Citizenship

Certain individuals, meeting specified criteria outlined by law, may acquire Bulgarian citizenship without residency requirements.

To qualify for citizenship on this basis, one must be of Bulgarian descent, with a blood relation to at least one ancestor up to the third degree inclusive, who holds Bulgarian nationality (parent, grandparent, great-grandparent, or great-great-grandparent). This relationship must be substantiated with official documents issued by Bulgarian or foreign authorities, containing details about the ancestor’s name and relationship with the applicant.

A foreign citizen may obtain Bulgarian citizenship through naturalization if one of their parents is a Bulgarian citizen or was a Bulgarian citizen at the time of death.

Under this procedure, a person adopted by a Bulgarian citizen under the conditions of full adoption may also be naturalized. In such cases, the adoption decree must have undergone an exequatur procedure.

There is a legal provision for the restoration of Bulgarian citizenship for individuals who were Bulgarian citizens but, due to various reasons, were relieved of it or lost it. Applicants may regain it if they meet the regulatory requirements, namely: they have no criminal convictions, do not pose a threat to public order, public morals, public health, or national security, and have had permanent or long-term residency permit in the Republic of Bulgaria for at least 3 years as of the date of the restoration application. For individuals of Bulgarian descent, the procedure is facilitated, and there is no residency requirement for them.

Despite Bulgarian legislation allowing for dual citizenship, Bulgarian citizens residing abroad who acquire another citizenship should be released from Bulgarian citizenship, since the laws of the country whose citizenship they acquired do not permit dual citizenship. Some countries grant citizenship only if the applicant has renounced their current citizenship. Several European countries such as Andorra, Belarus, Spain, Malta, Monaco, Lithuania, Poland, Croatia, and Estonia do not allow dual citizenship.

The conditions for release require individuals to be Bulgarian citizens permanently residing abroad. This procedure can only be initiated if the individual has acquired foreign citizenship or if there is information about an ongoing procedure for acquiring it. Documents for release can be submitted to the diplomatic and consular representations of the Republic of Bulgaria in the respective country, but this would prolong the process by months. For this reason, it is advisable to initiate the procedure for release from Bulgarian citizenship at the Ministry of Justice, where there is no need to schedule an appointment, and the certificate confirming the change of citizenship can be obtained abroad.

Upon request from the interested party, the Ministry of Justice issues a citizenship certificate indicating whether the individual is or is not a Bulgarian citizen according to the registers kept by the ministry. The certificate is submitted through the municipalities at the permanent address or place of birth and is issued within 30 days from the receipt of the documents at the Ministry of Justice.

This service is available to former Bulgarian citizens who have left the country and wish to ascertain whether they have lost their Bulgarian citizenship or have been deprived of it based on the legislation in force at the time of emigration or if they are still Bulgarian citizens. Under this procedure, individuals of non-Bulgarian ethnicity (Turks, Jews, etc.) who left the Republic of Bulgaria during the 1950s to 1980s can determine if they have Bulgarian citizenship.

If you are a child of a mixed marriage and were born in the 1970s, 1980s, or 1990s, with one parent being a Bulgarian citizen and the other being a citizen of the USSR, Poland, Hungary, Germany, or Czechoslovakia, and you have doubts about whether you are a Bulgarian citizen or if, in addition to your current citizenship, you also have Bulgarian citizenship, you can submit documents to establish it. During this period, conventions to prevent dual citizenship were in force between the aforementioned countries and the People’s Republic of Bulgaria.

In this regard, we provide assistance in completing the application, supplying the necessary documents, and submitting them to the relevant municipality.

The Ministry of Justice issues a certificate confirming changes in citizenship for individuals who have successfully completed the procedure. The certificate is obtained at the Ministry of Justice after scheduling a date and time or at the diplomatic and consular representations of the Republic of Bulgaria, according to a schedule determined by them.