Thousands of Serbs Acquiring Bulgarian Passports Sparks Identity Debate in Serbia

According to an article published by the Serbian news outlet Niške Vesti, Bulgaria is “quietly advancing” its influence in Southern Serbia by way of citizenship, BGNES reported. The report claims that thousands of Serbian citizens are acquiring Bulgarian passports, echoing what it describes as a similar pattern previously observed in North Macedonia.

While the article acknowledges no official conspiracy, it frames the development as politically significant. It refers to Bulgarian citizenship granted to Serbs not simply as an individual decision for better mobility, but as a strategic act with potential implications for regional identity and sovereignty. The analysis does not mention the standard legal requirement for applicants to prove Bulgarian ancestry and to declare a Bulgarian identity - something the Bulgarian side consistently upholds.

The article estimates that between 5,000 and 8,000 Serbian citizens currently hold Bulgarian citizenship, with more than 2,000 new Bulgarian citizens from Serbia added over just the past two years. Although these numbers are described as relatively modest, Niške Vesti warns that they are on the rise and that Bulgaria now considers these individuals not as Serbs, but as part of its national diaspora.

The central concern voiced in the commentary is that this growing group of dual citizens could become the basis for Bulgaria to assert cultural or historical responsibility in the region. The fear is that Bulgaria may one day officially report to international organizations that tens of thousands of Bulgarians reside in Southern Serbia - thus laying claim, even if only symbolically, to the area as part of a “Bulgarian cultural space.”

The piece draws a pointed comparison with the situation in North Macedonia, where, as it states, over 120,000 people have received Bulgarian citizenship - without media outcry or political friction, but with a visible line forming outside the Bulgarian consulate. It argues that the citizenship process was never framed as political, but over time it became a “political argument” for Bulgaria. The article suggests a similar trajectory could unfold in Serbia.

Niške Vesti also reminds readers that Belgrade has historically used the term “Southern Serbia” to refer to what is now North Macedonia, implying that precedent exists for cultural and territorial associations grounded in citizenship and identity claims.

While acknowledging that many Serbian citizens may pursue Bulgarian citizenship for economic or practical reasons, the article insists that this phenomenon carries larger implications. A passport, it argues, is more than just a travel document - it is an instrument of identity under international law, and it can eventually feed into diplomatic narratives, political decisions, and budgetary allocations for cross-border programs.

“When a crisis hits,” the piece warns, “when minorities are being discussed in Strasbourg, or when funds for cooperation are on the table - these numbers matter. They become tools of diplomacy.” Yet, the article laments, there has been no public discourse in Serbia on what such a widespread, quiet shift in citizenship could ultimately mean.

The author urges Serbian society to break its silence and confront the question: What does it mean when thousands of citizens undergo a collective identity change without public scrutiny? Without this reckoning, the article suggests, Serbia may find itself in the future confronted with claims about the presence of 50,000 Bulgarians in its southern region - people who may speak Serbian and live in Niš, but whose passports tell a different story. And when that time comes, it concludes, “it will no longer matter how it started - but what it has become.”