Bulgarian citizenship in 2024: who received the passport and on what grounds?

In 2024, more than 16 thousand people received Bulgarian citizenship, what's on 4 thousand more, than in the previous year. The leaders in the number of new citizens were Ukraine and Türkiye, and the general statistics included representatives of many other countries.

Bulgarian Citizenship: Who Received a Passport in 2024?

According to the annual report Commission on Bulgarian Citizenship Under Vice President Ilian Yotova, most new citizens came from the following countries:

1️⃣ Ukraine - more 2,400 people received a Bulgarian passport.
2️⃣ Turkey - almost 2,200 people obtained citizenship.
3️⃣ Moldova - more 1,800 new citizens.
4️⃣ North Macedonia - near 1,700 people became Bulgarians.
5️⃣ Albania, Serbia, Russia, Israel and Syria were also among the countries with the largest number of applicants.
6️⃣ Argentina – 108 Argentines received Bulgarian citizenship.

On what grounds was citizenship granted?

In 2024, Vice President signed 227 decrees, as a result of which more than 16,500 people changed their status. The reasons for obtaining citizenship were distributed as follows:

✔ 11,700 people received passports by descent, through parents who were Bulgarian citizens, or by general naturalization.
✔ Almost 4,500 people restored Bulgarian citizenship.

Refusals and revocation of citizenship

Not all applicants were able to obtain a Bulgarian passport:

❌ Almost 6,000 applicants received refusals.
❌ 38 people Lost their citizenship due to violations, including forged documents and a ban on residency in the Schengen area.

Conclusions

In 2024 Bulgaria The number of new citizens has significantly increased, with the majority of applicants receiving passports by descent. However, the naturalization process remains rigorous, as evidenced by the high refusal rate.

Time will tell whether 2025 will be even more productive in terms of issuing Bulgarian passports.