The number of foreign nationals who chose to live and work in Bulgaria has been constantly increasing. Some of them come with their own business ideas to this country. However, the foreign citizens are not always able to make their way through a series of difficulties linked with the language and the complicated Bulgarian bureaucracy.

Carlos Valensuela is a Spanish lawyer and economist who works in Bulgaria. He founded a company which offers legal and economic services to foreign companies which are interested in the Bulgarian market.

I have lived in Bulgaria for 5 years, Mr Valensuela explains. Due to reasons related to my business activities, I live in Plovdiv half of the week and in Sofia in the other half. Thus, I can enjoy the best of the two biggest Bulgarian cities. Leaving Spain and settling in Bulgaria happened quite accidentally, because I had never thought of leaving my home country.

Bulgaria has a number of advantages over other European countries when it comes to starting a new business.

The corporate tax is one of this country’s advantages. It Bulgaria corporate tax amounts to 10% only, whereas in Spain it is nearly 30%, Carlos Valensuela went on to say. In addition, Bulgaria is among the EU countries with highest percentage of people who study economics and salaries here are still much lower than in other countries. All these factors make Bulgaria a very attractive destination for the foreign investors.

Despite these advantages, however, the foreign citizens may find it difficult to move their business to Bulgaria or open a new company in this country.

When you open a new company, you need a translator, a lawyer, a notary public, an economist, etc. Our company gathers all these professionals in one place, so that the foreign entrepreneur does not have to contact with different people, Carlos explains and adds; In other words, we help people find and develop new business initiatives in Bulgaria

Carlos likes the Bulgarian cuisine a lot:

As a matter of fact, I like everything in the Bulgarian national cuisine- the meatballs, the kebaps, the fried potatoes with white brine cheese, but undoubtedly my favorite dish is the tripe soup. This meal is much different to any meal in Spain and it attracted my attention in the very beginning, because this soup does not sound delicious, but to me it is the tastiest dish in Bulgaria.

In addition to the food, the language is another important moment during the adaptation in a new country and the Spanish lawyer speaks Bulgarian perfectly. I can speak your language but it is very difficult, Carlos says and adds in his native language:

I have lived in Bulgaria for 5 years. I have had many business meetings in Bulgarian and have worked with many Bulgarian documents and I can say that I am happy with the level of my Bulgarian. It is a great challenge to me to speak Bulgarian with the Bulgarian citizens in the big cities and the small towns and villages. The Bulgarians like the foreigners who are able to express themselves in Bulgarian and when they talk with a foreign national, they always try to pronounce the words and the phrases clearly, so you can understand them well. 90% of my friends are Bulgarians, because they are very friendly and it is easy to communicate with them. When you meet Bulgarians and you make friends with them, they will stay friends for life.

English version: Kostadin Atanasov
Photo: Courtesy of Carlos Valensuela