Minor follows naturalizing/accepting parent

BG-CBN-01 (program_id 1960, bucket CBN, acquisition_type by_descent_derivative) is the route by which a minor child acquires Bulgarian citizenship as a derivative of a parent's acquisition, acceptance or restoration of Bulgarian citizenship — 'детето следва родителя'. It is conceptually downstream of, and mutually exclusive with, jus-sanguinis-at-birth (BG-DSC-01, чл. 8): where a parent was already a Bulgarian citizen at the child's birth, the child is Bulgarian from birth and needs no CBN route; CBN-01 operates precisely where the child did NOT acquire at birth — typically because a parent NATURALIZES later, or because the child of one Bulgarian parent was never registered ('нямат българско гражданство'). Three express statutory branches operate: ЗБГ чл. 17 (co-acquisition/acceptance), чл. 18(1) (child of one Bulgarian parent), and чл. 28 (on a parent's restoration). The route imposes none of the чл. 12 substantive naturalization conditions on the child. As of ЗБГ ДВ бр. 61/29.07.2025.

Eligibility turns on the child's age band and the parental configuration. Under чл. 17: a child под 14-годишна възраст acquires automatically when 'родителите им или преживелият от тях приемат българско гражданство' (the parents or the surviving parent accept/acquire Bulgarian citizenship) OR when only one parent does so while the other is already Bulgarian; a child 14–18 acquires only 'ако поискат това' (on the child's own request). Under чл. 18(1): a child под 14 'на които само единият от родителите е български гражданин, в случай че нямат българско гражданство' may become Bulgarian 'без да са налице условията по чл. 12' on the written consent of both/surviving parent; 14–18 on own request. None of the чл. 12 conditions (5-year residence, income, language, renunciation) bind the minor. Adoption is excluded from these branches (чл. 6). As of ЗБГ ДВ бр. 61/29.07.2025.

BG-CBN-01 imposes NO independent residence requirement on the minor. Unlike standard naturalization (чл. 12(1) т. 2, 5-year permanent/long-term residence permit), marriage (чл. 13, 3-year) or stateless naturalization (чл. 14-stateless, 3-year), the derivative minor route under чл. 17 and чл. 18(1) expressly operates 'без да са налице условията по чл. 12' — the 5-year residence clock does not apply to the child. The child's status is parasitic on the parent's: where the child follows a naturalizing parent (чл. 17), the parent must satisfy the parent's own pathway requirements (which MAY include residence), but the child carries no separate residence burden. Where чл. 18(1) is used for a child of one Bulgarian parent, the only triggers are the single-Bulgarian-parent fact, the child's lack of existing Bulgarian citizenship, and parental consent — no residence is required. As of ЗБГ ДВ бр. 61/29.07.2025.

Documentation is governed by Наредба № 1 от 19.02.1999 чл. 9: 'Лицата по чл. 18 от закона представят документ, удостоверяващ българското гражданство на родителя или осиновителя, както и документите, посочени в чл. 4, ал. 1, т. 1, т. 8–11, т. 13 и 14.' In practice the file comprises: a document evidencing the parent's (or adopter's) Bulgarian citizenship; the child's birth certificate (акт за раждане), translated into Bulgarian and legalized by 1961 Apostille or applicable treaty where foreign-issued; the written parental consent (чл. 18(1)); the 14–18 child's own request; and, for a child 14, a clean-criminal-record certificate (свидетелство за съдимост) per the чл. 4 set imported by чл. 9. The exact current Наредба article fixing the minor-representation/filing-by-parents rule is not lifted verbatim — EN mirrors cite the Глава-пета general personal-filing rule. As of Наредба № 1 amended through ДВ бр. 50/2021.

Procedure follows Глава пета ЗБГ (чл. 29–36) with the minor represented by parents/guardians: (1) the application (молба) is filed IN PERSON at the Ministry of Justice or a Bulgarian diplomatic/consular mission abroad, the mission forwarding it with a mandatory opinion (чл. 29(1); Наредба № 1 чл. 2(2)) — for a minor the parents/guardians file; (2) the Министерство на правосъдието (Дирекция 'Българско гражданство') assembles the file with the чл. 9 documents; (3) the Съвет по гражданството (Council on Citizenship, чл. 33) reviews and issues a reasoned opinion, with power to suspend where facts must be established; (4) the Министър на правосъдието makes a proposal to the President (чл. 34); (5) the acquisition is effected by указ на Президента (чл. 36), in practice signed by the Вицепрезидент under delegated competence. Where the child follows a naturalizing parent, the child's component is processed concurrently with the parent's file. As of ЗБГ ДВ бр. 61/29.07.2025.

