fast-track Bulgarian Citizenship
This is the webpage of the old program, now repealed. For the conditions of the successor of the program, please visit – Bulgarian Golden Visa
The advantages of the Bulgarian Passport
at the end – it’s all about Freedom

Everybody deserves unrestricted travel. However, only about 12% of the World’s population can enjoy this privilege. Unless you are national of the EU, USA, Canada, Japan, Australia, New Zealand and few other blessed countries, you are destined to fight for your entry visa prior to your next international departure.
The advantages of holding Bulgarian (EU) passport however, go far beyond visa free travel. Bulgarian citizenship provides completely unrestricted residence and working rights within the European Union. It provides Bulgarian citizens with consular assistance from any EU embassy worldwide, EU healthcare access, university education in any EU country at preferential conditions, lowest taxes in EU, protection of your assets and much more.
Clear and favorable conditions
The Bulgarian Citizenship Investment Program doesn’t require you to pay hundreds of thousands on governmental fees, nor is your investment tied to some unclear non liquid investment that can be eventually recuperated after many years. Nor you will be required to invest millions in real estate in the country, paying the property agent 20% and more commission. The investment choices are at least as good as the ones offered by your local bank or investment advisor. Most probably you are already holding similar portfolio, so why not doing it in Bulgaria and get EU citizenship as an added bonus.
Freedom
Being Bulgarian citizen means most of all FREEDOM. Freedom to travel, freedom to settle, freedom to do business, freedom to work and receive healthcare. Most importantly – freedom to make your dreams come true!
100% guaranteed EU rights
It matters not whether you are an active businessman or a retiree. It doesn’t matter whether you travel frequently and need the convenience of crossing borders freely. It doesn’t matter if you just want to settle down and buy your dream home in peaceful Italian village or vibrant German megapolis. Having the right citizenship is the absolute prerequisite to be able to enjoy life.
Truly investment program
So what are the advantages of being Bulgarian citizen? How can you change your life for the better if you obtain Bulgarian passport? Why is Bulgarian passport better than most other EU passports to travel on? And also why is the Bulgarian Citizenship Investment Program the only legislative incentive to our knowledge in EU, which is really an investment program (where the investment remains yours, not payable to someone else) rather than a “selling citizenship” scheme.
Visa-free travel with Bulgarian Passport
Bulgarian passport means first of all visa free travel. For travel to the EU Member States, as well as the few other European countries, not Members of the EU – Switzerland, Norway, etc., Bulgarian citizens don’t even need carrying their passport. Merely showing their national identity card (ID card) guarantees them entry and right of residence. For the rest of the world, Bulgaria as part of the EU family has signed visa free agreements, allowing its citizens to effortlessly travel the world round. Bulgaria shares, together with Monaco and Liechtenstein, the prestigious 12th place in the world in terms of freedom of its citizens to travel visa free. It means that Bulgarian passport holders can travel to about 145 countries worldwide either visa free or be granted “visa on arrival”. This spectacular score is what makes Bulgarian citizenship the preferred choice for many individuals from all over the world.
Travel privileges for EU citizens
In addition to the impressive number of countries who keep their doors open for Bulgarian citizens, it is worth mentioning the ease of travel with EU (Bulgarian) passport. Most countries worldwide (even outside of Europe) will provide dedicated immigration passages for citizens of the European Union. Instead of waiting the long cues marked with “All countries”, you will enjoy fast border crossing under the reserved for EU citizens corridors marked with “EU citizens only”. You will be also spared time consuming (and also intimidating) forms fillings or showing supporting documents, such as hotel bookings, return tickets, etc. at the border checkpoints.
Visa-reciprocity protection on EU level
Another advantage of having Bulgarian citizenship is that the European Parliament and the Council have adopted in 2013 a Regulation (EU) 1289/2013 in order to apply visa reciprocity mechanism for all of its Member States. The visa reciprocity mechanism is a legal provision under EU law aiming to achieve completely visa free travel for citizens of all (EU) Member States to every non EU country whose citizens can travel to the EU / Schengen area without a visa. In other words, the EU is applying a policy that guarantees that all EU countries will at one point have the same visa free regime, ensuring the sustainability of the Bulgarian citizenship and passport in regard to visa free travel.
