Can I leave Bulgaria during the five years and still qualify for permanent residence?

The five-year requirement is about continuous, uninterrupted legal residence, so spending long stretches outside Bulgaria can reset or break the qualifying period. As a rule of thumb you should not be absent for very long single trips or accumulate excessive total time abroad across the five years.

If you know you will need to travel a lot, for work or family reasons, speak to the Migration Directorate first about how absences are counted for your category. The rules for the long-term EU residence status are more generous on absences than the rules for the five-year qualifying period, which is one reason it is important to plan travel carefully before you reach the application stage.