Becoming a Hungarian citizen

The rules for obtaining Hungarian citizenship are complicated and there are many exceptions to and exempts from the general rules, which many people are not aware of. In addition, there are many procedural terminologies for which it is worth using the help of an expert attorney to clarify and assess them. Overall, we think that the citizenship procedure is a minefield where a foreigner who wishes to acquire Hungarian citizenship may encounter many obstacles. Our law firm specializes in such procedures and successfully assists foreigners with these types of cases.

Whatever the type of citizenship procedure we are talking about, we always tell our Clients that these are lengthy matters and, they don’t last 1-2 months. Many Hungarian authorities are involved: the Government Office of the Capital City Budapest, the Office of the President of the Republic (Sándor Palace), relevant ministries, internal security authorities, etc. Therefore, those hoping for a quick decision will be disappointed, because these are particularly slow procedures. You should also know that if the President of the Republic rejects the naturalization application, it cannot be appealed or brought to court.

Basically, 8 years of continuous residence in Hungary is required to apply. However, often comes the question of whether anyone can apply for citizenship staying in Hungary for at least 8 years (for example someone who is only here with a simple temporary residence permit). The answer is NO. The law only considers a person living in Hungary – from the date of address is officially registered – who has permanent immigrant or settled status, or a refugee, or has the right of free movement and residence (and this latter has obtained a registration certificate). But even this is not enough, as residence in Hungary must be continuous, which requires a separate explanation (lengthy subject of a legal consultation).

In addition to the above, there are several other conditions, such as, for example, a clean criminal record and the granting of citizenship to the foreigner does not harm the public safety and national security of Hungary. In addition, as a general rule, you have to take an exam on basic constitutional knowledge in Hungarian, but there are also a lot of exceptions to this. Perhaps the most important thing, however, is that Hungarian residence and livelihood must be properly verified. Proof of residence is not complicated, but at the same time, adequate proof of living in Hungary often leads to the rejection of citizenship applications. Proof of adequate financial background requires careful preparation and extensive documentation. Most applicants who enter the process alone without an attorney will fail because of the lack of adequate proof of living in Hungary.

Of course, as we mentioned above, there are many exceptions and exempts, the discussion of which belongs to a legal consultation. For example, those who have or had a Hungarian spouse, as well as those whose minor child is a Hungarian citizen, or those who themselves were born in Hungary or established a residence in Hungary during their minor years, can count on different discounts. These exempts can be of several types: e.g. shorter continuous residence in Hungary – e.g. just 3 or 5 years, or in some cases you don’t have to prove your livelihood in Hungary, or you don’t have to take a citizenship test, it’s even possible that you don’t even have to prove your knowledge of the Hungarian language. In the case of a Hungarian spouse, after a certain period spent together, there is even the possibility that you do not even have to live in Hungary, but you can still apply for citizenship.

From the ordinary citizenship procedure, it’s fully different when someone starts a proceeding for simplified naturalization with reference to Hungarian ancestry, or requests to establish their existing citizenship. We wrote about this in more detail here: https://wagnerlaw.hu/verification-of-hungarian-citizenship-or-simplified-naturalization/

If someone is determined to acquire Hungarian citizenship, then he should do so with the help and cooperation of an expert attorney, because without this one may make mistakes or run into obstacles that are very difficult to correct later, even if later an attorney is asked to help by the foreigner applicant. Our immigration and citizenship team is here and ready to assist you.