- 12th place worldwide for visa free travel (shared with Monaco and Liechtenstein);
- 145 visa free countries;
- Sustainable and rising number of visa free travel countries in future, guaranteed by Regulation (EU) 1289/2013.
Unlimited residency and working rights in the EU
Ultimate EU residence rights
Holding Bulgarian passport doesn’t only mean visa free travel. What is by many considered as being much more important are the rights that come with the Bulgarian citizenship in terms of living, working and studying in the EU. Bulgarian citizens are allowed to live in any EU country without any restrictions or even formalities. Living comes with additional rights, such as unrestricted right to work, attend schools and universities, thereby having the same rights as the local citizens. In other words, Bulgarian citizen in France for example, has the same rights in these respects as the French citizens themselves.
Preferential conditions for EU citizens only
Access to universities in the EU is essential. Bulgarians (as well as all EU citizens) can study EU-wide at preferential conditions as EU citizens. Even permanent residents of the EU do not have such rights. This means that the Bulgarian passport opens yet another door of opportunities – the best academic and professional institutions (schools, colleges, universities, etc.) in the world.
EU healthcare
EU healthcare and social protection are also significant advantages. Access to the best medical institutions in Europe can be of extreme importance for many. Doing business in the EU is also regulated by advanced legislation and best European practices. The peaceful environment in the European Union is for many the most important factor as to their decision where to retire.
Lowest taxes in EU, right to own land and much more
Lowest taxes in the EU
With your Bulgarian passport secured, it is important to get the full benefits of what the EU nationality can offer. With the extremely low income tax in Bulgaria, you will basically get the best of both worlds. With corporate and personal income tax rates in Bulgaria being only 10% (the absolutely lowest in EU), you can opt to give another boost to your new life once you get hold of your Bulgarian passport. The choice is obviously yours – you can continue paying taxes as before, but you can also opt to switch your tax burden to Bulgaria. This choice can be essential. You can save a fortune by careful tax planning, combined with your Bulgarian citizenship.
Right to own EU land
Owning land in EU is not available to everybody. If you are non EU citizen, in general, you will be not able to buy land in the most lucrative areas of the European Union. However, as Bulgarian national, you have full access to the best investment opportunities the EU has to offer. Whether a nice vineyard in Italy or France, a field of wheat crop in Bulgaria or century old forest in Luxembourg – you will have the choice to buy the best of the best.
- Pay the lowest tax in EU;
- Own the best land plots in EU;
- EU rights for your family.
Political stability
Political stability in the country of your citizenship, as well as peace of mind when travelling, are also very important issues. Although a full fledged NATO member, Bulgaria usually stays at the sideline and doesn’t make enemies in any international conflicts. Bulgarian citizens, unlike the nationals of big countries like USA, Germany, UK, France, etc. are far less exposed to hostility or acts of aggression when they travel abroad.
EU rights for family members
Probably the most important advantage is that, as Bulgarian citizen, you will be able to apply for EU “status” for your family members. You can read more about the conditions of the Bulgarian Citizenship Investment Program in the following section below.
About the Bulgarian Citizenship by Investment Program
the ultimate CIP

So what is the Bulgarian Citizenship Investment Program all about? In general, the status of the foreigners in Bulgaria and their naturalization in order to become Bulgarian citizens is covered in the “Law for the Foreigners in Bulgaria” and the “Law for the Bulgarian Citizenship”. Unlike other investment programs for naturalization (in other countries), the Bulgarian legislation is not “after the money”. The relevant laws are written with the idea that in order to qualify for fast track Bulgarian citizenship, the foreigner doesn’t need to “pay” for it. The investment conditions that need to be fulfilled are to merely guarantee that only self-sufficient applicants will be accepted. The Bulgarian Parliament, by passing these laws (that provide the opportunity for fast track citizenship), has shown clearly that Bulgaria is willing to provide “safe harbor” to those who have proven themselves being reliable citizens. The program is not a “passport for sale” scheme and the Bulgarian state will not benefit from your investment as it is and remains “your investment”.
