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Bulgaria.

How Bulgaria sells citizenship and residence for investors: 1 citizenship programme, now closed; and 1 residence programme, open today. Every number and rule below links to the document it comes from.

Citizenship ↓
1
citizenship programme
21
numbers
36
prices and rules
17
events
Residence ↓
1
residence programme
39
numbers
29
prices and rules
4
events

21 documents and articles behind this page, listed at the bottom.

Citizenship

Sells citizenship, and with it a passport. Bulgaria: 1 citizenship programme, now closed; 21 numbers, 36 prices and rules. Every country's citizenship programmes

All the numbers, sources and downloads for Bulgaria in the data portal →

Citizenship for investorsCitizenship
Status
Lowest price when it closed
People who became citizens
Last change
Citizenship·Closed·2005–2022

Citizenship for investors

Sells citizenship, and with it a passport.

Official name: Bulgarian citizenship by investment (Закон за българското гражданство, art. 12a ordinary route and art. 14a fast-track route)

Lowest price when it closed: €500,000

The cheapest route was the ordinary art. 12a route: about EUR 500,000 (in law BGN 1 million), then 5 years of investor permanent residence. The source is the Commission's 2019 description (t-de2b625424). Most actual grants (46 of 50 in 2013-Jan 2019) used the art. 14a fast track, which required the investment to be raised to BGN 2 million (about EUR 1m; t-9673f014e5, t-7f8c9280f1). From 2021 there was also BGN 1 million in a priority-project company with a 1-year wait (t-c92ed66ac3). All routes were repealed 1 Apr 2022.

Notes from the research

Naturalisation for holders of investor permanent residence. Art. 12a (ordinary): after 5 years of permanent residence, investment of about EUR 500,000 (BGN 1 million). Art. 14a (fast track, added Feb 2013): after 1 year, investment increased to about EUR 1 million (BGN 2 million) or a priority-project route; no language test or real residence needed. Both repealed by the law in State Gazette no. 26 of 1 Apr 2022; pending procedures were ended and SANS was told to review past naturalisations. Ministry of Justice: 50 investor citizenships 2013-Jan 2019 (4 art. 12a, 46 art. 14a). launched=2005 is the year the Commission gives for the scheme's introduction; the fast track dates from 2013.

Prices and rules

Rules while it was open

What is measured

  • Investors approved, not counting family members11
  • People who became citizens7
  • Investment eligibility certificates issued2
  • Investment by programme investors1

Residence

Sells the right to live in the country (a “golden visa”), sometimes leading to citizenship later. Bulgaria: 1 residence programme, open today; 39 numbers, 29 prices and rules. Every country's residence programmes

All the numbers, sources and downloads for Bulgaria in the data portal →

Permanent residence for investorsResidence

Was the first step to citizenship for investors until 2022; ordinary citizenship after 5 years of permanent residence is still possible.

Status
Lowest price for one person
Golden visas issued
Last change
Residence·Open·since 2005

Permanent residence for investors

Sells the right to live in the country (a “golden visa”), sometimes leading to citizenship later.

Path to citizenship. Was the first step to citizenship for investors until 2022; ordinary citizenship after 5 years of permanent residence is still possible. (from the research notes below)

Official name: Bulgaria permanent residence for investors (Закон за чужденците в Република България, art. 25(1) items 6-8)

Lowest price for one person: BGN 1 million

BGN 1,000,000 in concession rights (the most used route), Bulgarian collective investment schemes or Bulgarian AIFs (items 6(b)-(d), consolidated text as at 2 Oct 2026). Other routes: BGN 2m in listed securities or a priority project; BGN 6m in an unlisted company.

Notes from the research

Permanent (not temporary) residence permit for foreigners who invest, e.g. BGN 1 million in concession rights, collective investment schemes or alternative investment funds, BGN 2 million in listed shares or in a certified priority project, or BGN 6 million in an unlisted company (amounts as in the consolidated law on 2 Oct 2026). It was the first step to citizenship under arts. 12a/14a until 2022 and still exists. Ordinary naturalisation after 5 years of permanent residence remains possible under the general rules (language test etc.). Launched: the year 2005, as given by the European Commission (2019); the 1998 law and the 2005 amending law were not found, so no exact date. Investor items date from 2005/2009 amendments. The Bulgarian Investment Agency certifies the investments: 981 persons certified 2014-Aug 2021 (both stages).

Golden visas issued, per year
050100150200201220132014201520162017

The line follows the official figure for each period.

Prices and rules

Ways in that apply today (minimum amounts)

What is measured

  • Investment eligibility certificates issued24
  • Golden visas issued7
  • Investors approved, not counting family members6
  • Programme grants as a share of all grants of the same status1
  • Investment by programme investors1
Gaps

What we know is missing

A gap means no figure is in our data: either it was never published or we haven't found or read it yet. Charts leave gaps open rather than drawing across them.

Explore

All the numbers we have for Bulgaria

60 numbers about Bulgaria's citizenship and residence programmes. Pick a programme and what you want to see. Each dot is one number from one document; click anything to open its source.

Timeline

What happened, and when

Sources

The 21 documents behind this page

The stories behind the numbers

Who buys passports and golden visas, what they cost, and what happens when governments change the rules. Written from this data, in the newsletter.

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