On 11th of January 2022 a Bill amending and supplementing the Bulgarian Citizenship Act (“the BCA Bill”) was submitted to the National Assembly. Currently, the BCA Bill is distributed in the leading Committee on Constitutional and Legal Affairs for discussion and voting.
The BCA Bill provides for the elimination of the possibility to acquire Bulgarian citizenship due to investments or the so-called “golden passport”.
In particular, the BCA Bill provides for the elimination of the possibility of acquiring Bulgarian citizenship under a simplified procedure by:
- persons who have received a permanent residence permit based on investments made by acquiring shares or bonds of Bulgarian companies, rights under concession agreements, shares, or stocks worth not less than BGN 1,000,000 in collective investment schemes or alternative investment funds, as well as by family members of such persons.
- persons who have received a permanent residence permit based on investments made by depositing in the capital of a Bulgarian company an amount of not less than BGN 2,000,000 for a priority investment project implemented by the company, as well as by family members of such persons.
- persons who have received a permanent residence permit based on investments made by investing in the capital of a Bulgarian company whose shares are not traded on a regulated market in the amount of not less than BGN 6,000,000, as well as by family members of such persons.
- persons who have received a permanent residence permit based on investments not less than a year ago and who have doubled the investments made.
- persons who have received a permanent residence permit based on investments not less than a year ago and who have invested in the capital of a Bulgarian company an additional amount of not less than BGN 1,000,000 for a priority investment project implemented by the company.
- persons who have received a permanent residence permit based on investments not less than a year ago due to their activities under the Investment Promotion Act and who have maintained their investments above the minimum threshold for issuing an investment certificate.
- persons who have received a permanent residence permit not less than a year ago by depositing in the capital of a Bulgarian company not less than BGN 500,000, who are partners or shareholders with registered shares and hold not less than 50 per cent of the company’s capital and as a result of the investment new fixed tangible and intangible assets worth not less than BGN 500,000 have been acquired and at least 10 jobs have been created for Bulgarian citizens maintained for the period of residence and who have increased the investment to at least BGN 1,000,000 and as a result of the investments at least 20 new jobs have been created for Bulgarian citizens.
The BCA Bill also provides for changes in the Foreigners in the Republic of Bulgaria Act. It is proposed to eliminate the grounds for issuing a permanent residence permit related to investments, as described above.
The proponents of the BCA Bill point to the real possibility of a security breach across the European Union regarding the right to free movement, as well as the perception of the “golden passport” as a major obstacle to the abolition of the US visa regime applicable to some EU Member States.
