Unclear legislation on Bulgarian citizenship again
Many people believe that every child born in Bulgaria to foreigners automatically becomes a Bulgarian citizen. This is a misconception that is largely influenced by the fact that an analogy is made with the US legislation. There, indeed, according to the 14th Amendment, any child born on US territory is considered an American citizen. In Bulgaria, however, things are different. And although the Bulgarian provision on birthright citizenship is largely similar to the American one, the application of the norm in Bulgaria is different. Let us see what the Bulgarian Citizenship Law stipulates:
A Bulgarian citizen by place of birth is any person born on the territory of the Republic of Bulgaria, if he does not acquire another citizenship by origin.
art. 10 of the Citizenship Law
The peculiarity of the Bulgarian provision is precisely the text after the comma – “if he does not acquire another citizenship by origin”. An in-depth analysis of this condition for acquiring citizenship can be found in the article – Bulgarian citizenship by place of birth – explained in detail.