriction is still related to the ownership over farm lands. It will become irrelevant on 1st January 2014.
