At the time of submitting documents, you must meet the following requirements:

• Be of legal age;
• Have lived in Bulgaria for at least 5 years as a permanent resident (have a permanent residence permit);
• Have no criminal record in Bulgaria;
• Have an income or profession that will allow you to live in the country;
• Be proficient in Bulgarian;
• Do not have citizenship or be ready to renounce their citizenship by the time they obtain Bulgarian citizenship.

In some cases, it is possible to apply after 36 months of residence in the country as a permanent resident. This applies to those who:

• Has been officially married to a Bulgarian citizen for more than 3 years;
• He was born on the territory of the Republic of Bulgaria;
• He received permanent residence status until he reached the age of 18.

Required package of documents

In order to obtain Bulgarian citizenship, it is necessary to submit a package of documents to the Ministry of Justice in Sofia. This can be done in person by coming to the ministry, documents are accepted every weekday from 9 to 17-30, lunch break from 12-30 to 13-30. You can book a time for submitting documents on the website of the Ministry at: Read here. The list of documents to be submitted is available on the website of the Ministry of Justice of Bulgaria:

• Application in Bulgarian according to the sample;
• A copy of the birth certificate (notarized and legalized);
• Certificate of permanent residence permit (date of issue no earlier than 5 years before submission of documents for citizenship);
• A document confirming the absence of a criminal record in the country of which the candidate is a citizen. In case of permanent residence on the territory of Bulgaria or in any other country, a certificate of no criminal record is also provided from the local competent authorities;
• Certificate from the Bulgarian Prosecutor's Office on the absence of open proceedings against the candidate;
• A copy of the diploma of education obtained in Bulgaria or a certificate of proficiency in the Bulgarian language from the Ministry of Education and Science;
• A certificate from work confirming the existence of an employment contract, or a document from the tax office on the declared income;
• Certificates of contributions made for pension/medical provision or pension certificate;
• A certificate issued by the medical commission at the place of residence confirming the absence of diseases listed in the Law on Health Care;
• A document confirming the change of name or surname, if any, as well as a document confirming the identity of persons with different names;
• One up-to-date photo;
• Autobiography;
• Copy of ID card;
• A document confirming that the applicant for Bulgarian citizenship is exempt from previous citizenship. In the absence of such a document, it must be submitted within 3 years after the approval of the application for Bulgarian citizenship;
• Document on the fee of BGN 100 paid to the account of the Ministry of Justice.

All documents must be translated into Bulgarian. When submitting an application, candidates are interviewed in Bulgarian by an employee of the Ministry. Only those applications to which all of the above documents are attached are registered. Those who are married to a citizen of the country must also provide a document from the local municipality proving that they have been married for at least three years at the time of application. Do you have any questions?