How to obtain Bulgarian citizenship for Russians in 2021

ADVANTAGES OF BULGARIAN CITIZENSHIP:

quick receipt of a residence permit (6-9 months);
the Fast track option allows you to obtain citizenship within a two-year period;
there is no need to be permanently in the country;
government-approved investments and available financing from banks;
no need to know the language;
no need to renounce your existing citizenship;
the lowest taxes and free trade in the EU;
the right to free movement in the Schengen area;
the opportunity to receive the best medical care in Bulgaria and the EU;
tax exemption on worldwide income.

Naturalization

Before you begin the procedure for obtaining citizenship through naturalization, you need to obtain a residence permit (RP). The status of a residence permit will provide the opportunity to legally reside in the country, and depending on the type of residence permit, the right to work, study, treatment or live while receiving income remotely from another country. If during this time a marriage is concluded with a Bulgarian or Bulgarian woman, the procedure for obtaining a passport of a Bulgarian citizen will be accelerated.

For naturalization you need to collect documents:

statement;
international passport;
photo of the required format;
completed questionnaire;
birth certificate of children (if any);
confirmation of residence permit in Bulgaria.

Bulgarian citizenship can be obtained after you have lived in the country for at least five years and there have been no claims against you. If during this time even an accident occurs due to your fault (for example, for drunk driving), then problems will arise. Temporary residence documents will have to be submitted regularly for the entire five-year period in order to renew the residence permit and avoid deportation from Bulgaria.

BULGARIAN CITIZENSHIP OPTIONS FOR OBTAINING:

Full investment package:

The candidate must invest €511,292 (1 million BGN) in government bonds for 5 years. At the end the money will be returned without accrued interest. Investments are guaranteed by the state. bonds.

Bank financing:

The candidate can use a loan secured by the purchased bonds. For detailed advice on this issue, call our office.

Purchasing real estate and investing in the state economy

Bulgarian citizenship can be obtained by investing money in the country's economy (from 512 thousand euros). Bulgaria is ready to provide investors with citizenship status in exchange for investments. True, their size is larger than in Greece or Spain, but the obtaining procedure is simpler.

Together with the investor, his wife and minor children can apply for a citizen’s passport.

Older children also have the opportunity to obtain citizenship, but in a different way - citing blood kinship with Bulgarian citizens.

Required documents to obtain permanent residence:

international passport;
agreement for the purchase and sale of housing, land, company assets in the amount of 512 thousand euros;
domestic government loan bonds in the amount of EUR 3 million;
documents confirming the absence of illnesses and criminal records.

Other documents may also be needed. You are unlikely to receive the status of a Bulgarian citizen if you cannot confirm your knowledge of the Bulgarian language at an interview and provide already completed documents on investment of funds. Promises to invest money in the development of the state of Bulgaria in the future that are not supported by documents will not be considered.

Having purchased a home, you can limit yourself to the fact of obtaining a residence permit. If you do not intend to emigrate from Russia and you do not need a Bulgarian citizen’s passport, then a residence permit will be sufficient.

ADVANTAGES OF BULGARIAN CITIZENSHIP:

The advantages of obtaining the status of a citizen of this state include:

The country's participation in the Schengen Agreement. This gives the holder of a Bulgarian passport the right to enter the EU without a visa or, through a simplified procedure, to obtain permission to visit European countries.
Quite low real estate prices. It will be easy for you to rent housing here or even purchase it, if necessary.
Modest personal income tax. The tax rate is only 10%, so if you are an ordinary citizen, the government will not take away much of your earnings.
Higher education diplomas issued by Bulgarian universities are recognized in the EU without the need for additional confirmation of qualifications.
Beautiful nature, temperate continental climate with distinct seasons. From the east the country is washed by the waters of the Black Sea.
The Bulgarian language is quite similar to Russian, so you will learn it fairly quickly at an everyday level. In addition, the mentality of the Bulgarians is close to the Russians and representatives of other post-communist countries: it will not be difficult for you to establish friendly relations with the local population.
Fairly low crime rate. Life here proceeds calmly and measuredly.

