Acquiring BG citizenship by investment

 I. Under Art. 12 of Bulgarian Citizenship Act

The physical person :

1. Must be an adult;
2. Before no less than 5 years has been given permit for permanent or long-term residence in Bulgaria;
3. Has not been convicted of a crime by Bulgarian court or is not prosecuted for such a crime, unless rehabilitated;
4. Has an income or occupation that enables him to live in Bulgaria;
5. Is skillful at Bulgarian language;

Permit for long-term residence – requirements (LFRB art. 24, para 1, items 19, 20):

• Visa D;
• Investment of no less than 600 000 BGN or  investment in economically disadvantaged regions of no less than 250 000 BGN plus opened at least 5 workplaces for Bulgarian citizens;

Permit for permanent residence – requirements (LFRB art. 25, para 1, items 16, 17):

• Investment of no less than 500 000 BGN plus opened at least 10 workplaces for Bulgarian citizens;

Or

• Acquired permit for long-term residence and keeping the investment over 5 years;

II. Under Art. 12a of Bulgarian Citizenship Act

Permit for permanent residence – requirements (LFRB art. 25, para 1, items 6, 7, 8, 13):

• Investment of over 1 million BGN or  increase of the investment with this amount through the acquisition of:

1. shares in Bulgarian commercial companies, traded on a regulated Bulgarian market;
2. shares and treasury bonds and derivative instruments issued by the State or by municipalities, with a residual maturity not less than 6 months;
3. ownership rights over an isolated part of the property of a Bulgarian commercial company with more than 50 percent state or municipal participation in the capital under the Act of Privatization and Post- privatization Control;
4. shares or stocks owned by the state or municipalities in a Bulgarian commercial company in compliance with the Act of Privatization and Post- privatization Control;
5. Bulgarian intellectual property – objects of copyright and related to it rights, patent-protected inventions, utility models, trademarks, service marks and industrial design;
6. rights under concession contracts on the territory of the Republic of Bulgaria;

or

• Deposit of 1 million BGN in a licensed credit institution in Bulgaria under fiduciary management for a period not less than five years;

or

• Investment in the capital of Bulgarian company which shares are not traded on a regulated market of no less than 6 million BGN;

or

• Performing activities and certification under the Investment Promotion Act – implementing and/or maintaining an investment which has received a certificate for class А, class B, or priority investment project;

The physical person :

1. Must be an adult;
2. Before no less than 5 years has been given permit for permanent or long-term residence in Bulgaria;
3. Has not been convicted of a crime by Bulgarian court or is not prosecuted for such a crime, unless rehabilitated;
4. Has an income or occupation that enables him to live in Bulgaria;

 III. Under Art. 14a of Bulgarian Citizenship Act

The physical person :

1. Must be an adult;
2. Has not been convicted of a crime by Bulgarian court or is not prosecuted for such a crime, unless rehabilitated;

A) Before no less than 1 year has been given permit for permanent residence in Bulgaria under LFRB art. 25, para 1, items 6 or 7 and has increased the investment under the same conditions to 2 million BGN or  has invested in the capital of Bulgarian company no less than 1 million BGN for implemented priority investment project;

or

B) Before no less than 1 year has been given permit for permanent residence in Bulgaria for performing activities and certification under the Investment Promotion Act – implementing and/or maintaining an investment which has received a certificate for class А, class B, or priority investment project. During this year the investments performed and put into exploitation are maintained above the minimum score for certificate for class А;

Permit for permanent residence – requirements (LFRB art. 25, para 1, items 6, 7):

• Investment of over 1 million BGN or  increase of the investment with this amount through the acquisition of:

1. a) shares in Bulgarian commercial companies, traded on a regulated Bulgarian market;
2. b) shares and treasury bonds and derivative instruments issued by the State or by municipalities, with a residual maturity not less than 6 months;
3. c) ownership rights over an isolated part of the property of a Bulgarian commercial company with more than 50 percent state or municipal participation in the capital under the Act of Privatization and Post- privatization Control;
4. d) shares or stocks owned by the state or municipalities in a Bulgarian commercial company in compliance with the Act of Privatization and Post- privatization Control;
5. e) Bulgarian intellectual property – objects of copyright and related to it rights, patent-protected inventions, utility models, trademarks, service marks and industrial design;
6. f) rights under concession contracts on the territory of the Republic of Bulgaria;

or

• Deposit of 1 million BGN in a licensed credit institution in Bulgaria under fiduciary management for a period not less than five years;

If you have any questions regarding the acquiring of Bulgarian citizenship, do not hesitate to contact us.