05.01.2024

WHAT IS A CURRENT ADDRESS AND WHAT IS THE DIFFERENCE FROM A PERMANENT ADDRESS? WHEN IS IT CHANGED AND DECLARED?

Every Bulgarian has a personal registration card, which by law must be kept for 130 years after its creation. There is a lot of data in it. This card must contain the name of the relevant person, written in Bulgarian and in Latin. It is entered if there is an alias or a name abroad. As well as mandatory gender, social security number, date of birth, citizenship and residence status, place of birth. Also birth certificate, marital status, marriage certificate, husband or wife with full details.

A court decision for the dissolution of marriage is also recorded - the number of the case on which the decision was made, the date on which it came into force, and the name of the court that made it. In this card, the data of the children, of the father, mother, brothers, sisters are recorded (PIN or date of birth, name, gender, permanent address, citizenship, and for the deceased - number, date and place of drawing up the death certificate). The card also lists the issued identity documents - type, number and date of issue. The legal restrictions, including by type, are indicated, if any. There is a place for "special notes", and finally the date and place of death is entered, as well as the death certificate - number, date and place of issue.

In this arrangement of the data entered in the electronic personal registration card of a Bulgarian citizen, two more things have an important place - permanent and current address.

The Civil Registration Act (CRA) has a special Chapter 4 entitled "Address Registration". It is there that the rules and obligations of each person associated with this registration, with a current, permanent address, as well as the procedures and obligations of each are defined. According to Art. 90 of the Civil Registration Act, every person subject to civil registration is obliged to state in writing his permanent and current address. This is precisely what the address registration of the person is, which is carried out by the mayor of the municipality, the region or the town hall or by officials designated by them. It is important to know that it is not done ex officio, but at the request of the relevant person who wants to register.

The permanent and current addresses of the newborn child, for example, match the respective addresses of its parents. When parents have different permanent addresses, they choose one of them for their child. When the parents have different current addresses, the mother's current address is also the child's current address.

Current address is the address where the person lives. Each person has only one current address. The current address of Bulgarian citizens whose place of residence is abroad is reflected in the population register only with the name of the country in which they live.

It is quite possible that the permanent address matches the current one. Even very often it is so. However, every person is obliged to notify the change of his current address within 30 days, according to Article 99 of the Civil Registration Act. It is explicitly stated that the address card for a change of current address is submitted to the municipality, region, town hall or settlement where the person lives. When a Bulgarian citizen lives abroad, the address card for changing the current address is submitted to the permanent address authorities. The address card is processed immediately for updating the National Database "Population".

The persons who have provided shelter in a hotel, motel, holiday home or other place of shelter are obliged to register the stays in special books, providing their data to local authorities or the Ministry of the Interior upon request.

It is not allowed to register a current or permanent address for more than 4 months in a hotel, motel, holiday home or other place of shelter. The limitation in the first sentence also applies when re-registration is carried out in the same or in another place for shelter on the territory of the same municipality.

In order to perform address registration at an address in the country, individuals must submit either an ownership document or documents for the use of the property for residential purposes, including a contract for the provision of social services of a residential type and a contract for accommodation in specialized institutions. It is possible to provide other documents, it is important that they prove the ownership or use of the property. In order to carry out address registration, written consent of the owner, when the applicant is not the owner, is also presented, by means of a model declaration submitted in person to the authority or with a notarized signature.

If it is a question of persons who are directly related to the owner or user of the property, as well as the spouses of these persons, they do not present the above-mentioned documents. In these cases, the mayor of the municipality, of the region or of the town hall or the officials appointed by them carry out an official check in the population register of the family relationship between the owner or user of the property and the person who declares a permanent and/or current address, as well as a check through the "Local Taxes and Fees" departments regarding the ownership of the property.

It is also important to know what a permanent address is and how it differs from a current one. The address in the settlement that the person chooses to be entered in the population register is permanent. It is always on the territory of Bulgaria. Each person can have only one permanent address. It is the address for correspondence with state authorities and local self-government bodies. Current is the address where the person lives. Each person has only one current address. The current address of Bulgarian citizens whose place of residence is abroad is reflected in the population register only with the name of the country in which they live.

The permanent address is declared by submitting an application from the person to the mayor. The application is made in person, and exceptionally - by an authorized person after presenting a notarized express power of attorney. For minors and persons placed under interdiction, the application is made by their legal representatives. The current address is declared by submitting an address card from the person to the mayor. Here, too, the rules on authorization and legal representatives apply.

The application for a change of permanent address is submitted to the municipality or town hall where the person chooses to be entered in the population register. When the permanent address is changed, the change is reported through the National Database "Population" of the municipality of previous permanent address to the municipality where the current address is, and to the Ministry of Internal Affairs.