DISADVANTAGES OF ACQUIRING BULGARIAN CITIZENSHIP:

There is also one tangible disadvantage: migration legislation is too strict. The procedure for obtaining citizenship can take up to 10 months. All applicants for Bulgarian citizenship undergo extremely thorough checks.

What does a Bulgarian passport provide?

Citizenship provides a lot of advantages for Russians who decide to obtain permanent residence. Having completed the documents, you will be able to take part in the political life of the country (vote, be elected to governing bodies), work, live and study not only in Bulgaria, but also in other EU countries.

Without visas you can visit not only European countries, but also, for example, Japan. The path to a multiple-entry American visa for a long stay has also been simplified for Bulgarians. Living in Bulgaria gives you the opportunity to live in a warm climate by the sea. You can move to a country with affordable real estate prices, where the holiday season lasts 3-6 months.

A Bulgarian citizen's passport gives:

freedom of movement within the EU;
European pensioner status in the future;
higher standards of living, income and education;
simplified receipt of a US multiple visa for 10 years;
social protection and health insurance at European level;
living in a state with less corruption;
tax resident status.

Obtaining Bulgarian citizenship makes it easier to open a business in this country and make a profit in it, purchase Bulgarian companies, real estate, shares and other assets. You will be able to save on taxes because you will no longer be a tax resident of another country.

Immigration is beneficial for those who know the Bulgarian language well, have business or other connections with this country, and are interested in permanent residence or residence permit. To obtain citizenship, one application is not enough; you will have to tinker a lot with documents, but the result is worth it: you will receive the status of an EU citizen for relatively little money and in a short time.

CITIZENSHIP PROCESS:

Having capital does not always guarantee that you will be able to obtain citizenship in an EU country by investing in economic development. Bulgaria is a pleasant exception in this regard: since 2013, amendments to the Law on Foreigners have been in force here, which have significantly simplified the procedure for obtaining a residence permit and citizenship for residents of other countries. Today, a foreigner can obtain a Bulgarian passport in just two years, without renouncing the citizenship of his country and without passing an exam on knowledge of the state language.

Citizenship by investment: what conditions must be met?

The process of obtaining Bulgarian citizenship through investment in government bonds consists of two stages. The first of them takes 1 year and involves obtaining permanent residence. To do this, you do not have to live in the country; you just need to invest at least 1 million leva in government bonds, which is about 500 thousand euros. This money, as practice shows, will be returned to the owners, but the period for investing it in bonds will be at least 5 years.

The implementation of the second stage can begin in a year. Having the status of a person permanently residing in Bulgaria, you need to invest another 1 million leva in government bonds for a period of three years, after which you can apply for citizenship.

Thus, in two years, anyone who is ready to invest a little more than 1 million euros in the Bulgarian economy has the opportunity to obtain the status of a citizen of one of the European Union countries with all the ensuing benefits, including free movement in the Schengen area. At the same time, it is not necessary to stay on the territory of Bulgaria for two years while the procedure for naturalization of status is ongoing. But you will have to indicate your residential address, so you should take care in advance about renting or purchasing real estate in this country.

What privileges do family members receive?

The status of a person who has permanent residence or citizenship in Bulgaria automatically entitles his family members, spouses and children to apply for permanent residence or citizenship. For children under the age of 18, this happens automatically; after 18, in accordance with the established procedure, with the provision of a package of necessary documents to the migration service. The decision to grant permanent residence or citizenship is made within up to 6 months, an absolute record among EU countries that practice naturalization of the status of foreigners in exchange for investments.

What are government bonds?

The process of obtaining Bulgarian citizenship through investment in government bonds is, in fact, a normal procedure for purchasing securities. Unlike government bonds of other countries, which are offered to foreigners, Bulgarian government treasury bills are freely circulated on the domestic securities market. That is, they do not contain any notes indicating that they were sold to foreigners, and can be sold in almost any bank in the country at the market rate.

