Updated 9 October 2026BG-EXPERT

BRIDGES expert

Darya Melnik

Senior Investment Programs Advisor, BRIDGES

I personally guide a family from the first call to the residence card: a plan with dates, one person in touch, an answer the same day. Twelve years supporting relocations, at BRIDGES since 2018.

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Darya Melnik, Senior Investment Programs Advisor, BRIDGES

12 yearssupporting families who relocate

since 2018at BRIDGES, personal client support

BudapestBRIDGES head office, Vilnius before that

4 languagesRussian, English, Polish, Lithuanian

Path

Minsk, Vilnius, Budapest

Minsk, Vilnius, Budapest. First a relocation agency for families, then investment programmes, now personal support for BRIDGES clients.

1990Minsk
Born in Minsk into a family of doctors. From childhood she was used to the phone ringing at home and someone urgently needing help.
2007-2012Minsk
Faculty of international relations, specialising in migration law. On an internship at a consulate she saw how many people get lost in simple steps.
2012-2018Vilnius
Six years at a relocation agency: residence in Lithuania and Poland, schools, doctors, rentals, banks. She guided families from the first call to the children’s first day at school.
2018BRIDGES
Joined BRIDGES as a senior consultant. Her first matters: the Greek Golden Visa and Cyprus PR for families who needed one person in touch.
2022Budapest
Moved to the head office. When the rules for Russian and Belarusian passports changed, she looked for the legal routes that remained open for families.
TodayBudapest
Senior consultant at BRIDGES. She guides families personally: prepares the plan, gathers documents, stays in touch and answers questions the same day.

Approach to cases

Six rules that do not depend on the country

Six rules Darya applies to every family.

01One person in touch
The client knows whom to write to. No retelling the story to three managers and waiting for someone to catch up.
02A plan with dates in the first week
What we do, who does it and by when. A one-page plan the whole family can see.
03An answer the same day
Even when there is no news, the client gets a short message: the matter is moving, here is what comes next.
04Honest about timelines
If there is no fast route, we say so at once. If there is, we explain how it differs from the slow one.
05The passport sets the route
The family’s passport decides the path. Some apply directly, others first need a second passport.
06The whole family
Spouses, children, parents - everyone who needs a status is in one plan from the start.

Talks and media

Conferences and meetings

Darya travels to overseas property and residence exhibitions and meets families there. You can book a meeting in advance.

Upcoming conferences

Darya online

BRIDGES on Instagram BRIDGES on LinkedIn BRIDGES YouTube channel

Beyond work

A phone that is always on

At BRIDGES I make sure a family never feels alone in a long process. I love first calls: at the start a person speaks fast and anxiously, and by the end they have a plan and my number.

I am from Minsk, spent six years in Vilnius and now live in Budapest with my husband and two daughters. I have moved with children twice myself, so I know which questions will come up a week after arrival.

At weekends we walk on Margaret Island and go to Lake Velence. I love hiking, bake honey cake from my grandmother’s recipe and am learning Hungarian: so far I speak it worse than my daughters.

FamiliesBudapestRelocationHikingDaughters

Situations

What people come with

These are the questions clients most often bring to Darya.

Residence in Europe for a family with Russian or Belarusian passports An urgent route when time mattersA second passport as the way to EU residence The Greek Golden Visa for the whole familyAn Israeli or Caribbean passport and Greek residenceDocuments for children and parentsSupport after the status is granted Relocation: school, doctor, bank, rentalRenewing the whole family’s cards

Case stories

Three matters in Darya’s own words

How a Russian Couple Urgently Obtained Greek Residence Permit Through Fast Vanuatu Passport

Greece · residence

When residence is needed urgently

A couple from Russia needed Greek residence urgently, and Golden Visa applications on Russian passports are not accepted. The route through ancestry is honestly longer: archives and confirmations take months.

I suggested a route through a fast Vanuatu passport, issued within weeks. With the new passport the couple applied for the Greek Golden Visa, and I ran both processes so there was no gap between them.

Outcome: Greek residence in a short time through a Vanuatu passport

Read the full case

How a repatriate with Jewish roots obtained Greek residence permit directly through investments

Greece · residence

An Israeli passport opened a direct road

A client with Jewish roots repatriated and obtained an Israeli passport. Later he wanted a home in Europe and feared his former citizenship would get in the way.

I explained that with an Israeli passport the Greek Golden Visa is filed directly, without restrictions. Then step by step: investment, accounts, property, filing for the couple.

Outcome: Greek residence for the couple directly

Read the full case

How a Long-Term Client with a Dominica Passport Obtained Greek Residence Permit

Greece · residence

A long-standing client came back for Europe

Alexander obtained a Dominica passport with us a few years ago. Now he wanted residence in Europe and came back to us: we know his story and documents.

With a Caribbean passport the Greek Golden Visa is filed directly. I pulled up his old file, updated the documents and took the couple through the deal and filing without extra requests.

Outcome: Greek residence added to the Dominica passport

Read the full case

Reviews

What Darya’s clients say

Client reviews from matters Darya ran: who the client is, where they are from, which programme - and a link to the full case.

BRIDGES client reviews

DmitryIsraeli Family

Greece · Residence permit

With Israeli passports we applied to Greece directly. Darya drew up a plan with dates and guided us personally. The whole family has residence.

Read the case

AidarFamily from Kazakhstan

Greece · Residence permit

Darya explained that with our passports Greece was open directly and took the family through the investment, accounts and filing. Everything went to her plan.

Read the case

MaximRussian investor

Greece · Residence permit

Darya told us in time that the price of a Nauru passport was about to rise, and we made it. Then we applied for Greek residence with it and saved money.

Read the case

All client reviews →

Materials

119 materials written by Darya

BRIDGES knowledge base materials signed by Darya: routes for families, timelines, documents and life after the move.

Showing 20 of 119

BRIDGES sections

Where this practice applies

Residence by investment Citizenship by investment Who we help Status renewal Client cases How BRIDGES works

Team

Who runs the work alongside Darya

A matter is never run by one person: the legal position, the filing, the documents and the work on the ground each have a named owner.

Viktoria LebedevaManaging Director, Private ClientsThe standard of work with private clients

Sofia MendesInvestment Migration ExpertChoosing a programme for the family’s goal

Martina VeberHead of Case ProcessingFiling applications and correspondence with authorities

Martin DvorzhakDocument Processing SpecialistApostille, translation and legalisation of documents

All BRIDGES experts

INITIAL ASSESSMENT

Tell us what outcome your family needs

We will design a solution for your case, choose the country and the right status, and take the whole process through to the result.

Or message us on WhatsApp or Telegram

Anna Kovalevskaya, lead lawyer at BRIDGES GLOBAL

Anna KovalevskayaLead lawyer, citizenship and residency, 12 years of practice