Important changes regarding the acquisition of Bulgarian citizenship have been adopted in the Bulgarian Citizenship Act. First of all, the amendments to the law optimize the opportunities for acquisition of Bulgarian citizenship by naturalization by foreigners who have received permanent residence in Bulgaria, based on investments made by them, as well as by their spouses. Long-term investments and job creation are encouraged for the purpose of acquisition of Bulgarian citizenship upon shortened periods of residence.
On the next place, the circumstances in connection with the acquisition of Bulgarian citizenship by naturalization through investments will be established and will be under the control of the Ministry of Economy and the Bulgarian Investment Agency.
In the procedure for acquisition of Bulgarian citizenship on the basis of Bulgarian origin, the application of the person applying for citizenship will have to be accompanied by official documents issued by Bulgarian or foreign authorities, with which the applicant certifies that he/she has a family relationship with at least one person – his/her ascending person to third degree inclusive (a great-grandmother or a great-grandfather), who is of Bulgarian origin. The documents will have to contain information about the names of the ascending person and his/her family relationship with the applicant. Thus, the applicant is no longer obliged to provide a certificate of Bulgarian origin issued by the State Agency for Bulgarians Abroad.
Cancellation of the naturalization is provided for if the person who has acquired Bulgarian citizenship has not notified of changes in the facts and circumstances related to the acquisition of Bulgarian citizenship. In connection with the preservation of the naturalization, different deadlines have been introduced for maintainance of the investments, which have become grounds for acquisition of Bulgarian citizenship.
An opportunity is created, when it is necessary to be clarified facts and circumstances on the documents submitted with the application (for acquisition of Bulgarian citizenship on the basis of Bulgarian origin), the Minister of Justice to be able to require the applicant to submit additional documents or to assign to the Advisory Board at the State Agency for Bulgarians Abroad to establish whether the applicant is of Bulgarian origin.
Furthermore, in the procedure in connection with the Bulgarian citizenship, when it is necessary to be clarified facts and circumstances related to the evidence presented with the applications and proposals or related to the circumstances of a possible threat to the public order, the public morality, the public health or the national security, the Citizenship Council is able to require the applicants to submit additional documents or to assign to the representative of one of the institutions participating in the Citizenship Council to carry out an inspection.
Тhe procedure for acquisition of Bulgarian citizenship has its own specifics and a good knowledge of the legal framework is required. For this reason, GCE advises you to contact our experts.