Citizenship of a child born abroad

A child with at least one parent who was a Bulgarian citizen at the time of birth is a Bulgarian citizen by origin — whatever country they were born in and even if the other parent is a foreign national (Art. 25(1) of the Constitution, Art. 8 of the Bulgarian Citizenship Act). There is no citizenship application. The birth only needs to be registered in Bulgaria so the child can get a personal number (EGN) and Bulgarian documents.

deadline

6 months

to report the birth

citizenship

by birth

if a parent is Bulgarian

Article 18 application

€51.13

if the child is not Bulgarian by birth

Registering the birth

Parents must submit the foreign birth record to the Bulgarian embassy or consulate within six months of it being drawn up, with an application stating their permanent address in Bulgaria. The birth is registered in the municipality of the mother’s permanent address if she is Bulgarian, otherwise the father’s.

1. Get the birth record

   A certified copy or extract from the local authority. If the country is party to the Vienna Convention, a multilingual extract needs no legalisation.

2. Legalisation and translation

   Depending on the country — an apostille, legalisation or an exemption under a legal assistance treaty. The document is translated into Bulgarian.

3. Submit at the embassy or the municipality

   Through the consular section, which forwards the documents, or directly at the municipality of the permanent address — in person or through a representative.

4. EGN and birth certificate

   The municipality draws up a birth record, enters the child in the population register and issues a Bulgarian birth certificate with an EGN.

5. Passport or ID card

   With an EGN the child can get a passport or ID card at the embassy or in Bulgaria. For a passport both parents sign in front of an officer, or one gives notarised consent.

If the child was born before the parent became Bulgarian

In that case the child is not Bulgarian by birth, because neither parent was a Bulgarian citizen when the child was born. The Act offers several routes:

• Children under 14 acquire citizenship together with their parents if both parents (or the surviving parent) take Bulgarian citizenship, or if one does and the other is already Bulgarian. Children aged 14–18 do so on the same terms if they ask (Art. 17).
• A child under 18 with only one Bulgarian parent can become Bulgarian without the general naturalisation conditions if both parents consent in writing (Art. 18). The fee is €51.13.
• An adult whose parent is a Bulgarian citizen, or died as one, applies under Art. 15(1)(3) — the same simplified route as citizenship by origin.

Applying under Article 18

The application is made in person at the Ministry of Justice or an embassy, in Bulgarian. For a child under 14 both parents apply; a child aged 14–18 applies personally, with both parents countersigning. For young children the interview is held with the parents. A parent deprived of parental rights need not consent; disagreements are settled by the district court.

More complex cases

Citizenship is governed by the law in force at the time of birth (Art. 2). If you were born before 1999, your parents left Bulgaria long ago or you are unsure whether you are a Bulgarian citizen, you can ask for a certificate of Bulgarian citizenship (Art. 39). The Ministry of Justice issues it within 30 days; it is valid for 1 year and costs €127.82. You can apply through an embassy.

A child acknowledged by a Bulgarian citizen, or whose descent from a Bulgarian citizen has been established by a court, is also Bulgarian by origin (Art. 9).