Bulgarian pensioners who live outside the EU, in a country with no social security agreement with Bulgaria, can file a "proof of life" declaration from Monday, 2 November, the National Social Security Institute (NOI) said. The deadline is the end of the year. Without the declaration, their pension will not be paid in 2027.
Last week the institute reminded pensioners about the campaign and the deadline. It said then that the document is filed only once a year.
Where it began: Pensioners outside the EU must file "proof of life" declaration by 31 December
The paper is called a declaration for continuing pension payments. It is accepted from 1 November to 31 December, and it must be certified in the same period.
To get it certified, the pensioner must go in person to a consulate or another official authority in the country where they live. The certified declaration is then sent to the regional NOI office that pays their pension.
Pensioners can file it in person, through an authorised representative, or send the original by post. They can also file it online through Service 52, "Submission of a declaration for continuing to receive a pension from the Republic of Bulgaria", on the NOI's Unified Portal for Electronic Services. For that, they need a qualified electronic signature (QES) or an NOI personal identification code (PIK).
The forms come in six languages, each one bilingual: English, Spanish, French, German, Italian and Turkish. They are on the NOI website, in the "Forms" section, under the title "Forms of declarations for payment of a Bulgarian pension – for countries to which regulations and international agreements do not apply".