Bulgarian citizenship shall be governed by the Constitution of the Republic of Bulgaria, the law and the international treaties in force at the time of the facts or events relating to citizenship. The applicable legislation is the Bulgarian Citizenship Act, Ordinance No. 1 of 19 February 1999 on the implementation of Chapter Five of the Bulgarian Citizenship Act, etc.
In this article several grounds for acquiring Bulgarian citizenship will be discussed.
Acquisition of citizenship on the basis of marriage to a Bulgarian citizen
Conditions for acquiring Bulgarian citizenship:
A person who is not a Bulgarian citizen may acquire Bulgarian citizenship if on the date of filing the application for naturalization:
- is an adult;
- has not been convicted of a deliberate offence of a general nature by a Bulgarian court and has not been the subject of criminal proceedings for such an offence, unless rehabilitated;
- has an income or occupation that enables him to support himself in Bulgaria;
- is proficient in the Bulgarian language, which shall be established in accordance with the procedure laid down by regulation of the Minister of Education and Science;
- has been and continues to be legally married to a Bulgarian citizen for at least 3 years
No exemption from their previous citizenship is required for spouses of Bulgarian citizens.
In the event of divorce, if the person who has acquired Bulgarian citizenship is not a citizen of a Member State of the European Union, of a State party to the Agreement on the European Economic Area, or of the Swiss Confederation, or of a State with which the Republic of Bulgaria has concluded a treaty establishing reciprocity, the person shall be released from his/her former citizenship.
Documents required:
- sample application;
- a certificate of a civil marriage entered into at least 3 years ago on the date of application, if the marriage was entered into abroad.
- a copy of the birth certificate or a duplicate birth certificate issued by the relevant Bulgarian or foreign competent authority;
- a criminal record certificate from the country of which the applicant is a national. If he/she resides permanently or on a long-term basis in the Republic of Bulgaria or in a third country, he/she shall also submit a criminal record certificate from the local competent authorities. The criminal record certificate shall state that it is issued for the purposes of Bulgarian citizenship proceedings;
- a document from the public prosecutor’s office stating that the applicant is not the subject of criminal proceedings for an intentional offence of a general nature, if the person is a permanent or long-term resident of the Republic of Bulgaria;
- a certificate from the employer stating that the person works under an employment or service relationship, or from the relevant tax office stating the income declared for the previous year;
- a document proving proficiency in Bulgarian;
- a medical document issued by a medical advisory committee (MAC) of the medical institution serving the person at the place of residence, certifying that the person does not suffer from the diseases specified in the law;
- sample declarations;
- current passport size photo;
- a photocopy of the applicant’s identity document;
- proof of payment of the state fee;
- an official document certifying the change of names, if any, and an official document certifying the identity of a person with different names;
- autobiography;
Acquisition of Bulgarian citizenship by descent
A Bulgarian citizen by descent is anyone of whom at least one parent is a Bulgarian citizen.
Conditions:
A person who is not a Bulgarian citizen may acquire Bulgarian citizenship if on the date of filing the application:
- is an adult;
- has not been convicted of a deliberate offence of a general nature by a Bulgarian court and has not been the subject of criminal proceedings for such an offence, unless rehabilitated;
- at least one of his/her parents is a Bulgarian citizen or has died as a Bulgarian citizen;
Documents required:
- sample application;
- an official document stating that one parent is a Bulgarian citizen or has died as such;
- a copy of the birth certificate or a duplicate birth certificate issued by the relevant Bulgarian or foreign competent authority;
- a criminal record certificate from the country of which the applicant is a national. If he/she resides permanently or on a long-term basis in the Republic of Bulgaria or in a third country, he/she shall also submit a criminal record certificate from the local competent authorities. The criminal record certificate shall state that it is issued for the purposes of Bulgarian citizenship proceedings;
- a document from the public prosecutor’s office stating that the applicant is not the subject of criminal proceedings for an intentional offence of a general nature, if the person is a permanent or long-term resident of the Republic of Bulgaria;
- a medical document issued by a medical advisory committee (MAC) of the medical institution serving the person at the place of residence, certifying that the person does not suffer from the diseases specified in the law;
- sample declarations;
- current passport size photo;
- a photocopy of the applicant’s identity document;
- proof of payment of the state fee;
- an official document certifying the change of names, if any, and an official document certifying the identity of a person with different names;
- autobiography;
Upon application of the person concerned, the Ministry of Justice shall issue a certificate of citizenship, which shall indicate whether or not the person is a Bulgarian citizen according to the registers kept by the Ministry. The certificate shall be issued within 30 days of the receipt of the documents at the Ministry of Justice.
It should be borne in mind that the criminal record certificate and the medical documents have a validity period of 6 months from the date of their issue.
The documents submitted by the interested parties must comply with the requirements for legalization and certification, as well as be provided with a translation into Bulgarian, which shall be carried out in accordance with the Regulations on legalization, certification and translation of documents and other documents.
Applications with the necessary documents shall be submitted in person to the Ministry of Justice or to the diplomatic or consular mission of the Republic of Bulgaria. When submitting the documents, the applicant shall be interviewed using a questionnaire approved by the Minister of Justice.
Acquisition of Bulgarian citizenship by naturalization shall be by decree of the President of the Republic of Bulgaria.
Due to the specifics of each case, the legal requirements may be different and the information in this article is not exhaustive. In view of this, we recommend – consulting a lawyer who will consider your case from every legal point of view.
