Bulgaria doesn’t need hostile new citizens, does it?
Recently we had an Australian guy, who has contacted us to assist him to get Bulgarian citizenship by origin. His reason for applying for citizenship was that some of his ancestors had emigrated from Bulgaria to Australia in the past.
So far, so good. Once all arrangements were made, we were contacted by an extremely hostile individual who claimed to be the father of our prospective client. We had no idea what this person even wanted from us, but his sheer arrogance and hostility were mind-blowing. So here is what the moral of the story is and the question we have asked ourselves:
Does Bulgaria need new citizens, who are hostile and don’t respect the locals?
Well, we think not. We believe Bulgaria needs new citizens, who respect not only the laws, but also the moral and the good manners. And luckily, the Bulgarian Citizenship Law is quite clear on this:
The application of a person who meets the conditions for acquiring Bulgarian citizenship by naturalisation shall be rejected if, in view of his conduct, there are serious reasons to believe that the applicant constitutes a threat to public order, public morals, public health or national security.
Art. 19 of the Bulgarian Citizenship Law
We have been writing extensively about the infamous art. 19 of the citizenship law. Yet, it is now virtually impossible to obtain Bulgarian citizenship if either the Ministry of Interior or the State Agency for National Security have objections. And watch the wording of the law – the naturalisation is rejected if there is a threat to the public moral.
It is also important to stress that granting Bulgarian citizenship by origin is not a right, but only an opportunity. The citizenship law is quite clear on that too, as it uses the optional wording “may acquire”:
A person who is not a Bulgarian citizen may acquire Bulgarian citizenship by naturalisation…
Art. 15, par. 1 of the Bulgarian Citizenship Law
In other words, even if a person is of Bulgarian origin, it is not his right to obtain Bulgarian citizenship. It is an option for him that depends on many factors, such as the “moral” condition, as explained above.
What about the hostile “father” and his Australian son
Well, we take hostility very seriously. Our firm belief is that out country doesn’t need new citizens if they are hostile towards the locals. We believe in moral and we are determined to protect it.
We will, of course, be reporting this incident to the authorities. This is after all, our moral duty. We will ensure that all individuals involved are thoroughly vetted by the relevant governmental bodies, should they ever apply for Bulgarian citizenship. While we acknowledge that Bulgaria may have lost a few potential new citizens from down under, we firmly believe that public interest and national integrity must remain our highest priorities.