Podcast in English
Text size
Bulgarian National Radio © 2025 All Rights Reserved

Interest of foreign citizens in Bulgarian passports is growing

Photo: library

The number of applications for obtaining Bulgarian citizenship has doubled for 3 years, according to data by the Ministry of Justice. In 2020, there were 11,447 applications, in 2021 - 20,094, in 2022 – 20,825. Until November 24, 2023, a total of 23,439 applications were submitted.

There is also a drastic rise in the number of citizens of Turkey who want Bulgarian passports. For 3 years, their number has grown nearly 10 tenfold. In 2020, 660 Turks applied for citizenship. In 2023, their number already reached 5,935.

Many naturalization applicants file forged or false documents, the Ministry of Justice reports. This leads to great delays in processing, as the Citizenship Council assigns additional checks taking about 8-9 months, BGNES reports.



Последвайте ни и в Google News Showcase, за да научите най-важното от деня!
Listen to the daily news from Bulgaria presented in "Bulgaria Today" podcast, available in Spotify.

More from category

PM Rosen Zhelyazkov has invited King Charles III to visit Bulgaria again

Bulgaria's Prime Minister Rosen Zhelyazkov has invited King Charles III to visit Bulgaria again , the Council of Ministers announced. The two spoke at the royal reception organized on the occasion of the Berlin Process summit in London , which..

published on 10/22/25 3:34 PM
Kostadin Kostadinov

Vazrazhdane party to propose law banning politicians sanctioned under the Magnitsky Act from holding high office

Legislative amendments banning individuals sanctioned under the global Magnitsky law from holding senior government or party positions will likely be submitted to Parliament as early as Thursday by the Vazrazhdane party, MP Petar Petrov told BNR...

published on 10/22/25 2:07 PM

The EP Liberals are set to investigate the arrest of the mayor of Varna

The Renew Europe political group in the European Parliament has established a working group to examine instances in which the Bulgarian government may have acted against the rule of law. The move comes in response to what the group describes as..

published on 10/22/25 1:37 PM