Obtaining Bulgarian citizenship "by descent", as well as on other grounds, is a fairly lengthy process. You can track which stage it is at online on the website of the "Bulgarian Citizenship" Directorate. Let us look at which statuses can be assigned to an application and what they mean.
To check the status of an application, you need to enter its incoming number and PIN code on the website of the “Bulgarian Citizenship” Directorate https://publicbg.mjs.bg/BgInfo/. If the application was submitted through the Consulate, you must enter the number received at the Consulate. This number cannot be obtained immediately, but only after the Ministry of Justice receives the documents and the interview results and assigns a number to the application. Because they did not know the number and were therefore unable to promptly track status changes and meet the ministry’s requirements on time, many people lost time and did not obtain citizenship. So you should be sure to contact the consulate to find out which number has been assigned to your application.
After that you can see the status of your application and get an approximate idea of the stage its review has reached. On average, the waiting period from the submission of the application to the signing of the decree is 2 – 2.5 years, but many people who applied through the Consulate managed to obtain citizenship within a year. Quite recently the law was amended, and citizenship by descent is now granted within 9 months.
If the status “Констатирани нередовности” appears, it means that some documents are missing or have been drawn up incorrectly. In the note you can see information about which specific irregularities were recorded and what needs to be corrected. Most often this concerns an incorrect translation, discrepancies in the data, expired certificates, an unpaid fee, etc. Two months are allowed for correcting the errors — the correct documents must be submitted within this period. The status appears in the first weeks after the interview. If the irregularities are not remedied within the set period, the proceedings are terminated by order of the minister. In that case the corresponding status appears after the check.
The status “Образувана преписка №…” (1/Образувано) appears after the documents are submitted and indicates that proceedings have been opened. If the documents were submitted through the Consulate, the status appears with a delay — at the moment when the documents reach the Ministry of Justice in Sofia. After a couple of weeks the status changes to 2/Задължителна.
The status “Образувана преписка №… Преписката се намира в процедура по задължително согласуване” (2/Задължителна) means that the application is being reviewed by several Bulgarian institutions (the Ministry of the Interior, the State Agency for National Security and others). During this period the applicant is checked against all databases, with even their activity on social networks being monitored, so it is worth taking care in advance not to leave ambiguous statements about any political forces. You may also be invited to a conversation with a representative of State Security and asked a number of additional questions about your stay in Bulgaria and your documents. Until now the usual period of approvals has averaged 9 – 13 months.
“По преписката Ви предстои да бъде извършен финален експертен преглед преди да бъде разгледана от Съвета по гражданство” (3/Финална) — the appearance of this status means that the approvals have been completed, the case has passed the data check, and it is now awaiting review by the Citizenship Council, which takes the final decision. This status can be observed for 2 – 6 months, after which, in the event of a positive answer, it will change to (4/Положително). In the event of a negative answer the status will change to “Отказ”. Until now this stage has lasted about 5 months.
The status “Молбата Ви е разгледана от Съвета по гражданство с положително становище. Предстои издаването на указ на Вицепрезидента на Република България” (4/Положително) means a positive decision. Your application has been approved by the Citizenship Council, and now it remains to wait for the decree officially declaring you a citizen of Bulgaria. The decree is signed by the country’s vice-president. The waiting period for the status to change can be from 1 to 8 months. After the decree is signed, the status changes. In rare cases the vice-president may not sign the decree but return the application for review, in which case it is assigned a temporary status.
“Образувана преписка №… Вашата преписка е включена в Указ XXX от XXXX год. Можете да резервирате час за да получите удостоверението си лично. Можете да направите нова резервация само ако сте пропуснали първата резервация” (5/Указ София). Congratulations! You have become a citizen of Bulgaria! To collect the document granting you citizenship, you need to click the grey registration button on the left below the status. This will open a new window in which you can choose the date and time for collecting the document at the Ministry of Justice. You will also need to attach a scan of your passport. Please note that booking for collection of the decree is currently open for the following year.
