Bulgarian language skills are a prerequisite for obtaining Bulgarian citizenship
The Bulgarian Parliament has amended the Bulgarian citizenship legislation and imposed the condition that those who wish to obtain Bulgarian citizenship must speak Bulgarian.
The Bulgarian Parliament has amended the Bulgarian citizenship legislation and imposed the condition that those who wish to obtain Bulgarian citizenship must learn and speak Bulgarian.
The law amendment proposal submitted by the Council of Ministers was accepted with the unanimous vote of 154 deputies participating in the vote in the 240-member parliament. The 36 deputies of the pro-government Movement for Rights and Freedoms (HÖH) party, the majority of whose members are Turks and Muslims, abstained from the vote.
In the new regulation, the obligation to speak Bulgarian will also apply to the children of persons who have renounced their Bulgarian citizenship. Previously, the children of persons who renounced their Bulgarian citizenship were also directly naturalised.
Denitza Saceva, a member of the ruling coalition of the Democratic Bulgaria for Change (PP-DB) alliance, has proposed intensifying the activities of Bulgarian-language schools so that the diaspora abroad does not suffer from the new regulation.
Ms Saceva proposed that the "Sunday Schools", which run on weekends in the countries where Bulgarian citizens live, should increase the teaching of Bulgarian to children and young people.
The regulation, which will enter into force after a second vote, closely concerns Bulgarian immigrants in Türkiye.
