Anyone who gets a Bulgarian pension and lives abroad must file a "proof of life" declaration. The National Social Security Institute (NOI) warns that payments will stop next year without it.

In early October, the institute announced the deadline for pensioners in countries outside the EU that have no social security agreement with Bulgaria. They must file the document by the end of 2026.

Earlier on this story: Pensioners outside the EU must file "proof of life" declaration by 31 December

The document's full name is a declaration for continued receipt of a pension from the Republic of Bulgaria.

These pensioners must first have the declaration certified in person at a consulate or another official body in the country where they live. The form is on the NOI website, under "Forms", in the section "Forms of declarations for payment of a Bulgarian pension – for countries where regulations and international agreements do not apply".

Nothing changes for pensioners in countries covered by EU social security coordination rules or by an agreement with Bulgaria. That means people living in any EU country except Germany, and in Norway, Iceland, Liechtenstein, Switzerland and the UK. The rules also stay the same for those in Canada, Israel, North Macedonia, Serbia, Montenegro, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Brazil, Albania, South Korea, Azerbaijan and Tunisia.

Their deadlines depend on how and where they receive their money.

Pensioners whose pension goes into an account at a bank or another payment provider licensed by the Bulgarian National Bank (BNB), or at its branch in Bulgaria, file a declaration once a year. They must have it certified between 1 November and 31 December.

If the pension is sent every month to an account abroad, the declaration must be filed every three months. If payments cover periods other than one month, a declaration is filed for each period requested. In that case, NOI pays the pension for the past period up to the end of the month in which the declaration was certified.

Bilingual templates are on the NOI website, under "Forms", in the section "Forms and templates under regulations and international agreements".

The certified declaration goes to the NOI regional office that pays the pension. It can be filed in person, through an authorised person, by post with the original, or online. For the online route, use Service 52, "Submission of a declaration for continued receipt of a pension from the Republic of Bulgaria", on the NOI's Unified Portal for Electronic Services. Access requires a qualified electronic signature (QES) or an NOI personal identification code (PIK).

Pensioners in Turkey get their money under the agreement between Bulgaria and Turkey, through the Turkish social security institution SGK. They file the declaration with NOI twice a year, in January and July, on a form from the "Forms" section, under "Templates of declarations for continued receipt of a Bulgarian pension under an international agreement/European regulation".