Nearly 2,000 North Macedonians granted Bulgarian citizenship in 2025
Nearly 2,000 citizens of North Macedonia acquired Bulgarian citizenship in 2025, ranking the country third worldwide in the number of naturalisations granted by Sofia, behind Ukraine and Turkiye.
Citing the annual report of Bulgaria’s Citizenship Committee, media in North Macedonia reported that 1,975 of its citizens received Bulgarian passports last year. The figure marks an increase from 1,698 in 2024, though it remains below the more than 2,400 grants recorded in 2023.
Over the past two decades, Bulgaria has issued more than 100,000 passports to North Macedonian citizens, according to reports.
Local media say many applicants seek Bulgarian citizenship to ease access to work and travel within the European Union, rather than out of declared Bulgarian national identity.
The issue has also sparked debate over ethnic representation.
North Macedonia’s 2021 census recorded around 3,500 Bulgarians, or 0.2% of the population.
Bulgarian officials dispute that figure, pointing to the rising number of citizenship grants as evidence that the ethnic Bulgarian community may be significantly larger.
