Hungarian Citizenship Through a Parent

Claiming Hungarian simplified naturalization through a parent with Hungarian ancestry — one fewer generation of documents than the grandparent path, same process under §4(3) (simplified naturalization) of Act LV of 1993 on Hungarian Citizenship.

Last verified: September 6, 2026 · Maintained by The Next Passport (Warner Creates LLC).

The Next Passport is not affiliated with the Hungarian government or any Hungarian consulate. Content is informational only and is not legal advice.

One less generation of paperwork — simpler document chain than grandparent path

When claiming through a parent, you only need to document two generations — yourself and your parent — back to the Hungarian ancestor. Compare this to the grandparent path, where you must document three generations. The simplified naturalization process (egyszerűsített honosítás) under §4(3) of Act LV of 1993 is identical; the document chain is simply shorter.

Two scenarios: which applies to you?

The path forward depends on whether your parent has already obtained Hungarian citizenship or not.

Scenario A: Your parent is already a Hungarian citizen

Whether you are already a Hungarian citizen yourself depends on the facts of your own birth, which the eligibility check asks about. A person who is already a Hungarian citizen does not naturalize; they ask for a certificate of citizenship (állampolgársági bizonyítvány, §11 of Act LV of 1993).

Important: consult an attorney before filing

If your parent is already a Hungarian citizen, do not file a naturalization application before consulting a licensed Hungarian attorney. Filing naturalization when you may already be a citizen by birth can create unnecessary complications. An attorney will review your parent's citizenship status and advise on the correct document to apply for.

Scenario B: Your parent has Hungarian ancestry but has not yet applied

This is the most common scenario covered on this page. If your parent has Hungarian ancestry — through their own parent or earlier ancestor — but has not yet naturalized, you and your parent can apply simultaneously under §4(3) of Act LV of 1993. Both of you submit a separate Honosítási- visszahonosítási kérelem and attend consular appointments. Each of you must independently demonstrate conversational Hungarian language ability. Budapest Főváros Kormányhivatala, the citizenship authority in Budapest, reviews both files, and both applicants receive separate approval notifications and fogadalom (oath) invitations.

Requirements for the applicant

1. Hungarian ancestry through your parent

You must document an unbroken ancestry line from yourself through your parent to the qualifying Hungarian ancestor. Each generation link requires the relevant vital records: birth certificate connecting you to your parent, and your parent's birth certificate or other records connecting them to the Hungarian ancestor. What has to go with each record follows the country that issued it: a US-issued document needs an apostille and a certified Hungarian translation, while a record issued by an EU Member State is exempt from legalisation and from the apostille under Regulation (EU) 2016/1191 art. 4.

2. Conversational Hungarian language ability

The language requirement is the same regardless of the generation you claim through. You must demonstrate conversational Hungarian proficiency at your consulate appointment. Unlike the Portuguese or German citizenship pathways, Hungary does not require a formal language exam or standardized certificate. Instead, a consular officer holds a conversation with you in Hungarian — and you attach a short autobiographical statement (önéletrajz) in your own handwriting, written in advance on the prescribed application form. The level is: Intermediate-level (középszint) two-way Hungarian — no exam or certificate; assessed by conversation with the consular officer. You do not need to pass a written test or achieve a specific CEFR level. Act LV of 1993, 4. § (8): «A magyar nyelvtudás igazolásától el lehet tekinteni cselekvőképtelen személyek esetében.» (Hungarian text; no English rendering published.) The check applies from age 14.

3. Clean criminal record

§4(1)(b) of Act LV of 1993, incorporated by §4(3), asks about Hungarian criminal records — no conviction under Hungarian law and no proceeding pending before a Hungarian court. That is a Hungarian-record condition, and the Hungarian authority checks it itself. An FBI Identity History Summary is not on the mandatory-attachments (kötelező mellékletek) list, and no US post publishes it as a requirement. Posts do sometimes ask for supplementary documents, so ask the post serving your consular district whether it wants a criminal-history report before you order one. If it does, ask in the same message what issue date it will accept — we do not publish a validity window, because no Hungarian source states one.