The status “Вашето удостоверение е изпратено в Консулска служба XXXXX-XXXXX. При получаване на удостоверението следва да заявите адрес за регистрация в Република България, както и да представите 2 бр. актуални снимки паспортен формат” (5/Указ Консулство). Congratulations! You have become a citizen of Bulgaria, and the Decree to that effect has already been signed. The document granting you citizenship will be sent to the place where the application was submitted — the Consulate or the Embassy. When receiving the certificate, you need to state your address in Bulgaria and provide 2 passport-format photographs. Persons of Bulgarian origin living abroad who do not own or rent housing in Bulgaria may register at a special address in Sofia.
It may seem that forwarding will take a long time, but in reality receiving the Decree at the Consulate often takes less time than at the Ministry of Justice itself, where you have to book an appointment in advance.
“Преписката е разгледана от Съвета по гражданството. Извадена е за допълнителна проверка, за да представите документ, удостоверяващ наличието на възходящ българин, съгласно изискването на § 2, т. 1 от Допълнителните разпоредби на Закона за българското гражданство., в срок до …”. This is an additional status that appears if your application has been withdrawn for an additional check because you did not provide the Ministry of Justice with proof of your origin. Previously, only the applicant’s birth certificate and the Certificate of Bulgarian origin obtained from DABch were submitted to the Ministry of Justice. At present the Certificate from DABch is not required, and all original documents along the ascending line proving Bulgarian “roots” must be attached to the application for citizenship by descent. An application can remain in this status from several months to a year, until the checks are completed.
Important: recently, if the required documents are missing, applications may be rejected immediately without moving into the additional status, so it is important to submit all documents to the Ministry of Justice on time.
The status “Съветът по гражданство не е уважил молбата” means that the application has been rejected. The note states the reason for the refusal. Most often this is the absence of the documents on the basis of which the certificate of origin was issued, or a negative resolution from one of the bodies that carried out the check. Important: once this status appears, missing documents can no longer be submitted — the procedure must be started again from the very beginning.
The status “Проверка от Вицепрезидента на Република България» means that a review by the Vice-President is under way. Its duration is unpredictable. If everything is in order with the documents, the status will change to (4/Положително), and soon afterwards to (5/Указ София or 5/Указ Консулство). If, however, the Vice-President does not share the opinion of the Citizenship Council, it is within his power to refuse to grant you citizenship. In that case the status will change to «Отказ на Вицепрезидента на Република България». This status means that the application was rejected by the Vice-President.
«Молба с входящ №… е прекратена със заповед …» (Прекратена). This status indicates that the proceedings were terminated by the Minister of Justice, most likely because violations were not corrected.
The status «Преписката се намира в състояние, за което не се предоставя информация». There is no data on the number being checked; the request has already been completed.
The statuses «Липсат данни» or «Няма такава преписка заведена по консулски път» appear when the data has been entered incorrectly – the application number, the PIN code or the correspondence number.
To find out the status of a certificate of origin at ДАБЧ, you need to enter the 13-digit record number and the date of birth in the application status check section on the website https://www.aba.government.bg/application/check-status. We remind you that since 12 March 2021 a certificate of origin issued by ДАБЧ is no longer required in order to obtain citizenship – the documents confirming Bulgarian roots are submitted directly to the Ministry of Justice. The information below concerns applications submitted before March 2021.
«Обработва се». This is the first status that appears after the documents are submitted. It means that the information is being processed. When documents are submitted through a consulate, the status may appear with a delay, only once the documents arrive in Sofia.
«Одобрено заявление. В процесс на издаване». This status appears after the application is approved. All that remains is to wait for the certificate to be signed and issued.
«Издадено удостоверение». Once this status appears, it is advisable to contact ДАБЧ to clarify whether the document has already been signed and whether it can be collected. If the documents were submitted at a consulate, the certificate will be sent there.
«Отказ». This status appears when the application is rejected. You can find out the exact reason by contacting ДАБЧ.
«Без движение». The request has been blocked. You need to contact ДАБЧ for further information.
«Няма намерена информация за статус на заявление». This status appears when incorrect data is entered or when there is a system error.
The staff of Bulgarian Expert will advise you on obtaining Bulgarian citizenship, help you collect the full set of documents and, if necessary, provide support services.
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