Bulgarian citizenship by origin and repatriation

Legal grounds

Bulgarian citizenship by origin is naturalisation under Article 15 of the Bulgarian Citizenship Act. For a person of Bulgarian origin the law waives four conditions that apply to other foreigners:

• no 5 years of permanent residence in Bulgaria;
• no proof of income;
• no Bulgarian language exam;
• no renunciation of your current citizenship.

Two conditions remain: the applicant must be an adult and must not have been convicted in Bulgaria of an intentional crime. Bulgarian origin is proved with documents on an ancestor up to the third degree inclusive: a parent, grandparent or great-grandparent.

Compare with all programs: second passport cost in 2026

Who counts as Bulgarian by origin

The application must include official documents from Bulgarian or foreign authorities confirming kinship with at least one ancestor of Bulgarian origin. The documents must show the ancestor's name and their relationship to the applicant.

An advisory council at the state agency for Bulgarians abroad reviews the application and gives an opinion within two months. It considers whether the applicant uses the Bulgarian language and identifies as Bulgarian by origin, and whether at least one of these applies:

• the applicant belongs to a Bulgarian community or minority in another country;
• their ancestors come from a place that was part of the Bulgarian state or the Bulgarian Exarchate;
• their ancestors used the traditional Bulgarian naming system.

Documents for the check and the application

For an initial check, the birth or death certificates of your parents and a short biography of your grandparents are enough: names, place and date of birth. To apply you will need:

1. an application filed in person;
2. your passport and birth certificate;
3. a chain of kinship documents back to the ancestor: birth, marriage and name-change certificates for each generation;
4. documents on the ancestor's Bulgarian origin from archives, church or civil records;
5. a criminal record certificate.

The application and documents are filed in Bulgarian, so foreign papers are translated and legalised.

How the procedure works and how long it takes

1. Filing in person at the Ministry of Justice in Sofia or at a Bulgarian embassy or consulate. An interview is held at filing, and the consulate gives its opinion on the application.
2. The advisory council's opinion on origin - within two months.
3. Review by the Citizenship Council at the Ministry of Justice.
4. The Minister of Justice proposes a decree: by law within 9 months for persons of Bulgarian origin, 12 months under the general procedure.
5. Presidential decree: citizenship takes effect on the day it is issued, after which the Ministry of Justice issues a certificate and you can apply for Bulgarian documents.

In our experience, with archive searches and translations the whole path takes one to two years.

Dual citizenship and family

You do not have to give up your Russian or other passport: the law waives this condition for persons of Bulgarian origin, and Russia does not terminate citizenship when a second one is acquired. Children under 14 acquire Bulgarian citizenship together with their parents, and children aged 14 to 18 if they wish. A spouse without Bulgarian roots can become a citizen through marriage: this requires at least 3 years of marriage, at least 3 years of permanent or long-term residence and knowledge of Bulgarian.

What a Bulgarian passport gives you in 2026

Bulgaria has been a European Union member since 2007, a full Schengen member since 1 January 2025 and has used the euro since 1 January 2026. A Bulgarian citizen can live, work and study in any European Union country without permits or visas, and their children are European Union citizens by birth.

How to get approved the first time

• the documents do not link the generations: a birth or marriage certificate is missing in one link of the chain;
• the ancestor's surname or first name is spelled differently in different documents, and the link is not proven;
• the documents do not show that the ancestor was of Bulgarian origin;
• the advisory council found neither the applicant's self-identification as Bulgarian nor any of the additional criteria;
• the documents were not translated into Bulgarian or legalised.

Comparison with other ancestry routes to a European Union passport

The Bulgarian route is softer on language: there is no exam, although knowledge of Bulgarian is taken into account at the interview and in the council's opinion.

How Murblz helps with citizenship by origin

We check your family tree, find documents in archives in Russia, Ukraine, Moldova and Bulgaria, rebuild the chain of certificates, arrange translations and legalisation, prepare the application and support you at the interview. If your Bulgarian roots are not enough, we suggest another route, such as a Bulgarian residence permit. The first consultation is free.

Benefits of Bulgarian citizenship

How to get citizenship: step by step

FAQ

173 visa-free countries with a Bulgarian passport