The Law for the Bulgarian Citizenship
The “Law for the Bulgarian Citizenship” provides different options to those who are willing to become Bulgarian nationals. The general rule is that one is eligible for Bulgarian citizenship if either he/she has resided permanently in the country for certain amount of time or he/she is of Bulgarian origin (having Bulgarian ancestors, subjects to conditions). The Bulgarian Citizenship Investment Program provides another opportunity for naturalization, namely through investment. We really want to stress on the most important advantages of this program:
Your investment
The investment is done by you (with our support if required), in a variety of investment choices, and it remains yours at all times, unless of course you opt to appoint a trustee. You have full control and 100% transparency of your money. There is no requirement to buy real estate properties or anything alike, thereby paying 20% and more to real estate agents (and even VAT) and then if you want to cash it back, paying at least the same commissions again. Although the Bulgarian Currency (BGN) is pegged to the Euro at 1,95583 BGN for 1 EUR and there is no currency risk whatsoever, the investment can still be done directly in EUR, USD or GBP under the portfolio management option.
Your citizenship
The Bulgarian nationality will be obtained in a little bit more than one year period. You will be not required to surrender your current citizenship if you prefer not to. You will be not required to pass language or history exam. And of course, citizenship is for life.
Your family (children)
Your children will have the right of citizenship too. Yes, all your children will be immediately eligible for Bulgarian citizenship once you get your Bulgarian passport. Your unborn children will get automatically Bulgarian citizenship and so will their children and so on.
A word of caution
Please stay away of any offers for Bulgarian citizenship asking you to pay money instead of investing on your own name. For example asking you to “invest” funds for some period (usually 5 years) interest-free. We have seen similar schemes advertised online and we urge you to not even consider these. Any schemes that offer you credit so you can use it for the investment (in return for irrevocable substantial fee) are trying to circumvent the Bulgarian laws and are extremely dangerous, least to say. The whole purpose of the Bulgarian Citizenship Investment Program is the applicant to have the resources himself – this is not a “passport for sale” scheme. Please be aware that trying to get around the naturalization laws, the way that is done by many unscrupulous “agents”, may not only deprive you forever from the possibility to obtain EU citizenship, but to also trigger penal action by the authorities.
The Naturalization process
Obtaining permanent residence in Bulgaria (step 1 of 2)
The first step is obtaining immediate permanent Bulgarian residency for the applicant (the prerequisite for the full Bulgarian citizenship). Please note that “permanent residency” is the highest “grade” of residence status in Bulgaria. It provides already much more rights to its holder than the other residency types, such as long term residency, usually granted to spouses of Bulgarian citizens, foreign entrepreneurs, etc. In order to obtain it, the applicant, according to art. 25, par. 1, p. 6 and p. 7 of the “Law for the Foreigners in Bulgaria” has to invest at least 512 000 EUR in one or more of the following investment choices:
Shares of Bulgarian companies traded on the Bulgarian Stock Exchange
Shares are in general considered a more risky investment than are the fixed income (bonds, CD’s, etc.) counterparts. The upward potential however should be considered as well. The Bulgarian Stock Exchange has proven track record and the traded securities often outperform the similar investments on other European floors. As an added benefit, the financial regulations in Bulgaria provide for maximum security for the investors and 100% transparency. The portfolio can be tracked in real time trough different electronic channels from any place in the world.
Bulgarian State Bonds, Municipal Bonds as well as their derivatives
The remaining maturities of these instruments must be not less than six months. Bonds, as stated above are considered a more stable type of investment, however the returns are limited. Bulgarian bonds are quite a safe bet, bearing in mind the good “Standard and Poor’s” and “Moody’s” ratings that Bulgaria holds. A good and diversified portfolio of Bulgarian bonds should average higher return than most other European bonds.
- Invest on the regulated floor of the Bulgarian Stock Exchange. No monkey business with online brokers, ForEx agents and similar;
- Buy Bulgarian state and municipal bonds with nice yields and government guarantee by a EU country;
- Open your trust account (portfolio management account) with major international banks, such as Raiffeisen Bank, Unicredit Bulbank, BNP, Societe Generale, etc.;
- Follow your investments online and in real time.
Investment with Bulgarian Bank (as per the amendment in State Gazette, nr.108 of 2013) in the form of trust account (portfolio management) for a period of not less than five years
This sort of investment option, although ties the applicant’s money for relatively long period, is the most flexible of all. It provides the opportunity to sign a profitable contract with any bank in Bulgaria (with a wide choice of many multinational well known Bank names) in order to arrange the management contract for the portfolio. Additionally the applicant has the option to tailor shape his/her portfolio and to set particular investment goals and limits.
