Residence and Citizenship of the Republic of Bulgaria

RESIDENCE BY VIRTUE OF EUROPEAN CITIZENSHIP WITHOUT THE STATUTE OF CONTINUOUS OR PERMANENT RESIDENCE

A citizen of the European Union may stay in the Republic of Bulgaria if he /she is a holder of a valid identity card or a valid passport for a term of up to three months.

A member of the family, who is not citizen of the European Union, may stay in the Republic of Bulgaria if he /she is a holder of a valid passport for a term of up to three months as from the date of entering the country.

The procedure of obtaining the statute of continuous or permanent residence takes 1 (one) working day, and the obtaining of an identity document takes – 3 (three) working days.

OBTAINING THE STATUTE OF RESIDENT

Continuous residence

A citizen of the European Union may have continuous or permanent residence in the Republic of Bulgaria, for which he/she is issued a certificate by Directorate “Migration” – the Ministry of Interior, by the Sofia Directorate of the Ministry of Interior (SDMI) or by the district directorates of the Ministry of Interior, or by officials authorized by the directors of the above institutions. The statute of continuous or permanent residence in Bulgaria of a citizen of the European Union provides to such persons all administrative prerequisites for an undisturbed residence in the territory of the country and free development of economic activity by means of a commercial company, under an employment agreement or as an independently employed person, including the right of purchase of any real estates – buildings, regulated land plots, agricultural lands or forests. The Bulgarian citizenship provides more rights only with regard to the active and passive suffrage– the right to vote and to be elected at any local or national elections.

The continuous residence is for a term of up to five years.

The certificate of continuous residence is issued to a citizen of the European Union, who meets one of the following requirements:

1. he/she is a worker or an independently employed person in the Republic of Bulgaria – under an independently employed person is to be understood a partner in a commercial company or a free-lancer – a physician, a dentist, an attorney, an architect, a hair-dresser, a cosmetician, etc. The registration of a commercial company in the Republic of Bulgaria is under a facilitated administrative treatment– the minimum capital of a limited liability company amounts to BGN 2.–, no partnership with a Bulgarian citizen is required, and no taxation registration is required until commencement of the activity of the company. The procedure of registration is in an electronic way.
2. he/she has health insurance and the necessary financial means for covering the expenses and costs of residence and those of the members of his/her family and do not represent a burden for the system of social support;
3. he/she is enlisted at an educational institution, including professional training, and meets the requirements of item 2.

The certificate of continuous residence is issued also to a member of the family of a citizen of the European Union, who accompanies or joins a citizen of the European Union and who can deliver:

1. a valid identity card or a valid passport;
2. a document, certifying that the person is member of the family or is a factual co- habitant with a citizen of the European Union. In the case of a factual co-habitation, it can be proven by: a document of address registration at the current or permanent address, a lease agreement, under which both partners are tenants, a jointly owned dwelling place, a common child (in which case also a statement from the second parent is necessary proving that the partners live together and commonly tale care of the child)

Permanent residence

After expiration of a five-year term of continuous residence, a person may apply for the statute of permanent residence under identical terms and conditions. The document of identity is to be re-issued every ten years.

OBTAINING BULGARIAN CITIZENSHIP BY NATURALIZATION

General procedure

A person, who is not Bulgarian citizen, may acquire Bulgarian citizenship, if as with the date of submission of the application for naturalization:

1. the person is of legal age;
2. has obtained a residence permit for permanent or long-term residence in the Republic of Bulgaria not less than 5 years earlier;
3. has not been convicted for premeditated crime of general nature by a Bulgarian court and no criminal procedure has been initiated against the person for such crime, unless rehabilitated;
4. has an income or trade providing him/her maintenance in the Republic of Bulgaria;
5. is in command of the Bulgarian language, which fact is to be established in the order defined by an ordinance of the Minister of education and science, and
6. is released of his/her former citizenship or shall be released from it as with the moment of obtaining Bulgarian citizenship.

No release of former citizenship is required for:

1. persons – spouses of Bulgarian citizens;
2. citizens of a country – member of the European Union, of a country – party under the Agreement on the European Economic Area, or Confederation Switzerland;
3. citizens of countries, with which the Republic of Bulgaria has concluded agreements establishing mutual assistance.