4. Oath of citizenship (fogadalom) upon approval

After your application is approved — under §6(1) the decision belongs to the President of the Republic, on the proposal of the minister responsible for citizenship affairs — you are invited to take the fogadalom — the citizenship oath or affirmation. Under §7(1)(c) the location is your choice: before any Hungarian mayor or the head of any Hungarian diplomatic mission. You declare that choice on the application form, and may change it once up to five days beforehand. Watch the deadline — the naturalization certificate lapses if the oath is not taken within one year of the first invitation. Citizenship is acquired on the day of the oath, after which you can apply for a Hungarian identity card and passport.

Documents needed — parent path

The parent path requires documents for two generations rather than three. A US-issued record is apostilled by the issuing state's Secretary of State and filed with a certified Hungarian translation. Who may certify that translation, and for which documents, is set out on our Hungarian cost calculator page, under “Who May Certify the Translation — and What That Costs”. Which of §14(5) b)'s exceptions reach a particular record is a question for the post serving your consular district; the Act does not write them as a closed list.

Your documents (the applicant)

• Honosítási- visszahonosítási kérelem — the official simplified naturalization application form, filled in before the appointment
• Your birth certificate — a US record is apostilled and filed with a certified Hungarian translation. A record issued by an EU Member State is not: Regulation (EU) 2016/1191 art. 4 exempts it from legalisation and from the apostille alike. Who may certify the translation is set out on our Hungarian cost calculator page, under “Who May Certify the Translation — and What That Costs”
• Valid photo ID (US passport or driver's license)
• FBI criminal background check — only if your post asks for one; not a mandatory attachment
• 2 passport-style photos per consulate requirements
• Handwritten autobiographical CV in Hungarian (önéletrajz) — written in your own hand, in advance, on the application form

Your parent's documents

• Birth certificate
• Marriage certificate (if applicable)
• Death certificate (if deceased)
• Documentation connecting your parent to the Hungarian ancestor — may include their own birth certificate showing parentage, or the Hungarian ancestor's documents

What goes with each of those three follows §14(5) of Act LV of 1993 and not the document type: authentication follows the country that issued the record, a certified Hungarian translation follows the language it was issued in, and both limbs yield by name to a directly applicable EU act. A US record is apostilled and translated. A record issued by an EU Member State is exempt from legalisation and from the apostille under Regulation (EU) 2016/1191 art. 4. Who may certify a translation, and for which documents, is set out on our Hungarian cost calculator page, under “Who May Certify the Translation — and What That Costs”.

Hungarian qualifying ancestor documents

• Birth record — from whichever country's registry holds the register for the birthplace today. Inside Hungary that is a Hungarian anyakönyvi kivonat from the állami anyakönyv; in territory ceded after 1920 the register went with the territory, so it comes from the registry of the country that holds that place now. What has to be attached then follows §14(5) of Act LV of 1993 — authentication by the issuing country, translation by the language the extract is in — and both limbs yield to a directly applicable EU act. Where the registry is in an EU Member State — among them Slovakia, Romania, Croatia, Slovenia and Austria, while Ukraine and Serbia are not — Regulation (EU) 2016/1191 art. 4 exempts the extract from legalisation and from the apostille alike. Confirm with your post before you pay for either.
• Hungarian citizenship proof — Hungarian passport, identity card (személyi), or civil registry extract showing Hungarian citizenship
• Pre-1895 church records (if born before 1895) — Hungarian civil registration began in 1895; earlier records are in church parish registers (anyakönyvek)
• Option declaration (if from a Trianon ceded territory) — for ancestors who retained Hungarian citizenship after 1920 by filing an option declaration