State property, shares of privatized companies, intellectual properties, patents, rights of concessions, etc.
These we consider to be suitable only for investors who, for whatever reason, want to spice up their traditional portfolio.
It is essential to understand that the investment remains yours at all times! You will be never required to buy any non-liquid assets such as real estate, which will attract huge notary fees (and even VAT) as well as 20 to 40% spread on the buy-sell contracts. The fees for the Bulgarian stock exchange for example are 0,075% for shares and 0,01% for bonds.
Diversification is another advantage of the program. You can buy as many different bonds, shares, etc. as you like, thereby spreading the risk and optimizing the returns. In fact, most of the applicants are doing this sort of investments with their local bank already. Or they use the services of another foreign bank, stock exchange floor or online investment broker. Doing it in Bulgaria will not only bring the additional benefit of obtaining EU citizenship, but may also prove to be more cost effective.
Obtaining the Bulgarian citizenship and EU passport (step 2 of 2)
One year after the initial investment has been completed and the permanent residence card received, art. 14a, par. 1, p. 1 of the “Law for the Bulgarian Citizenship” foresees that the applicant for naturalization has to increase his or her investment up to the total amount of at least 1 024 000 EUR. This means that if during the fist stage of the naturalization process, the applicant has invested the minimum amount required by the “Law for the Foreigners in Bulgaria” of 512 000 EUR he has to now add another 512 000 EUR to his initial portfolio. The total portfolio value at that point has to be at least 1 024 000 EUR. The amount can be higher as well. In fact, the majority of our customers opt for higher investment amounts, although this is not required for the immediate purposes of the Bulgarian Citizenship Investment Program.

Very short naturalization period of only one year
This means that subject to the investment conditions being met, the applicant is eligible for citizenship only one year after his initial investment. Of course, there is some processing time, making the total period for the naturalization a little bit longer.
Final citizenship approval by the President of Republic of Bulgaria
The final approval for the citizenship is prepared by the Bulgarian Minister of Justice and is sent for approval to the President of Republic of Bulgaria. When signed and stamped by the President, the citizenship enters into force immediately as is foreseen in art. 36 from the “Law for the Bulgarian Citizenship”. With this act, the naturalization procedure is completed.
The highlights of the Bulgarian Citizenship by Investment Program
Real investment program (not passport for sale)
We believe that the conditions of the Bulgarian relevant laws, regulating the naturalization of foreigners and allowing fast track citizenship to be obtained in a little more than one year time are unique for the whole European Union. Bulgaria is in fact the only EU country to provide the opportunity to obtain citizenship for “pure investment”, meaning that the applicant doesn’t have to ever lose control of his money or pass the financial rights to someone else. Neither has the applicant to pay extraordinary conveyance or other state and notary fees in order to purchase non-liquid “qualifying” property.
We will outline below the main advantages of the Bulgarian Citizenship Investment Program, compared to similar incentive of other EU countries. We wouldn’t even consider “similar” programs of some exotic tropical islands offering passports for sale as we believe these to be simply not comparable to EU citizenship.
Low investment amount required
1 024 000 EUR is the absolutely lowest requirement among the EU countries that provide fast track citizenship. Other EU countries will require a commitment in the amount of 2 500 000 EUR, 4 000 000 EUR, 5 000 000 EUR and even more.
The investment remains property of the applicant at all times
Other programs will require the would be citizen to invest in a way that he or she will has difficulties understanding whether this is an investment or a donation.
The investment is liquid and with low (in fact almost nil) charges
The investment can be done in money market instruments (shares, bonds, trust bank account) and not in real estate or other non-liquid equity. Other countries will require purchase of qualifying real estate. For example a 2 500 000 EUR real estate investment in another country may trigger fees, commissions and price spread of more than one million Euro. Eventual VAT would be on top of that. This million will be obviously for the account of the applicant. Not the case in Bulgaria luckily.
- Low investment required of only 1 024 000 EUR;
- Investment on applicant’s name at all times;
- Liquid investment in money market instruments (shares, bonds, etc.);
- Very short time of the naturalization process – only a little more than 12 months;
- No donation required. Investment remains property of the applicant;
- No language, history or any other similar test for the fast track citizenship program;
- Children eligible for full Bulgarian citizenship.
Very short time for the naturalization process
The Bulgarian program will trigger the naturalization decree in a bit more than a year. Even better, a permanent residence status will be granted immediately after the first installment of the investment amount is arranged.
