Hungarian citizenship

Over the years, the process of examining entitlement to Hungarian citizenship has become more complicated, and since the laws governing the acquisition of citizenship have been tightened and each application is rigorously examined in terms of both substantive entitlement and the probative value of the documents supporting it, the handling of an application takes many years.

Arranging the entitlement to Hungarian citizenship through the firm’s skilled team increases the likelihood of Hungarian citizenship being obtained and drastically reduces the processing time.
Having the arrangement of Hungarian citizenship handled by someone who is not well versed in all the intricacies of the law, may cause damage in the process of obtaining citizenship that cannot be rectified, even by experts in the field.

Who is entitled to Hungarian citizenship?

First Track

Entitlement to Hungarian citizenship based on consanguinity, without knowledge of the Hungarian language
Hungarian citizenship is transmitted by consanguinity, that is, the applicant must be a direct descendant of a Hungarian citizen. There is no need to renounce Israeli citizenship and no knowledge of the Hungarian language required in order to acquire Hungarian citizenship.
Hungarian law distinguishes between persons who were born before and after 01.10.1957:
An applicant for a Hungarian citizenship certificate who was born before 01.10.1957 must prove that his father (as opposed to his mother) was a Hungarian citizen and that his citizenship was not revoked.
In addition, he may prove that his mother held Hungarian citizenship, in which case the Hungarian citizenship shall be granted by the Hungarian President, but shall not be transferable to the applicant’s offspring who were born before it was granted.
On the other hand, an applicant for a Hungarian citizenship certificate who was born after 01.10.1957 need only prove that either his father or his mother was a Hungarian citizen and that his or her citizenship was not revoked. In this case all the applicant’s offspring shall be entitled to receive Hungarian citizenship.
In cases where the father is of Hungarian extraction and the mother held a different nationality, the origin of the applicant’s mother shall also be carefully examined, and in many cases, due to various dual citizenship conventions between Hungary and Eastern European states, the application for Hungarian citizenship shall be denied.

Second Track

Entitlement to Hungarian citizenship based on consanguinity, subject to knowledge of the Hungarian language
Any applicant who is not eligible under the first track, or any descendant of a person who was born in “Greater Hungary” (that is, on Hungarian territory prior to the First World War, which
includes Transylvania in Romania, Slovakia, the Carpathian region of Ukraine, and some of the countries that emerged from the former Yugoslavia), and who has an average command of Hungarian, is entitled to receive Hungarian citizenship.
Children under the age of 14 are entitled to receive Hungarian citizenship provided that one of their parents has an average command of Hungarian.
All applications must be supported by appropriate documents which prove entitlement to Hungarian citizenship. Where necessary, the firm undertakes the tracing of the relevant documents in Hungary, Romania, Slovakia, Ukraine and Serbia.
Over the years, the firm has handled hundreds of Hungarian citizenship applications which require an average command of the Hungarian language, including for applicants who were not Hungarian speakers at the start of the process.

For further details and a preliminary eligibility assessment for Hungarian citizenship, please contact the office.