Who may certify a translation

OFFI (Országos Fordító és Fordításhitelesítő Iroda) is Hungary's official translation authority. Who may certify a translation, and for which documents, is set out on our Hungarian cost calculator page, under “Who May Certify the Translation — and What That Costs”. There is no US-based OFFI-certified translator credential to look for. The New York Consulate General says that for an English-language document it can certify a translation you prepared yourself, for a consular fee. That fee is charged per page, paid to the consulate, and quoted by direction: under the schedule effective 1 August 2026, New York lists USD 23 per page to certify an into-Hungarian translation you supply and USD 40 per page for the post to translate the document into Hungarian. Going the other way, out of Hungarian, costs USD 35 and USD 52 — but that is not something a Hungarian application needs. Confirm the current fee with the post serving your district — only New York publishes a retrievable schedule.

The Hungarian language interview

The conversational Hungarian interview is the aspect of the application that most Americans find daunting — but it is less formal than it sounds.

At your appointment, a consular officer speaks with you in Hungarian to assess your ability to communicate. It is not a standardized exam — there is no passing score, no CEFR band, and no certificate to produce; the Los Angeles Consulate General states plainly that the ability need not be proved by a language exam. There is, however, a stated level: since the 28/2020 government decree the requirement is intermediate (középszint) two-way communication, with comprehension and expression both at that level, and you are expected to answer the officer’s questions on your own in full sentences rather than single words. Speaking in dialect, or somewhat brokenly, is expressly not a problem. The conversation starts from your Hungarian-language form and your handwritten önéletrajz and moves on to everyday subjects — where you grew up, your connection to Hungary, your family background. Intermediate-level (középszint) two-way Hungarian — no exam or certificate; assessed by conversation with the consular officer is the summary. You attach the önéletrajz in your own handwriting, written in advance on the prescribed application form.

Format: Conversational interview with a consular officer + a handwritten önéletrajz prepared in advance on the application form
Level required: Intermediate-level (középszint) two-way Hungarian — no exam or certificate; assessed by conversation with the consular officer
No certificate needed: Unlike Portuguese (A2 CIPLE) or some German pathways, no formal language certificate is required
Preparation tips: Heritage Hungarian courses, community language programs, or private tutoring with a Hungarian speaker are common preparation paths. Practice describing your family history and reason for applying in Hungarian
Children:Minors included in a parent's naturalization application are not exempt from the language check: it applies from age 14, posts may check an under-14 who will turn 14 before the procedure ends, and for a minor lacking capacity the legal representative's Hungarian is assessed. What minors do not have is a separate procedure

Historical situations that change what you document

Each of these is a loss the ancestor suffered, and §4(3) asks whether a felmenő magyar állampolgár volt— WAS a Hungarian citizen — not whether the citizenship survived. So none of them is a condition of the application; what they change is which records you have to produce, and where those records are held. With a parent-generation claim, you may encounter these situations in your parent's ancestry rather than your own.

