The Ministry of Justice proposes 10 times higher fees for Bulgarian citizenship

The Ministry of Justice proposes a serious increase in the fees it collects in the procedures for acquiring and restoring Bulgarian citizenship.

They were last changed in 2007, and some have not been "touched" since 1998.

The most common fee for applications for acquiring and restoring Bulgarian citizenship by persons whose both or one of the parents is a Bulgarian citizen or is of Bulgarian ethnicity is 30 leva. Therefore, it is now proposed to jump 10 times and become 300 leva, writes the specialized website Lex.bg. The fee for minors, minors and students up to the age of 26 is increasing from 10 leva to 100 leva. For all others who want to become Bulgarian citizens, the fee is currently 100 leva, and the ministry wants it to be 1,000 leva.

Another proposal is that for applications for release from Bulgarian citizenship and for the issuance of citizenship certificates, the fee should no longer be 50 leva, but 250 leva.

The amounts for certificates for the acquisition or restoration of Bulgarian citizenship or for the issuance of duplicates in accordance with a decree are also increasing twice. Currently, people with parents with Bulgarian citizenship or nationality pay 50 leva for this service, and it is proposed that the amount be 100 leva. From 20 leva to 40 leva, the "jump" the fee for minors, minors and students up to the age of 26.

For certificates issued in connection with changes in citizenship under additional decrees that amend those already issued, 10 leva will not be due, but 20 leva.

"At the moment, the fees are extremely low“, the ministry points out.

And they point out that the fee for naturalization, restoration and release from Bulgarian citizenship is many times lower than that for granting permanent residence status, which is 1,000 leva.

A study commissioned by the National Assembly has shown that in the European Union there are no such low fees in connection with the acquisition and restoration of citizenship and on average they are 25 times higher than those in Bulgaria.

"The high public importance of the institute of citizenship is also justified by the number of applications for change of citizenship registered with the Ministry of Justice, as well as by the number of such applications granted. The number of persons submitting applications for change of citizenship is about 23,000 per year, and the number of granted applications is about 13,400 per year," the Ministry of Justice states.

And they point out that the institute of citizenship is part of state sovereignty, national security and national identity.