For providing the state with the opportunity to use a loan, the bond owner receives interest in the form of special coupons, which can also be cashed. Plus, under favorable circumstances, market players can make money on bonds if their value increases over two years.

Those who want to obtain Bulgarian citizenship through investments in bonds, but do not have the required amount, have a chance to receive a bank loan to purchase securities, provided that the investor pays 10% of their value independently.

Reasons for obtaining a passport

The reasons for obtaining a Bulgarian passport in Bulgaria are the same as in other EU countries. The only difference is in the period of residence to undergo the naturalization procedure (they are shorter) up to 5 years, whereas in other states they can be up to 10 years.

You have grounds to submit documents if:

were born on the territory of the country of Bulgaria;
are married to a Bulgarian citizen;
you are the parent of a child who has a passport of a citizen of the country;
invested from 512 to 3 million euros in the development of the state;
have special merits (as a scientist, politician, artist, etc.);
are a refugee;
have lived legally in the country for at least 5 years;
You know the Bulgarian language well and have no criminal record.

Thus, there are no significant restrictions for obtaining a Bulgarian passport. The legislation on citizenship of most European countries is very similar, the differences exist only in the nuances of the procedure, the timing and order of consideration of documents.

Bulgarian passport by origin is the easiest way to obtain EU citizenship

You can obtain Bulgarian citizenship by descent with documentary evidence of your ethnic affiliation with the people of Bulgaria. Proof that at least one of your direct relatives (mother, father, grandmother, grandfather) was of Bulgarian nationality provides the right to a simplified receipt of a Bulgarian passport, according to the Law on Citizenship (Article 15 b).

Who can apply for Bulgarian citizenship? Requirements for candidates:

Legal age
Bulgarian origin
No criminal record in Bulgaria
Knowledge of the Bulgarian language at a basic level

Take advantage of the support of International professionals to guarantee obtaining an EU passport

Bulgarian citizenship for Russians, Ukrainians and other residents of CIS countries

Russians, Belarusians, Ukrainians and citizens of other post-Soviet countries are actively obtaining Bulgarian passports. This is because acquiring Bulgarian citizenship is easier and cheaper than in richer countries of the European Union. Having received one of the EU passports, you can live and work with it in any of the EU states.

The word “easier” does not mean that it is easy to achieve inclusion as Bulgarian citizens. Citizenship may be denied. Most often this happens for reasons:

Submitting an incomplete package of documents.
Providing false papers.
Having a criminal record or connections with criminal communities and radical groups.
Committing offenses already on the territory of Bulgaria.

To protect yourself from refusal for reasons related to documents, it is better to entrust this work to specialists and seek help from companies involved in emigration to Europe.

Documents and deadlines

The package of documents that persons applying for Bulgarian citizenship must collect depends on the chosen legalization scheme.

For example, a complete naturalization package consists of the following items:

application indicating personal data;
autobiography;
photo;
birth certificate;
certificate confirming knowledge of the Bulgarian language;
Declaration No. 2 – education, marital status;
certificate of no criminal record in the home country and on the territory of Bulgaria;
documents confirming the status of permanent resident (permanent residence);
documents confirming official employment and the presence of a stable source of income;
medical certificate;
receipt of payment of state duty.

All documents must be translated into Bulgarian (apostille), copies must be notarized. The application, together with the necessary documents, is submitted in person to the Ministry of Justice in the Republic of Bulgaria (Citizenship Commission) or the Bulgarian diplomatic, consular missions in the country of residence of the applicant.

After 2 months, the applicant receives a response. If it is positive, a corresponding decree of the President of Bulgaria is issued, on the basis of which the Ministry of Justice issues a special certificate to the candidate.

Next, the applicant issues an internal and foreign passport and receives a single civil number.