A natural person who is not a Bulgarian citizen, could obtain Bulgarian citizenship if several specific requirements are met. In the first place, they should be of age of majority at the date of submitting the application for naturalization. Another condition is that the applicant has received permanent or long-term residence at least 5 years prior to applying. The candidate must possess a clear criminal record and mustn’t have been condemned for commiting an intentional crime of general character by a Bulgarian court. In addition to that, there shouldn’t be a criminal proceeding initiated against them for such a crime, unless the institute of rehabilitation has been applied regarding the applicant. Furthermore, the applicant should have income or an occupation enabling them to support themselves in the Republic of Bulgaria. It is a must for the applicant to be fluent in both spoken and written Bulgarian language, which is proved in accordance with a strict and legally arranged procedure and order. What’s more, the applicant cannot retain their current citizenship and must denounce it and this procedure should be finalized by, expectedly, the moment of obtaining Bulgarian citizenship. Deprival of current citizenship is not required under the following conditions and categories: 1. Persons – spouses of Bulgarian citizens; 2. Citizens of member states, countries – members of the Agreement for European Economic Area, or the Swiss Confederation; 3. Citizens of states with which the Bulgarian state has mutuality of agreement; Here’s the place to emphasize that a person who is not a Bulgarian citizen could obtain a Bulgarian citizenship by naturalization without the conditions under the described article be present, as long as they meet one of the following requirements: 1. To be of Bulgarian origin; 2. To have been adopted by a Bulgarian citizen under the regime of full adoption; 3. One of their parents to have been a Bulgarian citizen. In the course of application for obtaining Bulgarian citizenship by naturalization, along with the application itself a certificate for Bulgarian origin, issued by the State agency for the Bulgarians abroad, should be submitted. It is necessary that the aforementioned certificate contains the data based on which the Bulgarian origin has been defined. Generally it takes 2 months for this certificate to be issued.
Obtaining Bulgarian citizenship by naturalization
05.05.2021
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