Free Advisory on Bulgarian Citizenship by Origin
Last Updated on August 8, 2025 by Bulgarian Citizenship Team
We’ve been receiving a large number of inquiries about Bulgarian citizenship by origin—and many applicants seem understandably confused about how it works. To clear things up, we’re now offering free consultations for anyone interested in applying under this category.
To fully grasp this concept, it’s important to understand that citizenship and ethnicity are two distinct sides of the same coin. You can hold Bulgarian citizenship and yet be ethnically German, French, or of any other origin. Ethnicity and citizenship are not the same—and Bulgarian legislation draws a very clear line between the two.
Applicants generally fall into two main groups:
Citizenship Based on a Bulgarian Parent
If you have a parent who is (or was) a Bulgarian citizen at the time of their passing, you can apply for citizenship regardless of ethnicity. Your parent could be Armenian, Greek, Jewish, or of any other descent—what matters is their citizenship status, not their ethnicity.
Special case:
If you were born while your parent already held Bulgarian citizenship (as opposed to them acquiring it later), you may be able to have your Bulgarian birth certificate reissued and obtain citizenship internally—a much faster process than the standard route.
Required proof: A birth certificate showing your parent was a Bulgarian citizen at the time of your birth.
Citizenship Based on Bulgarian Ethnicity
This route applies only to applicants who can prove Bulgarian ethnic ancestry up to the third generation. If your ancestry is not Bulgarian, you simply don’t qualify under this path.
A quick self-check: look at your surname. If it’s something like Erdoğan, Kardashian, or Netanyahu, you are not ethnically Bulgarian—or at least the male side of your family tree wasn’t.
This is why, for example, Bulgarian citizens of Turkish descent who emigrated in the 1950s–1960s cannot claim citizenship under the ethnicity category if their grandparents were of Turkish ethnicity. They must apply under the Bulgarian parent route instead.
❌ Will NOT qualify:
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Turkish citizens citing Ottoman-era birth records (e.g., “Bulgaria” in 1821) — Bulgaria was under Ottoman rule until 1878.
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Applicants whose ancestors were born before 1912, when family records were first introduced (no earlier records are available).
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Descendants of people who renounced Bulgarian citizenship during the mass emigration of the 1950s–1960s.
✅ Will qualify:
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Ethnic Bulgarians with official documents (birth, death, marriage, baptism, naturalization, etc.) clearly stating Bulgarian ethnicity.
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Grandchildren of ethnic Turks or other minorities—but only if the parent first obtains citizenship under the Bulgarian parent category. This route also requires that your grandparent did not lose their Bulgarian citizenship.
If you’d like to support a meaningful cause and demonstrate your commitment to Bulgarian culture, consider purchasing a traditional Bulgarian gift.
Before You Contact Us
Please collect documentary proof of your Bulgarian parent or Bulgarian ethnicity before reaching out.
If your only evidence comes from foreign records or is dated before 1912, it will not be sufficient for the ethnicity route. In those cases you may consider the Bulgaria Golden Visa by Fund Investment.
