Bulgarian citizenship through marriage: conditions

Visas and residence · Last reviewed: 2026-10-08

Marriage does not change citizenship automatically

Under Article 5 of the Law on Bulgarian Citizenship (Закон за българското гражданство, ЗБГ), the marriage or dissolution of a marriage between a Bulgarian citizen and a foreigner does not by itself change the citizenship of the other spouse. A naturalisation application is required.

Conditions in the law (Articles 13 and 12)

Under Article 13, a person who has been lawfully married to a Bulgarian citizen for at least three years, with the marriage continuing, and who obtained a permanent or long-term residence permit in Bulgaria at least three years before applying, may apply if they also meet these conditions of Article 12(1):

• •Be an adult.
• •Not have been convicted by a Bulgarian court of a deliberate general criminal offence and not be under criminal proceedings for one, unless rehabilitated.
• •Have income or an occupation that allows self-support in Bulgaria.
• •Know Bulgarian, established under a regulation of the Minister of Education and Science.
• •Have been released, or be released on acquisition, from the previous citizenship; under Article 12(2) this is not required of spouses of Bulgarian citizens.

Under Article 19 an application is rejected, even if the conditions are met, when conduct gives serious reason to consider the applicant a threat to public order, public morals, public health or national security.

Application and document list

According to the Ministry of Justice page, the application is written in Bulgarian and submitted in person at the Ministry or at a Bulgarian diplomatic or consular mission abroad, and an interview is held using a questionnaire approved by the Minister. The list on the page includes:

• •A copy of the birth certificate.
• •A marriage certificate showing at least three years of marriage if the marriage was concluded abroad; if it was concluded in Bulgaria no document is needed because the Directorate checks the national population database itself.
• •A criminal record certificate from the country of citizenship, and from local authorities if you live permanently or long-term in Bulgaria or a third country, stating it is issued for citizenship proceedings.
• •A document from the prosecutor's office that no proceedings for a deliberate general offence are pending.
• •An employer's certificate or a tax-office document on income declared for the previous year.
• •A Bulgarian-language document from the Ministry of Education or a notarised copy of a diploma from a Bulgarian school.
• •A medical document from a medical advisory commission (ЛКК) on the absence of certain infectious and mental illnesses.
• •Declarations on the forms in the regulation, a document on any name change, a CV, a photo and an ID copy.
• •Proof of the state fee: the page states 511.29 euro, paid to the Ministry of Justice account.

The page adds that foreign documents must meet bilateral treaties, the Hague Apostille Convention or applicable EU rules and come with a Bulgarian translation. The Directorate also checks the residence permit date, social contributions and debts itself through Regix.

The dual citizenship question

A person who is a Bulgarian citizen and also a citizen of another country is treated only as a Bulgarian citizen when Bulgarian law is applied (Article 3). Turkey's rule is not covered here; see the related article and ask the consulate for the position of the other country.

Frequently asked questions

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