Qualified Bulgarians leave Germany and continue to work for their German employers from home in Bulgaria. Closer to their families, and with higher net salaries for those who return.

“In Bulgaria, I have about 300 euros more per month left from my salary than in Germany,” says Kristina Borisova. The 41-year-old Bulgarian returned to her homeland in early 2025 after eight years in Germany. Today, Kristina lives in Pomorie, a small town on the Black Sea coast, and continues to work for her German employer as an administrative assistant in the energy sector. Her company, based in Gera, pays her the same German salary, even though she works from Bulgaria.

Due to lower taxes and social security contributions in Bulgaria, Kristina receives more net income back home. Since she also doesn’t pay rent in Pomorie, but lives in her parents’ house, she has significantly more money left at the end of the month after all expenses – just over 700 euros in total. That’s a lot, especially in a country where the average salary last year was 1,300 euros.

Kristina is very grateful to her German employer for accepting the remote work arrangement. “The financial benefit is great. But the best thing is that I am close to my family,” says the Bulgarian woman.

Together with family instead of looking for an apartment

Radimir Bitsov also returned to Bulgaria after eight years in Berlin. Today he lives in the Bulgarian capital, Sofia, and continues to work for his German employer, a small IT company. Radimir moved at the height of the coronavirus pandemic.

“Then our child was born. It was very difficult to find a bigger apartment in Berlin. And we wanted to be close to our family,” explains the 38-year-old IT specialist. He adds that the fact that he takes home much more of his German salary in Bulgaria than in Germany is a very welcome side effect. “After all, it’s about 20 percent more,” says Radimir.

After eight years in Germany, Kristina Borisova now lives on the Black Sea coast – on her German salary

Working from home as a trend

“In recent years, I have noticed a new trend – more and more young, well-educated Bulgarians are leaving Germany and working remotely from Bulgaria,” lawyer Konstantin Ruskov told DW. His law firm advises German employers whose Bulgarian employees are returning to their country of origin. “At the beginning of the COVID pandemic, we had five such clients; today we have at least 80. Some have only one employee in Bulgaria, others 20,” Ruskov stressed.

The Bulgarians are returning

There are no official statistics recording the exact number of these Bulgarian returnees working from home. However, data from the Federal Statistical Office in Germany for 2024 confirm a slight change: for the first time in a long time, more Bulgarians emigrated from Germany than immigrated to Germany. The negative migration balance was minus 11,000 people. Approximately 432,000 Bulgarians live in Germany.

Data from the Bulgarian National Institute of Statistics shows that since 2022, an increasing number of Bulgarians have returned to their homeland. In 2024, around 9,000 people emigrated, while over 18,000 Bulgarian citizens returned to the country during the same period.

1500 Euros per month more

After ten years in Munich, Silvi Bojadzhieva has returned to Bulgaria. The 34-year-old economist now lives in Sofia and continues to work for her German employer. She mainly wanted to return to Bulgaria for family reasons. And, as Silvi told DW, “earning a Western salary in Bulgaria has significant advantages.” “The reasons for returning to Bulgaria are very individual – but for many young, highly qualified Bulgarians who take this step, the motivation is mainly financial,” says lawyer Konstantin Ruskov.

“I had a 30-year-old client who earned 8,000 euros gross in Munich. After all taxes and social security contributions, he was left with about 4,500 euros net in tax bracket 1. Of this amount, he still had to pay rent – and in a city like Munich, rents have risen significantly in recent years. In Bulgaria, on the other hand, he currently has about 6,000 euros net left out of 8,000 euros.”

Advantages for the German employer too

The lawyer points out that the relocation of employees also benefits German companies: they have lower wage costs for their employees in Bulgaria than in Germany, as these employees are insured through the Bulgarian system. “Moreover, these German companies have no investment costs, because they do not have a registered office in Bulgaria. Only the employees are registered there,” Ruskov explains.

Within the European Union, such employment relationships are regulated excellently, the lawyer points out: “Registration is simple and free. Some documents need to be issued in Germany, which can take several weeks, then everything is handled very quickly in Bulgaria.”

According to Ruskov, the main motivation for German companies to allow their employees to relocate to their country of origin is employee retention, especially important given the shortage of skilled labor in Germany.

However, Kristina, Radimir and Silvi also confess that the impact of their German salaries has diminished somewhat recently. Prices in Bulgaria, especially in Sofia, have risen sharply in recent years, before Bulgaria joined the Eurozone. “Some things, like clothing and food, are even more expensive in Bulgaria now than in Germany,” Kristina complains. But all three also point out that they miss Germany’s order and cleanliness, as well as good medical care.

Return to Germany?

But will they ever return to Germany? Kristina is clear, she wants to stay in Bulgaria forever. Radimir, on the other hand, can imagine returning to Germany if the political situation in the country worsens. He “misses German order and practicality.”

Silvi does not rule out leaving Bulgaria again, as she is concerned about the political situation in the country. In December, numerous protests brought down the government. The reason was the planned tax increases in the draft budget for 2026. The economist is sure: “If the tax burden and social security contributions in Bulgaria increase without a corresponding increase in services and infrastructure, this will lead to a significant decline in the quality of life,” she says./ DW