Going to live abroad is a major decision to take. It makes sense to get a wide range of information and advice to help you plan and make sure the move goes smoothly.

Before you go, you should:

• Make sure you have a valid passport, any visas you might need and a full health plan
• Be clear about your financial situation. For example, find out about tax liability in the UK, social security benefits and National Insurance contributions, and get a pension forecast. Useful websites include the Department for Work and Pensions; HM Revenue and Customs; and Directgov (under 'Britons living abroad’). You can also find out whether offshore banking is appropriate
• Make a will
• Check whether you can continue to vote in UK parliamentary and European parliament elections on the Electoral Commission website
• Find out about accommodation. We can provide lists of lawyers to help you buy property, although we cannot give you legal advice ourselves or get involved in purchases or disputes
• Make sure your car is in line with local regulations and you have the necessary driving permit
• Try to learn the language before you go
• Contact associations and charities for advice. For example, if you are retiring overseas, you could contact Age Concern or Help the Aged. There is also a guide to going abroad for the over-50s on the Saga website. We also have a leaflet called Going to Live Abroad, which you can find on our website
• It sounds obvious but let people know your new address (and any future changes). As well as friends and family you also need to inform the authorities such as HM Revenue and Customs, National Insurance and the Department for Work and Pensions
• When you arrive, register with the local authorities and get a residence permit. You can also register with the local British embassy. You may also need a local bank account
• British nationals who live overseas can receive the same support as visitors
• And you’ll need full travel insurance for your trip, or health care and other appropriate cover if you are living abroad. The Government cannot cover medical costs or refund you for lost property.

There is a charge for some types of consular support. This is to help cover the cost of providing support worldwide. We do not make a profit from these charges.

If you have retired, and you live in Bulgaria, you could claim your pension from the UK. For detailed information on how to claim your state pension, please check www.thepensionservice.gov.uk or www.dsdni.gov.uk.

If you would like to reside permanently in Bulgaria and wish to take care of your health:

• make sure that you register as a resident in Bulgaria 
• then register with the Bulgarian National Revenue Agency and pay health contributions in Bulgaria
• you can then choose a GP and and register with them
• unless your employer provides a health-care plan, you should consider private health-care plans to cover treatment in Bulgaria in the area in which you live.

If you are planning to travel or live in Bulgaria, you can contact the Bulgarian Embassy in the UK for useful information on their website.

It is also advisable to register with the British Embassy in Sofia regardless of whether you are a tourist or would like to reside in Bulgaria.

We have set up a new improved online registration service called LOCATE for British nationals travelling or living abroad to register themselves with the FCO.

In order to use LOCATE, you will need to register separately. But you will only need to register once. British nationals who are either resident in or visiting any country abroad, whether for business or pleasure, should register their details online. The registration details will remain on LOCATE. Details of your visits or residence abroad will not remain after their end date. LOCATE will accept details of travel abroad up to one year ahead. Please note that an existing subscription to the FCO's Online Services will not allow access to LOCATE.

We are confident that this new service will improve our ability to provide help in crisis situations and reduce delay and worry in times of stress for family and friends at home.

To complete the LOCATE online consular registration form, please go to Locate - online consular registration.

Useful information from the Ministry of Foreign Affairs in Bulgaria is that:

• EU nationals can enter without a visa and stay in Bulgaria on their ID card or passport for a period up to 3 months, without any further formalities.
• EU nationals can reside in Bulgaria for a long term (up to 5 years), or indefinitely.
• EU nationals can prove their long term or indefinite residence with a Certificate issued by the National Police (Migration) Directorate.

Certificate for long term residence is issued to EU nationals who:

• are employed or self-employed in Bulgaria, 
• have health insurance and sufficient funds to cover their own expenses and those of their family members, without using the social-benefits system, 
• have enrolled on a course of education, including a professional education, and have health insurance and sufficient funds to cover the expenses of their stay in the country.

In order to obtain a Residence Certificate, EU nationals have to:

• lodge an application with the National Police Directorate at the Ministry of Interior, within 3 months from the date of entry into the Republic of Bulgaria. 
• submit an ID card or passport, any other additional documents to prove the circumstances and reasons for their long-term residency and a document for states fee payment.

The certificate is issued the same day as the application is lodged and includes the full name and registration date of the applicant.

In the case of missing/incomplete documents, the applicant is given a seven-day period to provide the required information. If they fail to do so the National Police Directorate at the Ministry of Interior can refuse the application, providing the reasons. The refusal is appealable under the Administrative Procedural Code. The appeal could be taken to a higher Administrative Department or to the Competent Court.

Long term residency permission is given to the EU nationals’ family members on the basis of:

• ID card or passport and document to prove that they are family members or in actual partnership with the EU national.

EU national can reside indefinitely in Bulgaria. For this purpose the National Police Directorate at the Ministry of Interior can issue a certificate.

A right to reside for an indefinite period could be obtained after the EU national has continuously been in Bulgaria for 5 years and meets one of the following requirements:

• has been working during the past year up to the suspension of their employment   contract, or activity as a self-employed person;
• has reached the age of retirement, or there is a reason for an earlier retirement, and has continuously been in Bulgaria for more than 3 years;
• is an employee or a self-employed person, not employed due to a permanent limited capacity to work and has continuously been in Bulgaria for more than 2 years;
• is an employee or self-employed person who’s limited capacity to work is due to an employment accident or occupational disease;
• is an employee or self-employed person who has been continuously staying and working in Bulgaria for 3 years and works as such in another EU-member country while keeping their place of residence in Bulgaria and return to Bulgaria at least once a week.

To claim this right the period of employment in another EU-member country is considered as employment in Bulgaria and the periods of registered unemployment and employment suspension due to illness or accidents are included as equal.

When the employee or the self-employed person has the right to reside for an indefinite period, all family members who live in Bulgaria, regardless of their nationality, have the same right to reside for an indefinite period.