No donation required
Bulgaria is not looking to fill its state budget from the naturalization program. In fact, the state will not profit at all from the applicant’s investment. All eventual profits from the investment are entirely for the applicant’s account. Bulgaria, unlike other EU countries, doesn’t require a donation to be done under its fast track naturalization program. Other EU countries will require an irrevocable payment for hundreds of thousands of Euros.
The applicant will be not required to pass any Bulgarian language or history test
This will not only speed the whole naturalization process, but will also help in achieving the applicant’s final goal – the Bulgarian citizenship approval.
The applicant can retain his or her previous citizenship(s)
This may be very important in some cases. Other EU countries will require the applicants to surrender their existing citizenships in order to obtain the new nationality.
The applicant’s children will be eligible for immediate Bulgarian citizenship
Other EU countries will not provide this convenience to the investment citizens. Bulgaria doesn’t differentiate them from the “Bulgarian born Bulgarians”.
Investment in Bulgaria is safe!
Unlike other countries offering citizenship to investors, Bulgaria has never imposed neither currency restrictions nor has expropriated bank deposits. Investment in Bulgaria is probably one of the safest in the whole EU.
Low taxes
Should the new Bulgarian citizen decide to change his or her tax domicile to Bulgaria, he or she will enjoy the lowest corporate and personal tax rates in EU.
The uniqueness of the Bulgarian fast-track Citizenship Program
The feasible fast-track option
One can obtain citizenship of virtually any country, but only provided that some very strict criteria are met. Usually, as a rule of thumb, citizenship is granted by birth, by ancestry and by naturalization. In very rare and isolated occasions, citizenship is also granted for “special achievements (in favor of the host country)”, but these are extremely limited number of cases and we wouldn’t encourage anyone to have realistic expectations from this option. Not taking into consideration the “special achievement” naturalization alternative, the so called “fast-track” options for naturalization remains the only feasible opportunity for someone to get hold of citizenship and passport from desired destination. The “fast-track” option is almost always associated with either making direct contribution (non-refundable) in favor of the host country, making an investment in the economy, or a combination of both.
The tropical island passports – not really a good choice
Worldwide, there are few countries to offer “fast-track” citizenship. Most of these are countries from the Caribbean basin – St. Kitts and Nevis, Dominica, etc. or other exotic destinations – Vanuatu being a prime example. These destinations, while stunningly beautiful, provide limited travel rights (although in some cases their passports can serve as the perfect travel document to those seeking short term visa-free travel to the EU), and non-existent residency, living, working, studying, or other rights in any other country. Besides that, the exotic citizenships are often being used by non law abiding individuals to circumvent international restrictions imposed on them and this is the reason why the obviously naturalized persons (who don’t speak the language of their host country, who are from different race, have unusual names for the nationality they travel on, etc.) are being checked with extreme scrutiny by the authorities while travelling (at border checkpoints, airports, hotels, etc.).
Last, but not least, these exotic countries are often politically unstable, have generally poor reputation (can be disastrous in case one is doing business as citizen of such country), its travel documents can not be easily checked and verified (resulting in uncertainty of the “would be” citizen whether the naturalization process and the passport to be received will be legit).
The true EU investment citizenship program
In order to enjoy the best freedom of travel, unlimited residency rights, working and other privileges in multiple countries, the obvious choice is an EU passport and citizenship. From the European countries, getting hold of citizenship under the “fast-track” option is possible from three countries only (status 2016 – 2017): Bulgaria, Cyprus and Malta. There are some other EU countries who offer “golden-visa” or similar residency schemes, but they are not even worth mentioning as they do not provide citizenship (passport) at all, but a mere residency (that also comes with very hefty price tag attached). There are some limited options for full citizenship from other EU countries as well, but they are neither “fast-track” (their programs require significant amount of time and pose other administrative hurdles) nor “feasible” (they are extremely expensive and loaded with tons of conditions and restrictions).
The Bulgarian citizenship program – unique even among the other EU alternatives
So from the three feasible and really “fast-track” citizenship opportunities in the EU, what makes the Bulgarian program unique and so very different from the “similar” programs of Cyprus and Malta? Obviously, all three citizenships provide almost identical rights in terms of visa-free worldwide travel and absolutely identical unrestricted residency and other benefits within the EU. Still, what is the difference between the Cypriot, the Maltese and the Bulgarian “fast-track” citizenship programs?
