Bulgaria's Govt Mulls Changes to Citizenship Requirements

The Justice Ministry of Bulgaria is drafting new rules that, if further approved, would tighten the requirements needed to obtain citizenship for applicants claiming Bulgarian descent.

Uner the proposed amendments, a naturalization candidate will have to specify the data which proves the applicant's Bulgarian origin.

The certificate verifying his claim will be issued by the State Agency for Bulgarians Abroad.

Additional documents will be required to prove one has a relative of Bulgarian origin.

The changes, which update the existing regulations of 1999, are motiveated by the fact that candidates to obtain citizenship do not present necessary evidence of having Bulgarian origin, according to daily newspaper Sega.

In addition, the applicant will have to attend his or her citizenship interview and also reply to all questions of the interview. If either of the two conditions is not met, his or her documents will not be processed.

Regulations have been progressively tightened over the past few years. The last change, dating two years back, was aimed at curbing the number of Western Balkan applicants, some of whom seeking to obtain Bulgarian citizenship as a stepping stone to the rest of the EU.

We need your support so Novinite.com can keep delivering news and information about Bulgaria! Thank you!