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Among others interested in receiving Bulgarian citizenship are Serbians, Montenegrins, Moldavians and Russians.The enthusiasm of Eastern European pretendants for Bulgarian citizenship is related, by critics, to Bulgaria’s forthcoming EU membership. An article in The Guardian on September 2 reported that the number of British living in Bulgaria had doubled in the past year. As reported by Bulgarian-language news agency Focus, 5656 people received Bulgarian citizenship from the beginning of 2006. As The Sofia Echo reported on November 10, from the day Bulgaria joins the European Union, Macedonians will be able to apply for free-of-charge Bulgarian visas. Bulgarian Vice President Angel Marin told national commercial television channel bTV on November 12 that the number of applications for Bulgarian citizenship in recent years had gone up dramatically. Each year the number of Westerners keen on receiving at least Bulgarian residency is increasing, with British citizens being the most prolific. For many of those already holding Bulgarian passports, the procedure has been facilitated, as they are of Bulgarian descent. He said that the growth in applications, and corresponding rejections, had risen. However, Marin did not agree with this view, saying that the motivation behind the citizenship requests was not related to EU entry or the benefits for Bulgarian citizens related to it.But it is not just Eastern Europeans interested in Bulgaria. It shows that while the majority of British live close to the seaside, there are settlers spread all across the country. Known drug traffickers figured among the applicants, with some being under investigation or wanted by Interpol, Marin said. Marin has the final say on the granting of Bulgarian citizenship. Marin said that 929 applications were rejected because they were submitted by people with a criminal history. More than 1150 were given residency in 2005 alone. Most requests came from Macedonians and such hopefuls are likely to increase even more from January 1 2007. Much speculation has been floating around regarding the drastic interest by Macedonians citizens to receive Bulgarian passports. Numbers vary from 10 000 to 20 000 for Macedonians who have received their Bulgarian ID cards over the past five years.In July 2006, German newspaper Die Welt reported that about 20 000 Macedonians already had obtained Bulgarian citizenship, and 20 000 more have applied for it. The limited access to the British labour market will not resolve any of the problems on which the decision to impose job restrictions for Bulgarian and Romanian workers was grounded, said Petrov. The time now is 07:12 PM.Advertise -Link to us -Contact Us -We Love Bulgaria -Archive -TopPowered by vBulletin® Version 3.6.7Copyright ©2000 - 2008, Jelsoft Enterprises Ltd. They were denied citizenship because they were considered a threat to national security, he said. Thus, he claims, the assertion that Bulgarians will get rich is ridiculous.