Why is the Bulgarian Citizenship by investment program different, compared to any other EU program
THE DRIVING FORCE BEHIND THE CITIZENSHIP BY INVESTMENT PROGRAMS
Our clients often ask us “how does the Bulgarian state profit from its investment citizenship program when it doesn’t charge any (significant) fee?”. We consider this to be a very good question. While the Maltese government under its program charges an immediate contribution of 650 000 EUR (irrevocable fee) just to start with and the Cypriot budget profits from immense VAT payments from the applicant, the Bulgarian program doesn’t profit much from the required monetary investment. The reason behind this generosity of the Bulgarian program is very simple – the demographic decline in Bulgaria during the last 20 years. Malta is the most densely populated country in the whole EU with very strong population growth. Cyprus on its side has the highest population growth in the whole EU. So why would these two countries need new citizens? For the money of course (both countries, unlike Bulgaria, have very high external debt per capita). Bulgaria on the contrary has the lowest (of course negative) population growth (in fact decline) in the EU. Bulgarians, from 9 million 20 years ago, have now declined to just a bit more than 7 million – a cut of 22%. So to summarize, while the Maltese and the Cypriot citizenship programs are trying to fill their state chests, the Bulgarian program is aiming at increasing the population, even by a small number. This difference, as you will see later, is of extreme importance for the sustainability of the citizenship program.
THE EUROPEAN UNION STANCE AND THE SUSTAINABILITY OF THE PROGRAMS
The fact that the Maltese citizenship program, based on irrevocable fee payment by the applicant to the Maltese government, is actually a pure “passport for sale scheme”, has led to a great deal of controversy. All that combined with the extreme dense Maltese population has led to great criticism from the EU Commission regarding the program. Cyprus doesn’t stay far behind. With its constantly growing population and the citizenship program that provides a symbolic 3 months naturalization period (obviously the new citizens can not establish even nominal ties with the country), the country has attracted a lot of interest from the EU’s officials. Both programs are seen as risky undertakings for fast profit by the relevant governments and many analysts are suggesting that the sustainability of the citizenships granted under the schemes will still need to be tested. Bulgaria on the contrary, partially because it doesn’t charge significant fee (and also the very low Bulgarian external debt per capita), combined with the demographic decline of the country, has absolutely no issues with the EU authorities about its citizenship by investment program. That should give a strong confidence to all perspective Bulgarian citizenship applicants.
The advantages don’t stop here
Of course, the Bulgarian citizenship program has also many other advantages (you can read about “the 10 myths about the Bulgarian Citizenship by Investment program“), such as lower investment requirement, lower fees, the fact that the investment can be in monetary form thereby eliminating the need of buying real estate that the applicant doesn’t really need, and much, much more. Still, the sustainability of the Bulgarian “fast-track” naturalization (citizenship) process and the positive stance of the EU Commission on the program is what it makes it really unique within the legal framework of the EU. You can read more details about the comparison between the Bulgarian and the Cypriot citizenship programs as well as comprehensive evaluation between the Bulgarian and the Maltese investment naturalization programs.
About Bulgaria
the hidden treasure in the EU

Rich history
Bulgaria has rich history, least to say. It is the oldest country in Europe and the only country that has never changed its name during the centuries. Founded in 681 AD, Bulgaria has been already many centuries into existence, before big countries like UK, France, Spain, Germany and Italy were born. Even before the birth of the Bulgarian nation in 681 AD, there were the Thracians who lived in the territory. The Thracian civilization left amazing gold and silver treasures as well as many sacred places in Bulgaria, which are still being discovered and developed. Spartacus, Alexander the Great, Orpheus – they were all born in Thracia, there where Bulgaria was later founded.
Ancient sites
But long before the Thracians, there were other ancient civilizations in the land that is now modern Bulgaria. The Varna Necropolis, discovered in the vibrant seaside city of Varna, is considered to be one of the key archaeological sites in world prehistory. There was found the oldest gold treasure in the world, dating from 4600 BC to 4200 BC. The sacred place of Perperikon, in southern Bulgaria, is believed to have been built as far as in 5000 BC.
