Bulgarian citizenship for special merits

The fastest path to Bulgarian passport

Obtaining Bulgarian citizenship for special merits is the fastest way to become EU citizen! There is no other alternative that provides for virtually immediate naturalization and issuance of Bulgarian citizenship decree!

Available only to selected applicants

Special merit citizenship is not suitable for everyone however. The comfort and convenience of an immediate naturalization is available only for selected applicants. Namely those with personal or business potential that the Bulgarian state can benefit from.

It is in the office of the President of the Republic of Bulgaria, where the ultimate step of the special merits naturalization occurs – the issuance of the citizenship decree.

The Bulgarian Citizenship Law

The Bulgarian citizenship law defines the rules for obtaining Bulgarian citizenship for special merits. More specifically, the Law says that:

A person who is not a Bulgarian citizen may acquire Bulgarian citizenship without the conditions under Article 12, if the Republic of Bulgaria has an interest in his/her naturalization or if the person has special merits to the Republic of Bulgaria in the social and economic sphere, in the field of science, technology, culture or sport.

Art. 16 of the Bulgarian citizenship law

As we see, the conditions of Art. 12 do not apply to the naturalization for special merits in Bulgaria. This means that it is not required from the applicant to speak Bulgarian, to have resided in the country, to surrender his existing citizenship, etc. In other words, citizenship for special merits is meant to provide immediate citizenship, without any other conditions, apart from that the Bulgarian state should have an interest in the person or that the person has special merits to the country.

The legal procedure to obtain Bulgarian citizenship for special merits is foreseen in the Bulgarian Citizenship Law. Namely, there are five distinct stages:

1. Preparation of the application (more on that later);
2. Proposal of the Minister (to grant Bulgarian citizenship), under whose authority the applicant’s contribution to Bulgaria falls (art. 30 of the Citizenship Law);
   • The proposal is directed by the relevant Minister to the Minister of Justice (art. 32 of the Citizenship Law);
3. The Citizenship Council (part of the Justice Ministry) gives its opinion on the proposal to grant Bulgarian citizenship (art. 33 of the Citizenship Law);
   • The proposal is given after a written opinions from the Bulgarian Ministry of the Interior and the State Agency for National Security;
4. The Minister of Justice is making a proposal to the President of Bulgaria to (or not to) issue citizenship decree for the candidate for Bulgarian citizenship by special merits (art. 34 of the Citizenship Law);
5. The President of Bulgaria is issuing the citizenship decree and from that moment on, the applicant is legally a citizen of Bulgaria (art. 36 of the Citizenship Law).

The preparation of the citizenship by merits application

This is by far the most important part of the whole process. Bulgarian citizenship by special merits is extremely useful for persons with exceptional qualities. These may be, as per the legal norms, be in the social and economic sphere, as well as in the field of science, culture, sport and technology.

The thing is that unless the candidate is a globally known person, his personal qualities need to be demonstrated and substantiated to the Bulgarian government. The Bulgarian authorities must be absolutely certain that the candidate will contribute with his/her qualities to the benefit of Bulgaria. Or that he has already contributed. And here is when our assistance is vital.

In many cases, the citizenship candidate should first build certain reputation and bond with Bulgaria. A successful businessman and philanthropist may be well known in his own country. But in Bulgaria he is “just another foreigner”. Here is where our professional expertise comes at hand. We will draw an action plan as to how to best demonstrate the achievements of the candidate by establishing important ties with Bulgaria.

Many times it is important for the candidate to show his involvement with the Bulgarian society. This can be done through support to sport clubs, scientific institutes, etc. These moves need be done with great care and personal involvement, rather than just for the sake of “being approved for citizenship”. Our lawyers will work closely with the candidate to ensure not only that everything is done by the law, but to also select the most desirable fields that the Bulgarian society really needs appropriate support.

Expanding business and supporting vital Bulgarian economic sectors

Many times, in order to set firm foot in Bulgaria, it is necessary for the foreign citizenship applicant to establish good connection with the business communities and the NGO sector in Bulgaria. We have special department that deals with these issues to make the process easy, straightforward and fast. From business start-up support to involvement in charities in Bulgaria, we will assist with consultancy and legal support.