General information concerning the acquisition of Hungarian Citizenship
Main applicable laws:
– Act LX of 1993 on Hungarian citizenship,
– Government Decree No. 125/1993 (IX.22.) on the Execution of Act LV of 1993 on Hungarian Citizenship
There are three main ways of obtaining citizenship in Hungary:
1. Via an 8-year residency
2. Preferential naturalization Type 1 – via a 3-year residency if
- the applicant has been married to a Hungarian citizen for more than 3 years or
- the applicant’s minor child is a Hungarian citizen or
- the applicant has been adopted bz a Hungarian citizen or
- the person has been recognized as a refugee.
3. Preferential naturalization Type 2 – based on ancestors
Upon request a non-Hungarian citizen whose ascendant was a Hungarian citizen or who is able to serve reason to believe his or her origin is from Hungary and he proves his knowledge of the Hungarian language may be naturalized on preferential terms. Additional criteria are that according to Hungarian law the person has a clean criminal record, and at the time of the assessment of the application, there are no criminal proceedings in progress against you before a Hungarian court; and his/her naturalization does not violate the interests of Hungary.
How can you substantiate the applicant’s or his/her ancestors’s former Hungarian citizenship?
The applicant has to submit (in addition to his/her birth certificate and certificates of marital status), the documents giving evidence of former Hungarian citizenship of the applicant or his/her ancestors. Hungarian origins or Hungarian citizenship of the applicant or his/her ancestors can be proved by several documents, eg. ancestors’ birth certificate, marriage or death certificate, pastor/parson’s certificate (dated prior to 1895), former Hungarian certificates such as former certificate of citizenship, certificate of naturalization and re-naturalization, certificate of expatriation, expired Hungarian passport, expired personal identification document, certificate of residence, Hungarian military card, certificate of change of name, school certificates.
There are many other aspects of the naturalization process (e.g. exact conditions, required documents). If you need further information, you can contact us at our Contact page.