Emigration

Act L of 1879, 31. and 32. § (in force until 31 August 1939): 31. §: «Azon magyar állampolgár, ki a magyar kormány vagy az osztr.-magy. közös ministerek megbizása nélkül 10 évig megszakitás nélkül a magyar korona területének határain kivül tartózkodik, elveszti magyar állampolgárságát. A távollét ideje azon naptól számitandó, a melyen az illető a magyar korona területének határát elhagyva távozott a nélkül, hogy magyar állampolgárságának fentartását a 9-ik §-ban megnevezett illetékes hatóságnak bejelentette volna; vagy ha utlevéllel távozott, a mely napon utlevele lejárt. A távollét folytonossága megszakittatik az által, ha az eltávozott magyar állampolgárságának fentartását a fentebb nevezett illetékes hatóságnak bejelenti, vagy ujabb utlevelet szerez, vagy valamely osztrák-magyar konzuli hivataltól tartózkodási jegyet nyer, avagy valamely osztrák-magyar konzuli község anyakönyvébe beiratik.» 32. §: «A magyar állampolgárságnak ily módon történt elvesztése kiterjed a távollevő férfinak vele élő nejére és vele levő atyai hatalom alatt álló kiskorú gyermekeire.» (Hungarian text; no English rendering published.) Act XIII of 1939 (in force 1 September 1939 to 31 January 1949), 2. §: «(1) Az 1879:L. tc. 31. és 32. §-a hatályukat vesztik és helyükbe az alábbi bekezdésekben foglalt rendelkezések iktattatnak. (2) Az a magyar állampolgár, aki a m. kir. kormánytól kapott megbizatás nélkül tíz évig megszakítás nélkül külföldön tartózkodik, Magyarország területének elhagyásától számított tíz év elteltével elveszti magyar állampolgárságát. Nem lehet a tíz évi távollét megszakításának tekinteni a Magyarország területére visszatérést, ha ez esetenként háromhónapi időtartamot nem halad meg. (3) Arra nézve, aki Magyarország területét az előbbi bekezdés szerint kapott megbizatással hagyta el, megbizatásának megszűnte után azonban nem tért vissza Magyarországba, a tízévi határidőt a megbizatásának megszűntét követő naptól kell számítani. (4) Nem veszti el magyar állampolgárságát az, aki az előző bekezdésekben meghatározott tíz év eltelte előtt a belügyminiszternél vagy a lakóhelye - ennek hiányában tartózkodóhelye - szerint illetékes magyar külképviseleti hatóságnál bejelenti a magyar állampolgárság fenntartására irányuló szándékát és magyar állampolgárságának fenntartásához a belügyminiszter hozzájárul. A hozzájárulást megadottnak kell tekinteni, ha a belügyminiszter a hozzájárulás kérdésében a bejelentés megtételétől számított hat hónap alatt nem nyilatkozott. (5) A magyar állampolgárságnak az előző bekezdések értelmében bekövetkezett elvesztése kiterjed a távollevő férfinak vele élő feleségére és vele lévő, atyai hatalom alatt álló kiskorú gyermekeire.» 9. §: «(1) A 2. § rendelkezései a jelen törvény hatálybalépésekor külföldön tartózkodó személyekre is kiterjednek. (2) Az előbbi bekezdésben említett személyeknél a távollétnek a jelen törvény hatálybalépése előtt eltelt idejét a távollét idejéhez hozzá kell számítani. (3) A (2) bekezdésben foglalt rendelkezés szempontjából a távollétnek a jelen törvény hatálybalépése előtt eltelt idejét is a 2. § (2) és (3) bekezdéseinek rendelkezései szerint kell számítani; a távollét folytonosságának az 1879:L. tc. 31. §-a harmadik bekezdésében meghatározott módon történt megszakítása nem jön figyelembe. (4) Azokra a személyekre, akikre nézve a távollétnek az előző bekezdések rendelkezései szerint számított tíz évi időtartamát a jelen törvény hatálybalépése következtében lejártnak kell tekinteni, úgyszintén azokra a személyekre is, akikre nézve ez az időtartam a törvény hatálybalépésének napjától számított egy év alatt jár le, a 2. § (4) bekezdésében foglalt rendelkezések nyernek alkalmazást, ha a magyar állampolgárság fenntartására irányuló szándékukat a jelen törvény hatálybalépésétől számított egy év alatt bejelentik.» (Hungarian text; no English rendering published.)

Women who married foreign nationals before 1957

Act L of 1879 (Hungarian Nationality Act) §34 provided that a Hungarian woman lost her citizenship on marrying a non-Hungarian. From 1 February 1949 the rule was narrowed — she lost it only if the marriage actually gave her her husband's citizenship — and it ended entirely on 1 October 1957. If your parent's qualifying ancestor was a woman who married a non-Hungarian before that date, which of the three periods the marriage falls in decides when she stopped being a Hungarian citizen — not whether you can apply, because §4(3) asks what she WAS.

