June 2007
 Bulgaria
is a small Eastern European country with a population of only seven and
a half million people, bordered by Romania to the north, Serbia and the
Republic of Macedonia at the west, Greece and Turkey to the south and the
Black Sea, which comprises its eastern border. The country is a cradle
of European civilization and the home of the world's oldest known
writing system, engraved on the Gradeshnitsa Tablets. These have been dated
to over 6000 years ago and are currently preserved in the Vratsa Museum.
After almost five centuries of Ottoman
rule, Bulgaria was re-established as a constitutional monarchy in 1878.
Part of the Eastern Bloc after World War II, Bulgaria is today a
democratic, constitutional republic, and a member of the European Union
and NATO. Geographically and climatically, the country is diverse,
with Alpine snow capped peaks in the Balkan mountains and mild sunny weather
on the Black Sea coast.
Bulgaria joined NATO on March 29,
2004 and signed the Treaty of Accession on 25 April 2005. It became
a full member of the European Union on 1 January 2007. Since 1997
the country has been on the path to economic recovery following seveal
years of economic decline and financial instability, and this has been
reflected in the influx of foreign real estate investors. With some properties
even doubling their value in the years since joining the EU, Bulgaria has
become an attractive prospect.
On March 9, the Bulgarian Parliament
passed a law allowing foreign citizens to buy land in Bulgaria; this change
of legislation is part of the European harmonisation process.
Now non-Bulgarian citizens can acquire land, building plots, forests, forest
stock land tracks and agricultural land. This law also regards the
adjoining land of apartments, flats, houses, etc - this it can now
be bought as easily as the building itself. Foreigners, who are not
permanently resident in Bulgaria will be able to own land for a second
home after the expiry of the terms set in Bulgaria's EU accession treaty.
Non-Bulgarian citizens will also
be allowed to have forests and land in preserved areas, unless these areas
are exclusive state property. A buyer of a piece of land in Bulgaria
should make sure whether the property he is about to buy is a part of a
protected area or not; very strict rules still apply to land use in these
areas.
Citizens of the EU who want to buy agricultural
land in Bulgaria for farming and/or agriculture in Bulgaria are also allowed
to do so.
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