r/HUcitizenship

Hi everyone,

My partner and I are trying to decide whether it’s worth pursuing a Hungarian citizenship verification case with a lawyer or whether we should skip straight to simplified naturalization and begin the long process of learning Hungarian.

Our long term goal is to relocate permanently to Europe, so we’re trying to make the smartest investment of our time and money.

Her Family Line:

My fiancée is the great-granddaughter of two people born in what was the Kingdom of Hungary:

- Great-grandfather: Born in Mazloc (Muzsik) 20 ish mins to Lippa (Now Lipova in Romania) in 1891, emigrated to the U.S. in 1911 at 20 years old.

- Great-grandmother: Born in Nemetghut (Dutch Kaltenbrunn), Kingdom of Hungary, (Now in Austria) later emigrated to the U.S.

- Grandmother: Born in the United States.

- Father: Born in the United States.

- My fiancée: Born in the United States.

The standard answer we’ve received is that because her great-grandfather emigrated before 1929, the Hungarian citizenship chain was broken.

However, during our research we’ve come across a possible legal argument involving:

- Section 31 of Act L of 1879 (the 10-year absence rule)
- Act XX of 1877 (legal majority at age 24)
Whether someone who emigrated at age 20 could have had the 10-year absence period delayed until reaching legal majority.
Suggesting that because my fiancée’s great-grandfather emigrated in 1911 at age 20, and because the historical age of majority under Act XX of 1877 has been described as 24, there may be an argument that the 10-year absence period under Section 31 of Act L of 1879 did not begin until he reached legal majority. We have no idea whether this is a recognized legal argument, a fringe interpretation, or something that has never been accepted in practice….which is exactly why we’re asking.

I’m not asking Reddit to decide whether this argument is legally correct. We’re trying to determine whether this is the type of argument that experienced Hungarian nationality lawyers have successfully explored, or whether it’s generally considered a dead end before we spend money on legal representation.

Some Questions:
• Has anyone here had a citizenship verification case involving a pre-Trianon emigrant or another historically complex case?
• Has anyone actually seen this argument raised successfully (or unsuccessfully) in a Hungarian citizenship verification case? If so, was it taken seriously by the Hungarian authorities or the courts?
• If you were in our position, would you pay to have this evaluated by a specialist, or would you move directly to simplified naturalization?
• If verification isn’t realistic, we’ll likely pursue simplified naturalization instead.

My partner has a demanding career and struggles with anxiety, so she’s feeling pretty overwhelmed by the idea of learning Hungarian…especially since so many people describe it as one of the hardest languages to learn. Our goal is to relocate to Europe within the next 1–1.5 years, so hearing from people who’ve actually gone through either process would mean a lot to us.
(We live in Los Angeles, so we would be dealing with that consulate)

For anyone who has completed simplified naturalization:

• How long did it actually take you to reach interview level?
• How many hours per week did you study?
• Did you work full-time while learning?
• How long did Budapest take after your interview before approval?
• How long until your oath ceremony and passport?
• Looking back, what do you wish you had known before starting?

We’re hoping to hear from people who’ve actually gone through either process or worked with lawyers on complicated Hungarian citizenship cases.
Any experiences, recommendations, or reality checks would be greatly appreciated. Thank you!

Szervusztok! I’m currently in the process of learning Hungarian and amassing my docs for citizenship, but in the next couple of years, I’m aiming to move to Hungary (not sure how permanent the relocation’d be tho). My big concern is getting a job as someone with foreign (maybe useless idk) degrees in k-6 education and Indigenous Studies and French.

Has anyone successfully moved who has practical advice, or who knows what job opportunities are like for non-locals, weigh in? I’d be open to anything in childcare, education, hospitality, non-profit, customer service, etc as long as I’d be able to earn enough to live independently and offset relocation costs.

If it makes a difference, I’d want to live in northeastern Hungary nearer to where my grandmother was from. My primary motivation for moving is to immerse myself in the culture and language.

I'm a Hungarian language teacher and I've been helping students prepare for the citizenship interview for a while now. One of my students recently passed his interview and I'm planning to sit down with him for a video conversation about her experience.

Before I do, I wanted to ask this community, what would YOU want to know? I want to keep the focus on the language learning and interview preparation side of things rather than the paperwork and administrative process, since that's where my expertise lies.

A few directions I'm thinking about, but open to anything:

What was the language portion of the interview actually like?

What did you wish you had known or practiced beforehand?

What was the most surprising or challenging part of the language test?

How did you prepare, and what actually helped?

Drop your questions in the comments and I'll do my best to include the most relevant ones in the interview!

Hi everyone,

I need some realistic advice regarding bureaucratic timelines in Budapest. I am traveling to the city next week to handle some urgent official tasks and then catch a flight back home.