Born before 1 October 1957 to a Hungarian mother

Act LV of 1993 §5/A(1)(c) gives a declaration (nyilatkozat) route to a person born before 1 October 1957 of a Hungarian citizen mother and a foreign citizen father who did not become a Hungarian citizen by birth. The declaration is addressed to the President of the Republic and the statute attaches no language interview, no residence requirement and no age limit to this point; the nineteenth-birthday deadline in §5/A(1a) applies only to points b) and d). §13(1) allows a declaration aimed at acquiring citizenship to be lodged with a Hungarian consular officer. Citizenship is acquired on the day the declaration is made, with no retroactive effect to the date of birth, and the right is personal — §5/A does not extend it to the declarant's descendants, whose route remains simplified naturalization under §4(3). If this is you rather than an ancestor, take the eligibility check first: it asks when you were born and about your parents at your birth. If it is your parent or grandparent who fits this description, the declaration is theirs to make, not yours, and your own route stays the simplified naturalization application.

Ancestry from Trianon ceded territories

The Treaty of Trianon was signed in 1920 and took legal effect on 26 July 1921, transferring large portions of historic Hungary — including present-day Romania, Slovakia, Serbia, Croatia, Ukraine, Slovenia and Austria — to neighboring countries. Article 61 of the Act enacting it (1921. évi XXXIII. törvénycikk) removed Hungarian citizenship on that date from everyone whose commune of pertinence (illetőség) lay in a detached territory: they acquired the successor state's citizenship «a magyar állampolgárság kizárásával» — to the exclusion of Hungarian citizenship. Illetőség is a legal attachment to a municipality, not birthplace or residence, and Act XVII of 1922 §24 made the Interior Minister the first and last instance on where it lay, so a birthplace settles the question in neither direction. What Article 61 does not do is end the application: §4(3) asks whether a felmenő «magyar állampolgár volt» — WAS a Hungarian citizen — and a citizenship that ended on 26 July 1921 is still one that was held. Nor does it supply that citizenship where there was none: the article takes one away.

Deprivation of citizenship (1946–1990)

Act LV of 1993 §5/A(1)(a) gives a declaration (nyilatkozat) route to the person who was deprived of Hungarian citizenship — under Acts X of 1947, XXVI of 1948, LX of 1948 or V of 1957, under the 7970/1946, 10.515/1947 or 12.200/1947 decrees, or whose citizenship ended by release between 15 September 1947 and 2 May 1990. It is not open to their descendants. Citizenship is acquired on the day the declaration is made, with no retroactive effect and no language requirement. So if the deprived person is your parent and still living, ask about §5/A directly. If the deprivation is further back, the declaration route is not available to you and the ordinary §4(3) application is the one to make — the deprivation does not defeat it, because §4(3) asks whether an ascendant was a Hungarian citizen, not whether they still was.

Where and how to apply

Step 1: Prepare your documents

Gather all vital records for yourself and your parent — birth certificates, marriage certificates (where applicable), and death certificates for deceased ancestors. Obtain apostilles on all US-issued documents. Commission certified Hungarian translations for every US document. For the qualifying ancestor, go to the registry that holds the register for their birthplace today: inside Hungary that is the anyakönyvi kivonat from the Hungarian civil registry, which is neither a foreign document nor one issued other than in Hungarian, while a birthplace in territory ceded after 1920 means the registry of the country that holds that place now. Where that country is an EU Member State, Regulation (EU) 2016/1191 art. 4 exempts the extract from legalisation and from the apostille alike, and §14(5) a) of Act LV of 1993 yields by name to a directly applicable EU act; where it is not — Ukraine and Serbia are outside the Regulation — an apostille is the most that applies, both being Hague parties with Hungary. Confirm with the post, naming that country, before you pay for an authentication, and ask what language your extract has to be in. Do not order an FBI background check unless your post asks for one — it is not a mandatory attachment.

