Sofia, June 1 (BTA) - More than 10,000 persons from Macedonia have applied for Bulgarian citizenship, Bulgarian Justice Minister Tsetska Tsacheva said here on Friday, addressing Parliament during Question Time.



Within one year, 18,921 applications have been submitted and as many case files for change of Bulgarian citizenship have been opened. Of these, 17,793 case files are for acquisition of Bulgarian citizenship, 774 for resumption, and 354 for release from such citizenship.



Of the applications for Bulgarian citizenship, 1,013 have been submitted by persons from Serbia, 851 by persons from Moldova, 763 by persons from Turkey, 510 by persons from Albania, 372 by persons from Israel, and 359 by persons from Russia.



Out of the total number of case files opened, 16,313 have been examined and 9,848 applications have been granted, leading to a proposal for a presidential decree. Another 895 applications for citizenship have been refused, and further documents have been requested for still another part.



Tsacheva noted that applicants for Bulgarian citizens come mainly from places with compact Bulgarian communities: Macedonia, Ukraine, Moldova, Russia and Serbia.

Source: Sofia