Bulgaria is a desirable destination for acquiring citizenship through investment

Bulgaria has always been a destination of appeal ever since its accession to the EU in 2007 admitted Atty. Nikolay Vasilev from Respect Consult in the broadcast In Progress moderated by Veronika Denizova on Bloomberg TV Bulgaria
“There have been plenty of promising trends to boost our country in appeal to countries from the third world which are no EU member states. We will soon be admitted into the Eurozone, the stage is also set for us to be allowed an entry into the Schengen area. This will make a smooth going of travelling across the EU for all who will be granted a Bulgarian citizenship.“
Advancement of economy is a safe bet to make foreign investors comfortable in placing their investment in our country. The point is, do they perceive Bulgaria as a look-in to the EU, or are they just happy to have their business and life run with us?
Says Atty. Vasilev, everyone is sure to come around by their own personal drives which are not always avowed. However, it is more sure than not that the benefits to go along with a Bulgarian citizenship prove to be the unrestricted travel and the cost-effective education.
“They are thinking of their families given that the European education is highly appreciated there. The tax incentives foreign investors could enjoy are one more reason towards feeling attracted to Bulgaria.“
We don’t have statistical data what part of the investors to have been procured a Bulgarian citizenship do remain in Bulgaria; however, we can refer to statistics about foreigners to have become Bulgarian citizens on account of placing an investment here. Data specifies a lower rate compared to other countries on the Balkan Peninsula such as Cyprus and Malta. Countries to have supplied programs of the kind; however, the EU made them discontinue.
“Presently, Bulgaria is the only one to have an effective program allowing for procurement of a residence and citizenship on account of investments placed.“
The green investment passport is sure to keep the ball rolling with this practice, and as such, this opportunity will stay open.
He goes on to explain that the first step towards procurement of a Bulgarian citizenship is attaining to the status of a permanent residence. Down to March this year, this used to come true on account of a purchase of government securities. Now there are some more chances granted such as placement of investments in concessions, purchase of stocks in Bulgarian companies publicly offered on the stock exchange, investments placed in premium investment projects, in addition, investments placed in projects certified under the Investment Promotion Act.
Now that the option for purchasing Bulgarian securities has been dismissed upon demand of the EU, there are new opportunities such as investments in Bulgarian-profiled collective investment schemes, equally, investments in ASCs. Atty. Vasilev believes that this will prove to be the flavor of the month with foreigners.
As statistics goes from 2013 to 2021 the record kept with the Ministry of Justice says of 455 files recording procurement of Bulgarian citizenship for persons to have placed an investment here where some 246 of these have placed upward of BGN 1 M.
By way of comparison, Cyprus have accumulated EUR 8 bn from this kind of a program. The only reason to account for the big difference which is made proves to be that Bulgaria does not happen to come in the spotlights in terms of advertising, says Vasilev by his own admission.

See the full video interview on Bloomberg TV Bulgaria