Step 2: Book with the post serving your consular district

Applications under §4(3) are filed with a career consular officer. Hungary maintains four career posts in the US — the Embassy in Washington DC and Consulates General in New York City, Los Angeles and Chicago, each covering its own consular district — plus a Vice Consulate in Miami that lists citizenship cases among the matters it accepts. Honorary consulates cannot process citizenship applications. There is no single nationwide booking page: konzinfo.mfa.gov.hu is the general consular information portal, some posts use a booking portal, and New York books simplified naturalization appointments exclusively by email. Confirm with the post serving your district that it schedules honosítás intake, and how it books, before making travel plans.

Step 3: Consulate appointment

At your appointment, you submit the complete document package — including the handwritten önéletrajz (autobiographical CV) in Hungarian, which under §3(9) of Decree 125/1993 must already be written in your own hand on the prescribed application form before you arrive, and is required of adult (nagykorú) applicants unless waived on medical grounds. New York turns away applicants who come without it pre-filled. You also undergo the conversational Hungarian interview at this appointment. The consulate officer reviews your file for completeness and forwards it to the citizenship authority in Budapest (Budapest Főváros Kormányhivatala) for review. If your parent is applying simultaneously, they attend a separate appointment (which may be scheduled on the same day or on a different date).

Step 4: Budapest review

What Hungary and its posts publish about how long it takes is set out on our page “Hungarian Citizenship Processing Times”. You do not need to take any action during the review unless the citizenship authority requests additional documents; the consulate forwards any request for supplementary information.

Step 5: Fogadalom (citizenship oath ceremony)

When your naturalization is approved, the Hungarian mayor or head of mission you chose as the venue notifies you of the time and place of the fogadalom — the citizenship oath ceremony. At the ceremony, you recite the Hungarian citizenship oath (fogadalom szövege) in Hungarian. After the fogadalom, you are confirmed as a Hungarian citizen and can apply for a Hungarian identity card (személyazonosító igazolvány) and passport.

Processing timeline

What Hungary and its posts publish about how long it takes is set out on our page “Hungarian Citizenship Processing Times”.

The government application fee for simplified naturalization is Free — there is no charge to file under §4(3). Your main costs are document preparation: apostilles, consular certification of Hungarian translations ($23–$40 per page), and vital records fees. See the Hungarian citizenship cost calculator for a detailed estimate.

Want the full step-by-step application guide?

The process guide covers document order of operations, booking with the right consular post, translation and certification, and the complete fogadalom details — applicable to both the parent and grandparent paths.

View the full application process →

Frequently asked questions

My parent already holds Hungarian citizenship. Do I need to go through the simplified naturalization process?

Not necessarily. Whether you are already a Hungarian citizen depends on the facts of your own birth, which the eligibility check asks about. A person who is already a Hungarian citizen does not naturalize; they ask for a certificate of citizenship (állampolgársági bizonyítvány, §11 of Act LV of 1993). Consult a licensed Hungarian attorney to determine your status before filing a naturalization application.

Can my parent and I apply at the same time?

Yes. Simultaneous applications are the most common scenario on the parent path. You and your parent each submit separate naturalization applications (the Honosítási- visszahonosítási kérelem) during the same or consecutive appointments at the post. Budapest Főváros Kormányhivatala — the citizenship authority in Budapest — reviews both files. Your parent's approval is not a prerequisite for yours — but practically, the files are often reviewed together. Both applicants must separately demonstrate conversational Hungarian proficiency at their respective appointments.

My parent is deceased. Can I still claim through them?

