I am German, my partner is Brazilian and we are not married — can she move to Bulgaria with me?

It is possible, but this is one of the genuinely bumpy edge cases. Bulgarian law implementing EU free movement does extend to a partner in a durable, de facto relationship with an EU citizen — the problem is proving it, because Bulgaria has no registered partnership institution of its own and Migration Directorate practice varies from office to office. Your seven years in Hamburg is exactly the evidence profile that works: bring the joint lease history, joint bank statements, utility bills in both names, and crucially an official German confirmation of your shared registered address (Meldebescheinigung) covering the years. If you have any formal partnership registration from Germany or Brazil, include it. Everything foreign needs certified Bulgarian translations, and civil documents typically need apostilles. The stronger and more official the paper trail, the less room a caseworker has to say no. The process: you first register your own residence as an EU citizen (quick and cheap), then she applies for a residence card as a family member of an EU citizen. Expect questions and possibly an interview. If a particular office refuses, refusals can be appealed and are often overturned, but that costs months. Have a plan B in parallel: her own independent grounds — a work permit through an employer, study, or if she works remotely the digital nomad route — can be faster and less discretionary than the durable partner route. And yes, unromantic as it is, marriage collapses all of this into a straightforward, fast application. See /guides/eu-citizens-moving-to-bulgaria for the family member procedure.