Certificate of Bulgarian Origin in 2026: What It Is For Now

Many family stories about Bulgarian citizenship still begin with “first you get the certificate from the agency”. That was true for years. It has not been true for the citizenship application since March 2021, and a lot of outdated advice still circulates. Here is what the certificate of Bulgarian origin is used for today, who issues it and how it fits with permanent residence.

What changed in March 2021

Until 2021 an applicant of Bulgarian origin had to obtain a certificate from the State Agency for Bulgarians Abroad and attach it to the citizenship application. The amendment to the Citizenship Act published in State Gazette No. 21 of 12 March 2021 removed that step. In its notice of 17 March 2021 the Agency explained that, from 16 March 2021, the documents proving kinship with an ascendant of Bulgarian origin up to the third degree are submitted directly with the application to the Ministry of Justice.

The Agency’s own questions and answers are just as clear: after 15 March 2021 it is not part of the procedure for Bulgarian citizenship, and all questions about the application belong to the Bulgarian citizenship directorate of the Ministry of Justice. It also no longer issues duplicates of old certificates.

The same notice records a second change: Bulgarian origin is now proven with a document issued by a Bulgarian or foreign state authority or by the Bulgarian Orthodox Church. Documents issued by organisations of Bulgarians abroad were dropped as proof.

The agency today

Since May 2022 the agency is called the Executive Agency for Bulgarians Abroad and works under the Minister of Foreign Affairs. You will still see the older name, State Agency for Bulgarians Abroad, in the text of the Citizenship Act and in many articles.

It keeps one role in citizenship cases. Under Article 29 of the Citizenship Act, if the documents filed with the application leave questions, the Minister of Justice can ask you for additional documents within 14 days, or ask the Consultative Council at the Agency to establish whether you are of Bulgarian origin. The Council gives a reasoned opinion within two months. It looks at whether you use the Bulgarian language, whether you identify yourself as a person of Bulgarian origin, and whether at least one of these applies: you belong to a Bulgarian community or minority abroad; you come from a place that was once part of the Bulgarian state or the Bulgarian Exarchate; your ascendants carried the traditional Bulgarian family naming system.

In practice this means the file you submit should answer the question of origin on its own. A referral to the Council adds time.

Where the certificate is still used

The Agency’s rules list the procedures in which it issues a certificate of Bulgarian origin. It does so when a foreigner cannot present a birth certificate and the migration service of the Ministry of Interior cannot check the origin in the Agency’s information system:

• permanent residence for a foreigner of Bulgarian origin;
• long-term residence, including for foreigners admitted as full-time university students in Bulgaria;
• type D visa decisions requested through the visa centre of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs.

The applicant normally starts the procedure after written instructions from the migration directorate. A type D visa applicant can start it without them, through a Bulgarian consular office abroad.

How the procedure at the Agency works

• You file at the Agency’s service centre in Sofia, by post, through a notarised power of attorney or through the national e-government portal.
• Foreign documents must be translated and legalised. You bring the originals with a copy of each.
• The set includes a declaration of Bulgarian national self-awareness. The Agency currently recommends having it notarised.
• After a complete file is checked at the counter, the Agency decides within 14 days and shows the status online.
• The certificate is not handed to you. It is sent officially to the migration directorate or the consular office that asked for it.

Permanent residence on the ground of origin

Article 25(1)(1) of the Foreigners Act allows foreigners of Bulgarian origin to receive a permanent residence permit. It is a separate procedure from citizenship, handled by the migration authorities, and it gives the right to live in Bulgaria. It does not give an EU passport and does not by itself make you a Bulgarian citizen.

Why do families consider it? Because the citizenship case can take years. BRIDGES reports that in its practice a permanent residence permit on this ground takes about a year and is often arranged in parallel with the citizenship file, using the same evidence. If you want to read how BRIDGES describes both routes together, its Bulgaria guide sets them out side by side.

What I would do first

Start with the citizenship evidence, because it is the stricter test. If the records prove the line to a Bulgarian parent, grandparent or great-grandparent, the same records usually serve the residence procedure too. For the full list, see the documents checklist, and for the overall picture the complete guide.

Procedures change. Check the Agency’s and the Ministry’s current pages before you file. Last checked 17 October 2026.