Yes, potentially. If your parent was a Hungarian citizen when you were born, take the eligibility check first: it asks when you were born and about your parents at your birth. Under simplified naturalization (§4(3) of Act LV of 1993) the qualifying ancestor does not need to be living. If your parent was a Hungarian citizen (by birth or naturalization) but has since passed away, you document the family chain through them using their vital records. Obtain their birth certificate, evidence of Hungarian citizenship (Hungarian identity documents, passport, or civil registry extract), and marriage certificate where applicable. A Hungarian attorney can help you gather records from Hungarian civil registries.

My parent was born in a Trianon territory — Romania, Slovakia, Serbia or another successor state. Does that affect the claim?

It changes what you have to collect; on its own it does not end the claim. The Treaty of Trianon was signed in 1920 and took effect on 26 July 1921, ceding large portions of historic Hungary — including areas now in Romania, Slovakia, Serbia, Croatia, Ukraine, Slovenia and Austria. Article 61 of the Act enacting it removed Hungarian citizenship on that date from everyone whose commune of pertinence (illetőség) lay in a detached territory: they acquired the successor state's citizenship «a magyar állampolgárság kizárásával» — to the exclusion of Hungarian citizenship. That loss is the point. §4(3) asks whether a felmenő «magyar állampolgár volt» — WAS a Hungarian citizen — and a citizenship that ended in 1921 is still one that was held. What Article 61 does not do is establish that anyone held it: it takes a Hungarian citizenship away, and the territory it names — «a volt Osztrák-Magyar Monarchia», the whole former Monarchy — was wider than the Kingdom of Hungary whose citizenship Act L of 1879 governed, so a family from Vienna, Bohemia, Moravia, Galicia or Bukovina is outside it. Illetőség was a legal attachment to a municipality rather than birthplace or residence, and Act XVII of 1922 §24 made the Interior Minister the first and last instance on where it lay, so two people born in the same town can be in different positions and a birthplace proves nothing either way. What it does change is where the records sit: a birth record from a detached territory is normally held where the event happened. What has to be attached to it then follows §14(5) of Act LV of 1993 — authentication by the country that issued the record, a certified Hungarian translation by the language it was issued in — and both limbs yield by name to a directly applicable EU act. For a record issued by an EU Member State that act is Regulation (EU) 2016/1191: art. 4 exempts it from legalisation and from the apostille. Who may certify a translation, and for which documents, is set out on our Hungarian cost calculator page, under “Who May Certify the Translation — and What That Costs”. §14(5) b)'s exceptions are not a closed list, so confirm with the post serving your consular district before you pay for either.

Is the language requirement different if I'm applying through a parent instead of a grandparent?

No. The requirement is the same regardless of which generation you are claiming through: §4(3) asks you to demonstrate knowledge of Hungarian in conversation with a consular officer. There is no exam and no certificate, and the government states that dialect or broken Hungarian is not a problem. You also attach a short autobiographical statement (önéletrajz) in your own handwriting — written in advance, on the prescribed application form, not composed at the appointment. The only difference on the parent path is the document chain: you need one fewer generation of birth, marriage, and death certificates.

What happens at the fogadalom (oath) ceremony?

Naturalization is decided by the President of the Republic under §6(1), on the proposal of the minister responsible for citizenship affairs. After your application is approved you are invited to take the fogadalom — the citizenship oath or affirmation. Under §7(1)(c) you choose where: before any Hungarian mayor or the head of any Hungarian diplomatic mission, declared on the application form, with one change permitted up to five days beforehand. Do not let the invitation sit: the naturalization certificate lapses if the oath is not taken within one year of the first invitation. The ceremony involves reciting the Hungarian citizenship oath (fogadalom szövege) in Hungarian. After the oath, you receive confirmation of Hungarian citizenship and can apply for a Hungarian identity card (személyazonosító igazolvány) and passport. The ceremony is brief — typically 15–30 minutes — and may be held with a small group of other new citizens.

Check your eligibility

Our free eligibility check walks through the Hungarian simplified naturalization rules — including the parent-path scenarios, conversational language requirement, and historical chain-breaker situations. Takes about 3 minutes.

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