BULGARIA Law and Practice Contributed by: Diana Milkova and Victoria Penkova, Penkova & Partners Law Firm
4. Foreign Workers 4.1 Limitations on Foreign Workers
tection of natural persons with regard to the process - ing of personal data and on the free movement of such data, and repealing Directive 95/46/EC (General Data Protection Regulation) (OJ L 119/1 of 4 May 2016). The employer collects and processes employees’ per - sonal data in relation to the conclusion, performance, modification, and termination of employment con - tracts. This includes preparing additional agreements, termination orders, documents evidencing length of service, employment certificates, maintaining employ - ment records, accounting for labour remuneration, calculating relevant tax and social security deduc - tions, managing distraints on employment remunera - tion, and processing leave entitlements in accordance with the Labour Code. It also includes activities related to recruitment and selection in the case of termination of employment relations, among others. The employer shall collect and process employees’ personal data on a lawful basis, to the extent neces - sary to fulfil its obligations. Processing is considered lawful when it is necessary for the performance of employment relations under the employment contract, or when it is required to comply with the employer’s legal obligations under applicable legislation. It can also occur with the employee’s consent or when pro - cessing is necessary to pursue the legitimate interests of the employer. The employer is required to implement appropriate technical and organisational measures to ensure, and to be able to demonstrate, that personal data pro - cessing is carried out in accordance with data protec - tion legislation. Employees’ personal data shall be retained by employ - ers for the duration required by applicable law. Addi - tionally, any employer acting as a data controller must determine a storage period for personal data of appli - cants involved in recruitment procedures, which may not exceed six months unless the applicant has con - sented to a longer storage period. After this period, the employer must erase or destroy the documents containing personal data, unless otherwise required by specific law.
Citizens of the EU, the countries that are parties to the European Economic Area (EEA) agreement, and the Swiss Confederation, as well as their family members, can enter and leave the Republic of Bulgaria using their identity cards or passports. They are permitted to stay freely for up to three months. After this period, they must register in order to obtain a certificate of temporary residence. EU, EEA, and Swiss Confedera - tion citizens do not require a work permit to work in Bulgaria. Workers who are citizens of a third country (“Foreign Worker(s)”) may be granted access to the labour mar - ket when applying for positions that do not require Bulgarian nationality, under the following conditions. • The total number of Foreign Workers, who have worked for a local employer in the preceding 12 months, does not exceed 20% of the average workforce employed on contracts during that time, or 35% for small or medium-sized businesses. • The working conditions and compensation for Foreign Workers must be no less favourable than those for Bulgarian nationals in the same category of work. • The Foreign Worker must possess the specialised knowledge, skills, and professional experience required for the relevant position. A Foreign Worker shall be allowed access to the labour market provided that they: • have an employment contract with a local employ - er; • are seconded to Bulgaria within the framework of providing services; • are reassigned for intra-corporate transfer pur - poses; or • work as a freelance professional. In some cases, the Ministry of Internal Affairs issues the work permit after receiving a positive opinion from the Executive Director of the Employment Agency regarding access to the labour market. This applies to permits such as the Single Residence and Work Per -
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