Bulgaria Offers World's Most Expensive Citizenship - Historian

Bozhidar Dimitrov, former Diaspora Minister and a famous nationalist historian, has insisted that Bulgarian citizenship is the most expensive in the world. Photo by BGNES

Bozhidar Dimitrov, former Diaspora Minister and a famous nationalist historian, has insisted that Bulgarian citizenship is the most expensive in the world.

In a Monday interview for Nova TV, Dimitrov argued that nobody would be willing to pay such a high price for Bulgarian citizenship.

"In the US, citizenship costs around USD 1 M, while in the EU it has a price tag of around EUR 25 000. In Bulgaria, the price of EUR 200 000 was proposed, but it somehow grew to BGN 4 M as it passed through various commissions," Dimitrov explained.

He added that Bulgarian President Rosen Plevneliev had returned the law for further review on the grounds that the sum was too high.

Dimitrov made clear that around 15 000 people were granted Bulgarian citizenship per year.

He emphasized that granting citizenship to foreign nationals was profitable for the country because they paid taxes in Bulgaria.

"All civilized countries in the world have adopted this norm and it would be a pity to give up on the money," Dimitrov stated.

According to reports of private TV station Nova TV, the highest number of applications for Bulgarian citizenship is filed by citizens of nearby countries.

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