The procedure with the Ministry of Justice lasts up to 18 (eighteen) months.

SIMPLIFIED PROCEDURES FOR OBTAINING BULGARIAN CITIZENSHIP

Simplified procedure by virtue of investment

The first simplified procedure for obtaining Bulgarian citizenship refers to persons, meeting at least one of the following requirements:

1. A person, who has obtained a permit for permanent residence by virtue of investments explicitly enumerated in the Act to a value of not less than BGN 1 000 000 (1. Shares of Bulgarian commercial companies, traded on the Bulgarian regulated market; 2. Bonds and treasury bonds as well as derivative instruments, issued by the state or the municipalities, with a remaining term up to the due date not shorter than 6 (six) months; 3. The right of ownership on an independent part of the property of a Bulgarian commercial company with more than 50 percent state or municipality participation in the capital under the Act on Privatization and Post-privatization Control; 4. Shares ownership of the state or the municipalities in a Bulgarian commercial company under the Act on Privatization and Post-privatization Control; 5. Bulgarian intellectual property –objects of copyright and similar rights, inventions protected by a patent, useful models, trade names, trade names for services and industrial design; 6. Rights under concession agreements on the territory of the Republic of Bulgaria; 7. Investment in a licensed credit institution in Bulgaria under an agreement for trust management with a term not shorter than 5 years, whereby within the said term the investment is not used for security of other monetary credits by a crediting institution in Bulgaria; investment in the capital of a Bulgarian commercial company, whose shares are not traded on the regulated market, to an amount of not less than BGN 6 000 000), as well as members of their families;
2. A person, who is legal representative, procurator or key specialist employed under an agreement at the commercial company – investor of class А or B;
3. A person, who has made an investment in the country by the payment of not less than BGN 500 000 into the capital of the Bulgarian commercial company whereby the foreigner is partner or shareholder with registered shares and holds not less than 50 percent of the capital of the company and as a result of the investment new fixed tangible and intangible assets to the value of not less than BGN 500 000 and not less than 10 working places have been created for Bulgarian citizens, maintained for the term of residence certified by the Ministry of Economy;

These persons may obtain Bulgarian citizenship by virtue of naturalization without having good command of the Bulgarian language and without refusing their current citizenship. The procedure with the Ministry of Justice lasts up to 6 (six) months.

Simplified procedure by virtue of a bigger investment

That procedure is applied with regard to persons meeting one of the following requirements:

1. the persons have obtained a permit for permanent residence in the Republic of Bulgaria earlier than at least one year by virtue of specific investments to the amount of not less than BGN 1 000 000. (1. Shares of Bulgarian commercial companies, traded on the Bulgarian regulated market; 2. Bonds and treasury bonds, as well as derivative instruments, issued by the state or by municipalities, with remaining term until the due date not shorter than 6 months; 3. The right of ownership on an independent part of the property of a Bulgarian commercial company with more than 50 percent state or municipality participation in the capital under the Act on Privatization and Post-privatization Control; 4. Shares in a Bulgarian commercial company owned by the state or the municipalities under the Act on Privatization and Post-privatization Control; 5. Bulgarian intellectual property, objects of the Copyright and Similar Rights Act, inventions protected by a patent, useful models, trade names, trade names for services and industrial design; 6. Rights under concession agreements on the territory of the Republic of Bulgaria; 7. Investment in a licensed credit institution in Bulgaria under an agreement for trust management with a term not shorter than 5 years, whereby within the said term the investment is not used for security of other monetary credits by a crediting institution in Bulgaria and have increased their investment under the same terms and conditions of the act to a value of not less than BGN 2 million, or have invested not less than BGN 1 million into the capital of the Bulgarian commercial company, which executes a priority investment project certified following the order of the Investment Promotion Act;
2. the persons have obtained a permit for permanent residence in the Republic of Bulgaria earlier than at least one year by virtue of possession of not less than 50 percent of the shares in the company, have obtained certificates of investor in the sense of the Investment Promotion Act, during which year the investments made and put into operation have been maintained over the minimum threshold for the issue of a certificate for investment class А following the order of the Investment Promotion Act, which is certified by the Ministry of Economy. The Bulgarian company should not: 1. be declared in insolvency or be in an open procedure of insolvency; have concluded out of court settlement with creditors in the sense of Art. 740 of the Commercial Act; 2. be in a liquidation procedure; 3. have monetary liabilities to the state or to any municipality in the sense of Art. 162, paragraph 2 of the Tax-Insurance procedure Code, established by an act of a competent body, which has come into effect, unless a deferred payment of the liabilities has been allowed; 4. have unpaid labor remunerations to workers or employees as established by a penal provision. The check and control of these circumstances and terms and conditions are carried out on the grounds of annual financial reports and reports on the company activity certified by an auditor registered under the Independent Financial Audit Act, references from the National Revenue Agency, from the municipalities, as well as on the grounds of other reference documents submitted by the person as per paragraph. 1 or collected in the official way.

