Bulgarian passports: existential necessity or identity crisis?

Abstract

The introduction of the Schengen visa regime - as a defence mechanism to prevent immigration in the European Community - imposed restriction on the mobility to the ex-Yugoslav countries, which used to travel freely before its brake up in 1989. However, the imposition of the visa regime did not prevent migration from the Western Balkan countries. On the contrary, it augmented illegal ways to cross the border and incited many citizens to apply for a foreign passport. Prior the visa liberalization granted to Western Balkan countries in 2010, an increased demand of Bulgarian passport was noted by citizens from Macedonia. This phenomenon picked notably after Bulgaria entered the EU in 2007. This paper will focus on Bulgarian passport acquisition by Macedonian citizens seen as a tool of free movement within the Europe Union and opportunity to work in its member states. It will analyze the application for Bulgarian official documents, its causes and possible consequences. By examining the above mentioned case-study, my attempt is to open a debate on whether the increased foreign passport acquisition is solely driven by existential reasons or it has hidden identity grounds.