The acquisition of Bulgarian citizenship is regulated by the Constitution of the Republic of Bulgaria, the Bulgarian Citizenship Act and the international conventions in force when the facts or events connected with the citizenship are present.

 

In general, the Bulgarian citizenship can be acquired as follows:

 

      . NATURALIZATION

The Bulgarian legislation /the Constitution of the Republic of Bulgaria, the Bulgarian Citizenship Act and the relevant secondary legislation/ regulates the following legal procedures for the acquisition of Bulgarian citizenship by naturalization:

 

·         when the person is born on the territory of the country;

 

·         when at least one of the parents is a Bulgarian citizen;

 

·         on the basis of a marriage with a Bulgarian citizen;

 

·         after 5 years of permanent or long-term residence in the country;

 

·         for cultural, sporting and scientific benefits to the country;

 

The law regulates specific cases of naturalization when special merits are already achieved for Bulgaria in the public and economic spheres, in the fields of science, technology, culture and sport.

 

      ORIGIN

Thousands of Bulgarians have remained outside the borders of Bulgaria in the last two centuries. Their descendants today have the opportunity to acquire Bulgarian citizenship under a facilitated regime.

 

By providing evidence of the ancestry of their ancestors – birth certificate, baptismal certificate or other, they can obtain Bulgarian citizenship by origin without having previously resided in the country.

The condition for applying for Bulgarian citizenship by origin is the providing of a certificate of Bulgarian origin, issued by the State Agency for Bulgarians Abroad

 

      INVESTMENT

Finally, we will briefly mention the option of acquiring Bulgarian citizenship from a foreigner by the way of investments. In this context, we would like to point out that at the beginning of 2019, the Bulgarian Ministry of Justice submitted a proposal for the removal of the option for acquiring of Bulgarian citizenship through a short-term investment. In March 2019 the Amendment to the Bulgarian Citizenship Act, in which this option was omitted, was published on the official website of the Ministry. The only option which has remained is acquiring Bulgarian citizenship from a person, who has carried out an investment in a project that has been certified according to the Investment Promotion Act. 

 

Procedure for acquiring of Bulgarian citizenship

The application for acquiring of Bulgarian citizenship and all attachments thereto shall be submitted in person to the Ministry of Justice or to the Bulgarian diplomatic and consular missions abroad. Please note, that submission through a power of attorney, even notarized, are not allowed.

Upon the application appointment for an interview is being scheduled. The legislation does not provide a compulsory deadline for rendering of decision by the competent body. Each assessment is executed individually and the Ministry carries out several official examinations of the person, which is why the procedure may even take a year or even more time.

The acquisition of Bulgarian citizenship by naturalisation, the restoration of Bulgarian citizenship, the release and deprivation of Bulgarian citizenship and the revocation of the naturalisation shall be carried out by the President of the Republic of Bulgaria through a special decree. The decree enters into force on the day of its issuance.

The Ministry of Justice issues certificates for changes of the citizenship. Upon receipt of the edict, the Ministry of Justice informs:

the municipalities or mayor's offices under the permanent address of the person - for entering of the changes of the citizenship within the population registries;

the Ministry of Interior and the Ministry of Foreign Affairs - for issuance or withdrawal of Bulgarian ID documents.

Rejections and Appealing

The legislation of the Republic of Bulgaria does not provide any options for appealing of the rejected applications for a decree for acquiring of Bulgarian citizenship through naturalization.

 

• Revocation of the Naturalization

 

A revocation of the naturalization, by which the Bulgarian citizenship has been granted, is possible in the following events, as far as the person:

ü  has used data or facts having become grounds for acquiring Bulgarian citizenship for which, by court order, it has been established that are false;

ü  has concealed data or facts which, should they have been known, would have been grounds for refusal of acquiring Bulgarian citizenship.

The revocation of the naturalisation shall be admissible only until the expiration of 10 years as of the acquiring of the Bulgarian citizenship.

The revocation of the naturalisation of one of the spouses shall not lead to revocation of the naturalisation of the other spouse and/or the children, unless they have acquired Bulgarian citizenship on the grounds of the same false or concealed data or facts.

 

Deprivation of the Bulgarian citizenship

An Applicant, who has acquired Bulgarian citizenship by naturalisation, could be deprived of it if he/she is convicted by enacted sentence for severe crime against the republic, on condition that he/she is abroad and does not remain without citizenship.

The deprivation of citizenship of one of the spouses shall not change the citizenship of the other spouse and of the children.