Here is my situation for Thursday:

Task 1: Go to the Kormányablak (government office) to apply for a Student ID.

Task 2: Go to the Post Office (Posta) right after to finish up the mailing/payment process.

The Catch: I must leave the city center for the airport by 2:00 PM (14:00) at the absolute latest to catch my flight.

I am not sure if I can secure an online appointment for that exact morning yet.

My questions for locals or anyone experienced with this:

If I show up at Kormányablak right when they open (or very early) without an appointment, how long does the queue usually take for a Student ID application?

Which specific Kormányablak district office is generally the fastest or least crowded?

Is finishing both the government office and the post office by 2:00 PM doable, or am I cutting it way too close?

Any tips, tricks, or specific office recommendations to speed up the process would be highly appreciated. Köszönöm!

Hello!

I am South African however my grandfather was born and raised in Hungary, and left in 1957, and became a South African citizen in 1969.

I have his birth certificate, Hungarian ID book, as well as marriage certificate to my South African grandmother.

The embassy here is not the most helpful and I am looking for how I can apply for a Hungarian passport for myself and my wife.

I am just not sure what process needs to be followed.

Any assistance is greatly appreciated!

Hi all, me and my mother are Hungarian citizens, but my father isn’t. My mum and dad have been married 37 years and I have read that he may be able to apply for citizenship as they have been married over 10 years?
The issue is he has never lived in Hungary and has lived in the UK all his life.

Does anyone have any experience of gaining citizenship through marriage?

Thanks

Hello,

I am trying to determine what will be needed specifically to apply for simplified Naturalization.

I have some documents and have found some information online but I'm trying to determine:

- What else will be needed
-The simplest path for next research with a genealogist

Both of my Great Grandparents were Hungarian.

My great grandfather (Sandor Nagy) was born 2/19/1885 and per his naturalization documents he immigrated to NYC arriving on September 5th 1901. However I can't find him on any ship passenger list, or any documents pertaining to him from the Hungarian side.

Per his declaration he was born in Pisanicz Austria Hungary and lists last foreign residence as Milincka Hungary.

He married a woman in the US in 1911, and got divorced in 1923 before marrying my great grandmother in October 1923. (I found copies of that marriage and divorce record via family search).

My great grandmother (Jolan Horvathy/ Horvati/ Horvazt ) was born 4/23/1901 and came to NYC on 1/19/1921.

She was listed as married on her arrival documents with her husband staying in Hungary with the name of Janos Herczeg. Her Birth place and last residence is listed as Viacevo Cz, SL.

I found a PA court degree stating her divorced from her first husband in 1923 (as part of her marriage application to marry Alex). However, the decree lists her first husband's name as "Sandor Herczeg".

I also know the names and DOB of siblings of Yolan, As well as her parents names, and when all of them came to the US.

I have more information relating to Yolan- but I believe with the first marriage in Hungary I will need to have a geneologist there look for:

-Her Birth Certificate
-Her first Marriage certificate to Janos Herczeg

-And I'm unsure if they would also need to find her first husband's birth certificate as well to prove he was also Hungarian?

My other option is looking into Alex Nagy- but I have much less information on that side. However I believe I would only need:

- His Hungarian Birth Certificate

If any one has any insight on the overall process, thoughts on best routes, suggestions, or information on specifically what documents will be needed that would be greatly greatly appreciated.

I’m doing Hungarian/Jewish genealogical and citizenship research for my family from Munkács/Munkatcher and I would like to contact Munkatcher Beis Medrash in Brooklyn by email.
Does anyone have a current email address for the Beis Medrash (shul office/gabai)?
If you have it, please comment or DM me. Tysm.

I was wondering if anyone here has gone through the simplified naturalization process as the spouse of a Hungarian citizen? My husband and kids became Hungarian citizens a few years ago, and I would like to also get citizenship through this process. I’m wondering if anyone has done this as the spouse of a naturalized citizen and what the exact requirements are.

Peter Magyar plans to pass a new constitution, with consultations starting in September.

Do you think Simplified naturalization will be part of the discussion? All speculation at this point, but why not start talking about it?

Unfortunately, I have let my Hungarian passport expire and now I need to get my citizenship verified. I grew up in Hungary total seclusion without any knowledge of my family details. I am looking for information on how to get research help on my parents and grandparents, all Hungarians but of course there are no online records available due to the laws of the country. In order to get paper records ordered, I would need exact details which I do not know. I have my mom's birth name, date and city but I only know my dad's name, no other information. My birth certificate only has their names, no further details on them. Both were Hungarian, passed away a while back. How would I go about finding their marriage license records from the 1960s in order for me to get my dad's details? Also, same for both, how would I get their birth records searched in order to get my grand parents' details? Without all these details, I cannot fill out my Citizenship Verification document. Do I need to hire a local, living in Hungary, representative like a paralegal?