According to the law, the child of a Hungarian citizen becomes a Hungarian citizen at birth, regardless of the place of birth. Births abroad must also be registered in Hungary.
However, it can be obtained not only by birth, but also by application if the applicant has the right eligibility. The procedure for obtaining Hungarian citizenship is naturalization. There are several ways of naturalization:
- naturalization in a traditional procedure
- referencial naturalization
- simplified naturalization
- repatriation
- naturalization in the interest of Hungary
- obtaining Hungarian citizenship with a declaration
The most common of these are detailed below: naturalization, referencial naturalization and simplified naturalization.
NATURALIZATION
A non-Hungarian citizen can apply
- whose place of residence was continuously in Hungary for the eight years prior to the submission of the application, and
- according to Hungarian law, who has no criminal record, and no criminal proceedings are pending against him/her in a Hungarian court at the time the application is considered, and
- certifies that his/her residence and means of living in Hungary are secured, and
- his/her naturalization does not harm the public safety and national security of Hungary, and
- proves that he/she has successfully passed an exam in Hungarian for basic constitutional knowledge, or is exempted from this by law.
In the case of minors, continuous residence in Hungary can be waived if they apply for naturalization together with their parents, or if their parents have acquired Hungarian citizenship.
REFERENCIAL NATURALIZATION
A non-Hungarian citizen may apply if he or she has continuously resided in Hungary for five years preceding the submission of the application and
- He/she was born in Hungary, or
- established a residence in Hungary during his/her minor years,
- according to Hungarian law, who has no criminal record, and no criminal proceedings are pending against him/her in a Hungarian court at the time the application is considered, and
- certifies that his/her residence and means of living in Hungary are secured, and
- his/her naturalization does not harm the public safety and national security of Hungary, and
- proves that he/she has successfully passed an exam in Hungarian for basic constitutional knowledge, or is exempted from this by law.
A non-Hungarian citizen who has continuously resided in Hungary for three years prior to the submission of his/her application can also be naturalized by referencial naturalization, if
- he/she has been married to a Hungarian citizen for at least three years, or the marriage ended with the death of the spouse, or
- his or her minor child is a Hungarian citizen, or
- he/she is an adult who was adopted by a Hungarian citizen, or
- he/she is recognized as a refugee by the Hungarian authorities, or
- who is stateless
and
- according to Hungarian law, who has no criminal record, and no criminal proceedings are pending against him/her in a Hungarian court at the time the application is considered, and
- certifies that his/her residence and means of living in Hungary are secured, and
- his/her naturalization does not harm the public safety and national security of Hungary, and
- proves that he/she has successfully passed an exam in Hungarian for basic constitutional knowledge, or is exempted from this by law.
A non-Hungarian minor who was adopted by a Hungarian citizen can also be naturalized by referencial naturalization, if
- according to Hungarian law, who has no criminal record, and no criminal proceedings are pending against him/her in a Hungarian court at the time the application is considered, and
- his/her naturalization does not harm the public safety and national security of Hungary
In the case of minors, continuous residence in Hungary can be waived if they apply for naturalization together with their parents, or if their parents have acquired Hungarian citizenship.
SIMPLIFIED NATURALIZATION
Regardless of the duration of residence in Hungary, a non-Hungarian citizen who
- has been married for at least ten years to a person who is a Hungarian citizen at the time of submitting the citizenship application, or
- has been married for at least five years to a person who is a Hungarian citizen at the time of submitting the citizenship application, and they have a child together,
and
- according to Hungarian law, who has no criminal record, and no criminal proceedings are pending against him/her in a Hungarian court at the time the application is considered, and
- his/her naturalization does not harm the public safety and national security of Hungary, and
- can prove the knowledge of the Hungarian language (this is checked by the authority receiving the application).
Regardless of the duration of residence in Hungary, a non-Hungarian citizen can be naturalized if his/her ancestor was a Hungarian citizen, or who proveshis/her Hungarian origin and proves his/her knowledge of the Hungarian language (this is checked by the authority receiving the application),
and
- according to Hungarian law, who has no criminal record, and no criminal proceedings are pending against him/her in a Hungarian court at the time the application is considered, and
- his/her naturalization does not harm the public safety and national security of Hungary
Proof of Hungarian language skills can be waived in the case of incapacitated persons.
GOOD TO KNOW: A minor with limited legal capacity or a person with limited legal capacity or an incapacitated person do not need to take an exam in basic constitutional knowledge. In addition, those who graduated from a school, secondary school or higher education institution teaching in Hungarian do not have to take the exam. Those who have reached the age of 60 at the time of submitting the application, or who prove that they are unable to take the exam due to a permanent and irreversible deterioration of their health, do not have to take the exam in basic constitutional knowledge.
GOOD TO KNOW: In those cases in which the legislation calculates the duration of residence from the existence of a residence in Hungary, it can only apply to those statuses in which the applicant has a residential address card. Such e.g. settled, immigrant, refugee status, or an EEA citizen with a registration certificate. For this reason, the period spent in Hungary with a residence permit issued for various purposes is not included in the countable period, since the residence permit does not come with a residential address card, but only with an accommodation report form. The law refers to the place of residence as the permanent place of residence, which, in the case of a residence permit, is still the person’s permanent residence abroad.
WHO CAN SUBMIT THE APPLICATION FOR NATURALIZATION?
The citizenship application can only be submitted in person, an authorized representative cannot submit the application. The legal representative can act on behalf of the person with limited capacity to act or the person who is incapable of acting.
WHERE CAN THE APPLICATION FOR NATURALIZATION BE SUBMITTED?
- at the district or capital district office of the capital and county government office, or
- in the integrated customer service office of the capital and county government office (government window), or
- at the Hungarian consular officer, or
- at the authority dealing with citizenship matters, i.e. at the Government Office of the Capital City of Budapest
WHAT CAN WE HELP YOU WITH?
- comprehensive advice during the administration process
- preparing, filling out, collecting and checking the documents required for submitting the application
- if requested, escort when submitting the application
HOW MUCH DOES THE SERVICE COST?
Ask us for a quote now! Requesting an offer and preliminary consultation and needs assessment are free of charge. If you prefer to speak with our consultant, call us!