Why is Bulgaria making it so hard for those willing to obtain citizenship? And all this, despite the frightening demographic decline in the last 30 years and the large Bulgarian minorities abroad, waiting to be naturalized.
The public opinion within the Bulgarian society is that the country is granting citizenship to literally anyone who decides to apply for it. The Bulgarian media is frequently spreading “news” about how citizenship for investment or for special merits is being granted to everybody. And all that without any control by the government. But is this true?
Obtaining Bulgarian citizenship – you better try harder
According to Eurostat data for 2018 (at the moment this seems to be the latest official data), Bulgaria is really a champion for not granting citizenship. Out of all 27 EU member states plus UK, Switzerland, Liechtenstein, Norway and Iceland, Bulgaria holds the 29th place in terms of citizenship acquisitions per capita. Of all these 32 countries, only Poland, Slovakia and Lithuania have issued fewer passports than has Bulgaria.
The crushing statistics for Bulgaria
As can be seen from the statistics, there are 1,5 people per thousand inhabitants in the EU on average, who have obtained citizenship. For Bulgaria there are only 0.1 people per thousand. This means that Bulgaria has issued 15 times fewer passports than is the average for the European Union.
For the European Capital Belgium, the figure is even more chilling. It turns out that Bulgaria has issued 32 times fewer citizenship decrees than has the Kingdom of Belgium. And for the champion for issued passports Luxembourg, the comparison is simply mind blowing – Luxembourg has issued 114 times more passports than has Bulgaria in 2018 (per capita).
Bulgaria has issued 15 times fewer passports than is the EU average, 32 times less than Belgium and 114 times less than Luxembourg. France and Germany have issued 16 and 14 times more passports, respectively, than has Bulgaria. And notice, the conservative Switzerland has issued 50 times more passports than Bulgaria.
Eurostat data for 2018
Terrifying demographic figures in Bulgaria, but granting Bulgarian citizenship is as hard as it can be
According to the Business Insider, Bulgaria ranks first in the world in terms of demographic decline. In the ranking, in which Bulgaria is assigned the infamous first place, the publication states:
Bulgaria: The population is projected to drop from 6.9 million in 2020 to 5.4 million in 2050, a 22.5% decline.
And we, for our part, should remind that in the distant 1985, the population of Bulgaria was almost 9 million.
Why don’t the Bulgarian authorities have any desire to attract new Bulgarians?
This is the one million dollar question. Why are there so many refusals for Bulgarian citizenship? Why do the Bulgarian authorities hinder the naturalization process at every step?
And also, why is it constantly trumpeted in Bulgaria how easy it is to get Bulgarian citizenship and passport?
If you need assistance
If you are about to apply for Bulgarian citizenship or in case you have already been rejected. Or if your application process is “stuck” and you are not receiving any information from the authorities, then we advise you to contact us asap. We may be able to assist you. And if you are determined to succeed, we will definitely be able to bring your citizenship application to successful end.
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