Modern times
EU and NATO memberships
Modern Bulgaria is mid sized country in south-eastern Europe with population of about 7 million and an area of 111 000 km2 (about 3 times smaller than Germany and 2 times smaller than the United Kingdom). It is fully fledged member of the European Union and the NATO. As from 1999 the Bulgarian currency is pegged to the Deutsche Mark at the ratio of 1:1 and since the demise of the German Mark is pegged to the Euro at the ratio of 1:1,95583. Bulgaria is multicultural orthodox nation and is the only EU country to use the Cyrillic alphabet. The official language is Bulgarian, but English is widely spoken, especially in the big cities. The Capital is Sofia, with estimated population of 2 million.
Strong economy
Bulgaria has strong economy with sustainable growth, enjoys low deficits and one of the lowest external debts worldwide. It applies the lowest corporate and personal income tax in the whole European Union. The banking system is very well developed with many international mega banks present and fully implemented EU standards on deposit protection.
Why choose us for your Bulgarian Citizenship application?
Present globally, working locally
We are better, because we are doing the job. We don’t operate from fancy offices in Hong Kong, London, Dubai or New York. We do not pass the work to be done by someone else – our licensed lawyers are doing everything from start to finish. We are located there, where the things are happening – in the heart of Sofia, Bulgaria. Our offices are in 230 meters from the Bulgarian Ministry of Justice (where your citizenship application will be processed), 535 meters from the office of the President or Bulgaria (where your naturalization application will be finally approved and the citizenship decree issued), 570 meters from the Sofia Court House and 450 meters from the Bulgarian National Bank . We are in only 550 meters from the Bulgarian Parliament, where the immigration and naturalization laws are being discussed and voted for. We don’t simply know the naturalization laws, we follow each and every legislative act from the moment it has been submitted to the Parliament for consideration. Each law, that has been either passed or rejected, has been studied thoroughly by our lawyers long before it eventually makes it to the “Bulgarian State Gazette”.
No middlemen involved
We are not “agents selling citizenship” who will cash in huge “conveyance fees” to only pass the applicant’s file to another agent who will charge his fee before passing it to another agent and so on, before it eventually reaches us – with the request to do the job. We are not real estate agents trying to sell their non-liquid “portfolio” of properties. We will not talk to the applicant from a distant offshore location not knowing anything about Bulgaria, trying to only lure him into the adventure of arranging for him a second passport, any passport, just for the sake of it.
Lower fees
Actually, almost all of the “agents selling Bulgarian citizenship” who advertise in the glossy magazines or on the internet will ultimately come to us in order to have the work done. The client will most probably be charged anywhere from 5 to 20 times higher fee compared to what we would have charged directly.
Ultimate legal knowledge
We will never try convincing the client to buy real estate properties (passing the VAT and notary charges to the customer and offloading the junk properties from our associates balance sheet) or invest in a “non-interest bearing social bank account” for 5 years (cashing in the interest paid). Yes, we have seen many similar offerings online and in expensive brochures distributed in posh hotels worldwide. We know the Bulgarian naturalization laws and we know best how to comply with them in order to get the naturalization done.
- We process the application of the client for naturalization ourselves. We don’t pass anything to agents or subcontractors;
- Our fees are probably 5 to 20 times lower than the fees charged by “international agents” from their offices in Hong Kong, London, Dubai, etc.;
- We protect the client’s privacy and security;
- Our success rate is much higher than the success rate of the “international agents”, who are often “lost in the translation”, before they eventual reach us;
- All work done is on “turnkey basis” and official applications are carried out by licensed immigration lawyers.
Data protection and full privacy
Security is also great advantage to those working directly with us. We keep all customers’ data confidential and our clients are covered by strict data protection laws in Bulgaria. The situation is quite different when the customer’s file has made few circles around the globe between different “agents” in different jurisdictions.
Turn-key solution
While we would do the whole legal work on turnkey basis, we will never offer the customer credit facility for his investment in return for few hundred thousand Euros commission for us. We believe that if the client can not afford the required amount of investment, then he or she should consider other options or other countries. The Bulgarian Citizenship Investment Program is meant for those who can afford the financial prerequisites.
Work done by licensed lawyers
All official work done by us is done by a licensed immigration lawyers who know best of all how to get the applicant’s naturalization finalized. They will be backed up by financial and tax advisers in order to secure the best investment option for the customer and optimize eventual tax consequences.