PRACTICAL GUIDES · EU HIRE INSIGHTS
Recruiting workers from non-EU countries: the process from selection to arrival
Bulgarian employers often use the term “importing workers” informally to mean hiring employees from countries outside the European Union. More precisely, this is international recruitment and lawful employment of third-country workers: a process involving candidate selection, administrative procedures, documentation, visa stages and preparations for arrival in Bulgaria.
Good international recruitment therefore begins not with “Which country should we import people from?”, but with a more practical question: “Which employees do we need, and how should we organise their employment?”
EU HIRE starts with this need and builds the process around the specific employer.
EU HIRE Insights
1. Establish the actual staffing need
Before searching for candidates, the role, headcount, experience and skills, pay, working hours, workplace, accommodation conditions and expected starting period must be clarified.
These parameters determine both the candidate profile and a suitable international recruitment market. A country suitable for recruiting general manufacturing workers is not necessarily the best choice for seasonal staff or people with specific technical qualifications.
EU HIRE analyses the employer’s needs and uses this to identify which markets and profiles are worth considering.
2. Choose a suitable recruitment country
Nepal, Uzbekistan, Kyrgyzstan, India, the Philippines and other markets are not interchangeable. Candidate availability is only one factor.
The choice must account for professional profiles, experience, language skills, the employer’s conditions, recruitment timing and the reliability of the local partner.
At EU HIRE, the country therefore follows the specific role and employer’s need, not the other way round. The aim is not simply to find candidates abroad, but to choose a market with a realistic prospect of finding suitable people.
3. The employer chooses whom to hire
Following initial selection, candidates are presented to the employer for approval. Depending on the role, interviews and checks of work experience, qualifications or other practical criteria can be organised.
The central principle is simple:
“You approve the candidates. EU HIRE organises the process.”
Administrative preparation for the individual starts after the employer’s selection, not before it.
4. Identify the correct procedure
Bulgarian law provides different routes for third-country nationals to work. For standard long-term employment, one of the main routes is the Single Residence and Work Permit (SRWP). Separate rules apply to seasonal employment and certain special categories.
There is therefore no universal procedure for all foreign workers. The correct route depends on the duration and type of employment, role, candidate and specific conditions.
The SRWP process involves the employer, the Ministry of Interior’s Migration Directorate and the Employment Agency. EU HIRE checks the applicable route and organises the administrative process according to the individual case.
5. Prepare the documents
Document requirements also depend on the route. Some relate to the employer and employment relationship; others concern the candidate, their identity, qualifications and right of residence.
The practical risk is not simply a missing document. Problems also arise when a valid document has been prepared for the wrong route or does not meet the requirements for the specific candidate.
EU HIRE coordinates documentation between the employer, candidate and international partner so that the administrative procedure starts with the most thoroughly prepared file possible.
6. Visa D follows where required
In many cases where the candidate is outside Bulgaria and will reside in the country long term, a Visa D application follows a positive outcome in the procedure.
Visa D is a separate stage and is not itself the residence and work permit. The candidate must appear in person when applying.
EU HIRE can prepare and coordinate the necessary actions and documents, but cannot replace the candidate where the law requires their personal participation.
This is also one reason why promising a fixed arrival date in advance is not professional practice in international hiring.
7. The process continues after arrival
Receiving Visa D and entering Bulgaria does not necessarily mean all administrative steps are complete. Depending on the route, further steps before the Ministry of Interior may follow concerning residence and issuance of the relevant document.
In parallel, the employer needs to prepare for the practical side of arrival: accommodation, orientation, arrangements for the first days and starting work.
EU HIRE therefore treats arrival as part of the overall international hiring process, not as an endpoint in itself.
What does EU HIRE handle?
EU HIRE organises international hiring as a connected process, from choosing a suitable market and initial candidate selection to coordinating documentation, administrative procedures and preparations for arrival.
The employer defines the need and conditions and approves the candidates. EU HIRE coordinates the remaining stages and ensures the process is organised according to current requirements.
The employer therefore does not have to connect international partners, candidates, documents and institutional procedures into one system independently.
How long does recruiting workers from abroad take?
There is no single timeframe for every case.
The duration depends on the route, document readiness, the candidate’s country, the visa stage, institutions’ work and the circumstances of the case. Legislation sets administrative time limits for individual stages, but these do not amount to a guaranteed date on which the worker will start work.
International recruitment must therefore be planned in advance. It is more suitable for employers with predictable staffing needs than as a solution for a role that must be filled within a few days.
EU HIRE’S PRACTICAL CONCLUSION
International hiring is a sequence of connected decisions
“Importing workers” is not one administrative action, but a sequence of connected decisions.
The best outcome comes when the process starts with the employer’s actual need, rather than the availability of random candidates.
The correct sequence is:
need → suitable market → recruitment → approval → correct procedure → documents → preparations for arrival.
This is the model EU HIRE follows in international recruitment. The employer retains control over what matters most: whom to hire and on what conditions, while our team provides professional coordination around that choice.
Looking for workers from non-EU countries?
Tell us which roles you need to fill and how many employees you need. EU HIRE will analyse the need, suitable recruitment markets and the applicable route, then present the specific next steps.
Official sources
- Ministry of Labour and Social Policy — general rules for third-country nationals to work
- Ministry of Interior Migration Directorate — residence and work permits
- Ministry of Foreign Affairs — documents and personal appearance when applying for Visa D
- Employment Agency — employment of foreign nationals and applicable legislation
Last reviewed: 9 September 2026