A radical idea to fast-track more than 60 000 applications for Bulgarian passports currently awaiting approval from the authorities has caused tension between Vice President Angel Marin and Minister Bozhidar Dimitrov, whose portfolio is Bulgarians abroad.

Ever since he assumed office, Dimitrov, who is also head of the National Museum of History, has campaigned for a quick solution to the problem which, he believes, has led to widespread illegal trading in Bulgarian passports and thousands of applicants waiting for years.

As The Sofia Echo has previously reported, about 60 000 applications are currently being sifted. This could take up to six years, given that Bulgaria had the capacity to process only 10 000 cases a year. And this discounts more than 100 000 citizenship applications received by Bulgaria since 2001. According to Dimitrov, the solution to these problems lies with the Cabinet and Prime Minister Boiko Borissov.

In an interview with Bulgarian-language mass circulation Trud daily on August 20, Dimitrov said that Borissov could go down in history as the prime minister who had given Bulgarian passports to all 60 000 current applicants. In so doing, Borissov could ease the burden on the system but also counteract illegal trading with Bulgarian passports, Dimitrov said.

He said that Borissov should issue a directive ordering passports to be given to everyone floundering in the system. Another positive side effect of this radical solution, he said, was that the 60 000 "new" Bulgarians would have a positive impact on Bulgaria’s demographics.

Dimitrov cited the US example when, in 1986, former president Ronald Reagan awarded citizenship to 3.5 million people living illegally in the country, although in Bulgaria’s case the issue is not of illegal immigrants but people of Bulgarian ancestry. According to Dimitrov, three reasons explained the failure of the current processing system: Lack of administrative capacity, corruption and poor motivation on the part of those vetting applicants for Bulgarian ancestry.

This move would affect mostly people from Moldova and Macedonia, the origin of most of the applicants. Citizenship, according to Dimitrov, should be granted to those whose family name denoted Bulgarian origins, or to Bulgarian-language speakers, even if it was a dialect.    

Vice President Angel Marin, however, who has the final word on all applications for Bulgarian citizenship, opposed Dimitrov’s idea. The constitution provides for the Justice Ministry to process all applications. Based on its findings, the Presidency issues the final approval. President Georgi Purvanov has entrusted Vice President Marin with this job.

On August 24, Marin showed his clear disapproval of Dimitrov’s idea. Speaking on Bulgarian National Radio, Marin said that Dimitrov’s proposal was tantamount to more than mere incompetence. Marin said that it contravened the constitution’s stipulated procedures for granting Bulgarian citizenship. "No matter how good the prime minister is, or however worthy his intentions, I wonder how he could ignore the constitution and issue a decree for granting Bulgarian citizenship," Marin said.

He said that the system for processing applications needed improvement but it had to happen in line with the law.
Neither the Justice Ministry nor Borissov have yet commented on Dimitrov’s rather unorthodox idea that would grant about 60 000 foreign citizens, mainly from South East Europe, free access to Bulgaria and the European Union.

Such a move would undoubtedly be a massive security test for the Interior Ministry and the State Agency for National Security, both of which have a say on every passport request. According to Dimitrov, however, his idea would not pose such a security threat because people with criminal records did not queue for Bulgarian passports in the first place. "They prefer to pay for it", he told Trud.

The other way

A number of foreigners have adopted Bulgarian citizenship by exploiting a legal loophole which says that if a foreigner has made an immense contribution to Bulgaria, he or she can bypass normal procedures and get a Bulgarian passport. This provision has been mostly used by Bulgarian football and basketball clubs where a number of Serbian, Croatian, Brazilian, US and African players compete as Bulgarians.