These persons may obtain Bulgarian citizenship by virtue of naturalization without the availability of the general terms and conditions unless they have not been convicted for a crime of general character by a Bulgarian court and there is no penal procedure initiated against them for such a crime unless rehabilitated. The procedure with the Ministry of Justice lasts up to 6 (six) months.

Simplified procedure by virtue of a relation with the country without having Bulgarian origin

That procedure refers persons, who meet at least one of the following terms and conditions:

1. To have legally concluded marriage with a Bulgarian citizen for not less than 3 years and to continue to be in such a marriage;
2. To be born in the Republic of Bulgaria;
3. To have obtained a permit for permanent or long-term residence before coming of legal age;

These persons may obtain Bulgarian citizenship by virtue of naturalization in the case, when at the moment of submission of the application for naturalization a three years term of their statute of residents has expired, and also when the rest of the general terms and conditions are at hand (no previous conviction, income or trade, command of the Bulgarian language, rejection of former citizenship, except for citizens of EU and the EEA). The procedure with the Ministry of Justice lasts up to 18 (eighteen) months.

Simplified procedure by virtue of a statute of refugee or another humanitarian statute

These persons may obtain Bulgarian citizenship by virtue of naturalization without demanding the expiration of a five-year term of residence and also when the rest of the general terms and conditions are at hand (no previous conviction, income or trade, command of the Bulgarian language, rejection of former citizenship, except for citizens of EU and the EEA). The procedure with the Ministry of Justice lasts up to 18 (eighteen) months.

Simplified procedure with regard to persons without citizenship

These persons may obtain Bulgarian citizenship by virtue of naturalization, in the case, when at the moment of submission of the application for naturalization a three years term of their statute of residents has expired and also when the rest of the general terms and conditions are at hand (no previous conviction, income or trade, command of the Bulgarian language). The procedure with the Ministry of Justice lasts up to 18 (eighteen) months.

Simplified procedure with regard to persons of Bulgarian origin

A person of Bulgarian origin is considered a person, who has obtained a certificate for Bulgarian origin from the State Agency for the Bulgarians Abroad. Other persons, who may obtain Bulgarian citizenship following the same procedure, are those adopted by Bulgarian citizens under the terms and conditions of full adoption and those, of whom one of the parents is Bulgarian citizen or has died as Bulgarian citizen.

These persons may obtain Bulgarian citizenship also when the general terms and conditions are not at hand, when of legal age and when proving no previous conviction for a crime of general character by a Bulgarian court and when no criminal procedure has been initiated against them for such a crime, unless rehabilitated. The procedure with the Ministry of Justice lasts up to 18 (eighteen) months.

Simplified procedure for obtaining Bulgarian citizenship by virtue of state interest or special services rendered to the Republic of Bulgaria

A person, who is not a Bulgarian citizen, may obtain Bulgarian citizenship without the general terms and conditions for obtaining to be at hand in the case, when the Republic of Bulgaria has an interest in his/her naturalization or when the person has rendered special services to the Republic of Bulgaria in the public and economic sphere, in the field of science, technology, culture or sports. The procedure with the Ministry of Justice lasts up to 3 (three) months. A proposal from the respective minister in the respective field is to be at hand directed to

The children of the Bulgarian citizens, who are not of the age of 18 also obtain Bulgarian citizenship.

With all kinds of procedures for obtaining Bulgarian citizenship the application is rejected if, in view of the behavior of the person, serious reasons exist to be considered that the said person represents a threat to the public order, the public morals, the public health or the national security.