The citizenship in Bulgaria for an investment

• Be an adult;
• Have the residence permit or the long-term residence permit;
• Do not have a criminal record for an intentional crime;
• Have a steady income.

The list of necessary documents for obtaining the Bulgarian citizenship on the basis of authorized stay in the country in connection with the investment made shall be determined on the basis of the article 12A of the Law on Citizenship:

— The statement in the Bulgarian language, written according to the established sample;

— A copy of the birth certificate;

— A permit for the permanent or the long-term residence in the country (issued in the MBP) with indication of grounds for the permit issued is not less than 5 years before applying for the citizenship. Family members of persons granted the residence permit on the basis of the article 25.1, items 6, 7, or 8 of the Aliens Act provide the identity of family members;

— Depending on the kind of investments it is necessary to provide:

• the certificate of investments made under the article 25, item 1, vol. 6 and 7 of the Aliens Act, issued by the Bulgarian investment Agency;
• the certificate of investments made under the article 25, item 1, vol. 8 of the Aliens Act;
• the certificate of the activities and investments under the article 25, item 1, vol. 13 in relation to the circumstances under the article 25, item 2, vol. 2 or 3, and the article 25, item 1, vol. 16 of the Aliens Act, issued by the Ministry of the Economy;

— The certificate of the criminal record issued by the country of citizenship. In the case of long-term stay in Bulgaria or in another member state similar certificates from the local authorities are necessary. The certificate must indicate that it is issued to obtain the Bulgarian citizenship;

— A document from the Prosecutor’s office about the lack of open proceedings against the candidate;

— A letter or a document from the tax office about the income declared, and a document certifying the payment of obligatory payments;

— The medical certificate issued by the medical commission at the place of residence on absence at the applicant of the diseases listed in the Law on Health;

— The declaration;

— The autobiography;

— A copy of the identity card;

— In case the applicant changed his or her name – a document certifying this fact and prove identity of persons with different names;

— Photo;

— A certificate of the paid duty of 100 BGN.

If you do not want to wait for 5 years

On the basis of the article 14a of the Law on Citizenship there is a possibility to obtain the Bulgarian citizenship after one year from the obtaining the permanent residence permit in the country.

It is available to persons who have obtained the permanent residence status not less than one year ago and have invested at least 1 million BGN in the asset of a Bulgarian company which carries out a certified priority investment project.

You can also obtain the Bulgarian citizenship not less than one year after obtaining the permanent residence status in Bulgaria, subject to the implementation of investments in Bulgaria (in an amount not less the minimum threshold) and obtain a certificate «A class, which must be confirmed by the Ministry of the Economy, energy and tourism.

In this case, you must provide the residence permit (issued not later than one year prior to applying for the Bulgarian citizenship), and, in addition, depending on the kinds of investments:

• the certificate of investments made under the article 25, item 1, vol. 6 and 7 of the Aliens Act, issued by the Bulgarian investment Agency;
• The certificate of investments made and investments according to the article 25, item 1, vol. 13 in relation to the circumstances in the article 25, item 2c, vol. 1 of the Aliens Act.

In addition, you must provide the documents certifying the absence of circumstances referred in the article 14a, item 2 of the Law on Citizenship. There are not other differences from the document listed above.

This method of obtaining the Bulgarian citizenship requires a very careful study of the Bulgarian legislation and correct clearance of the documentation. It is best to prepare a package of documents together with a Bulgarian lawyer who is well versed in the subject and will help to avoid wasting time and errors at clearance of the documentation.

The citizenship in Bulgaria by the origin

the citizenship in Bulgaria by the naturalization