The statutory proposal deadlines for the Minister of Justice to submit the file to the President are fixed by чл. 35(1): 12 месеца for general naturalization (т. 1, изм. ДВ бр. 21/2021), 9 месеца for Bulgarian-origin (т. 2), 6 месеца for restoration (т. 3) and for release (т. 4). Where the minor follows a naturalizing parent (чл. 17), the child's component is processed concurrently with the parent's application, so the controlling deadline tracks the parent's pathway tier (typically 12 months general). For the чл. 28 restoration twin, the 6-month restoration deadline applies to the parent's file. The frequently-cited '18-month' figure is NOT statutory — it reflects real-world MoJ practice/backlog; чл. 35(1) controls. The Съвет по гражданството may suspend the deadlines where facts must be established (чл. 33). The presidential указ enters into force on the day of issuance (чл. 36). As of ЗБГ ДВ бр. 61/29.07.2025.

The state fee is set by Тарифа № 1 към Закона за държавните такси, раздел 'Г. Такси, събирани от Министерството на правосъдието', as amended by ПМС № 104 от 25.06.2025 (ДВ бр. 52/27.06.2025, в сила 01.07.2025). The molba за придобиване on the Bulgarian-parent / Bulgarian-origin band — т. 55 буква 'а' — was raised from 30 to 300 лв (≈ 153,39 €); the intermediate band т. 55 буква 'б' was raised from 10 to 100 лв (≈ 51,13 €); euro values apply from 01.01.2026 at the irrevocable rate 1 EUR = 1.95583 BGN. Where the minor follows the parent in a single combined application, prior cascade evidence indicated no separate child-component state fee, but the precise current per-line label↔tariff-item pairing is NOT primary-verified. Foreign documents add translation + Apostille/legalization costs (not a state fee). As of 01.07.2025 (BGN) / 01.01.2026 (EUR).

The core minor-derivative provisions (чл. 17, чл. 18(1), чл. 28) have NO substantive amendments and stand as consolidated to ДВ бр. 61/29.07.2025 — they are not part of any recent reform wave. The changes that DO touch the route are peripheral: (a) the state-fee hike — Тарифа № 1 т. 55 буква 'а' raised 30→300 лв by ПМС № 104/25.06.2025 (ДВ бр. 52/2025, в сила 01.07.2025); (b) the euro changeover (01.01.2026, rate 1.95583), re-denominating fees into EUR; (c) Наредба № 1 чл. 9 documentary chain last amended ДВ бр. 52/2018; (d) the Съвет по гражданството composition/suspension power adjusted by ДВ бр. 21/2021 and ДВ бр. 26/2022. NOTE on the broader ЗБГ: ДВ бр. 26/2022 repealed the investment route (чл. 12а/14а) and ДВ бр. 61/2025 added a 1-month terrorism-expedited revocation track (чл. 35(1) т. 7, в сила 31.01.2026) — neither touches the minor route. As of ЗБГ ДВ бр. 61/29.07.2025.

The competent authorities are: the Министерство на правосъдието (Ministry of Justice), Дирекция 'Българско гражданство', which receives the application and prepares the file; the Съвет по гражданството (Council on Citizenship, чл. 33), which gives the reasoned opinion and may suspend proceedings (чл. 33, нова ал. ДВ бр. 21/2021, изм. ДВ бр. 26/2022); the Министър на правосъдието, who proposes to the President (чл. 34); and the Президент на Републиката, who decides by указ (чл. 36; Конституция чл. 98 т. 9 — the President grants/restores/releases/deprives citizenship). For minor applications abroad, the Bulgarian diplomatic/consular mission is the intake point that forwards via the МВнР with a mandatory opinion. As of ЗБГ ДВ бр. 61/29.07.2025.

A child who acquires Bulgarian citizenship derivatively is strongly protected against loss. Involuntary loss reaches ONLY naturalized citizens: revocation (отмяна, чл. 22) for false/concealed data within 10 years (with a terrorism carve-out) and deprivation (лишаване, чл. 24) of a naturalized citizen abroad finally convicted of a тежко престъпление против републиката who is not left stateless. Critically, no spillover reaches the child: чл. 23 — revocation of one parent's naturalization does NOT reach the child UNLESS the child acquired citizenship on the same false/concealed data; чл. 25 — deprivation of one parent does not change the child's citizenship. If the child's own acquisition is characterised as derivative-by-descent rather than personal naturalization, Const. чл. 25(3) (birth-citizens cannot be deprived) further insulates it. Any loss entailing loss of Union citizenship requires an individualized proportionality review (Rottmann/Tjebbes/JY). As of ЗБГ ДВ бр. 61/29.07.2025.