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

Government resumes talks with unions and employers after freezing the 2026 budget

'The dialogue between employers and trade unions has been restored. Consultations will begin tomorrow at the Ministry of Finance to iron out all the details. The state is committed to supporting every Bulgarian citizen.' This was written by GERB leader..

published on 11/27/25 2:55 PM

NSI: Bulgarians' international travel increased 15% last year

Bulgarian citizens traveled abroad 829,300 times in October, which is 15% more than in October 2024 , according to the National Statistical Institute. The most popular destinations were Turkey, Greece, Serbia, Romania, Germany, North Macedonia,..

published on 11/27/25 2:39 PM

State-owned enterprises to combat corruption through an integrity officer

The National Assembly has introduced a new requirement for state-owned enterprises to implement corruption risk management systems, which will also include appointing an integrity officer. The measure is recommended by the Organisation for Economic..

published on 11/27/25 1:30 PM