Hungarian citizenship application process

Hi there
How áré you ?
My name Kadir. 
What's up for your  hungarian applied citizenship ?
Hope you had hear good news
Me too I want to applied but yet I didn't do . Should you told me about file and process
Thanks in advance

bodane1 wrote:

I have been living in Hungary for 12 years and I did secondary school, high school here.

Unless you have special issues in your case, if you speak Hungarian, and lived here that long as a resident, you should be able to apply for citizenship on your own merit. Marriage should not be required.

Hi there.
I'm a UK citizen but Hungarian resident married to a Hungarian. We have no abode other than here in Hungary where I've owned a house since 2012 and have my residency card.
I want to apply for HU citizenship. Is it true that the exam and interview are still in Hungarian?
Does anyone have recent experience of this process?
Thanks
James

I thought one had to be a resident of Hungary for at least 8 years and speak Hungarian to get citizenship. First the 5 year permit then the 10 year.
I have been in Hungary for almost that long, next year my resident  time will be 8 years.
We bought a flat in Hungary over 12 years ago.
I am also married to a HU citizen, for going on 44 years now.
My son is a dual citizen , US and HU.
I am over age 60 and heard that one doesn't need to pass the language exam if over age 60. Not sure though. Heard the exam for citizenship is in Hungarian. Only other way is through proving one has Hungarian family through parents or grandparents etc. Then the language exam doesn't need to be done. That was the case with our son anyway.
He applied through the mail but this was over 20 years back.
You've been here 12 years but it isn't clear what sort of permit to stay you had/have.
Not sure that matters but I thought one needed to at least have a 10 year permit to stay to apply for citizenship. Also from my experience with immigration, being married to a HU citizen is not a plus really, they seem to grill you more to be able to get a 5 year permit or longer. For those getting just a 2 or 3 year permit, it seems allot easier to get those permits to stay.Problem with those is one has to re apply often. A 5 year or longer seems a bit more serious with immigration perhaps because it is a way to gain citizenship later on. Those shorter resident permits are not a  road to citizenship it seems
They do not want to be responsible for new citizens, such as giving them welfare or other hand outs, one reason they make it harder to be a citizen. Residents can not apply for any gov. aid if needed.
It is a subject that only immigration can give you exact info on.
We always get different answers to questions here for even simple official things.

Of course I am not  implying anyone would gain HU citizenship to collect any welfare orextras but they do take precautions to the extreme. One would have to be pretty hard up to go that far by moving here etc. just for welfare.It is the job however of immigration to watch out for these sorts of issues. That's why they make you prove income etc. before giving a resident permit.
I suppose if one moved here and had several children and became disabled etc. then the gov would have to provide for you if you were a citizen.
They don't want too many people gaining citizenship and going that route.
Even for senior citizens in HU that are Hungarian citizens, not all can get the same senior discounts on things. Unless one is collecting actually SS from the Hu gov. you do not get the SS card that is needed to get any senior discounts on small things like spa discounts or special events for seniors. Need at least 15 years put into work here to get that card.
So not even all citizens are treated the same.

Many years back we knew of a elderly HU man who was gravely ill but lived in the US.
He returned to HU for medical treatments as a citizen and racked up all sorts of high bills and died.
I'm sure he wasn't alone pulling this underhanded trick and leaving the HU tax payers to pick up his tab.
One reason they now make even returning citizens wait a year before using national health.
My DIL is in the process of gaining her US citizenship from Japan.
Her exam will be in English and all questions about the US gov and history will be in English.
Suppose HUngary is the same way, the exam will be in Hungarian, the language of the land( for now at least)

Maybe it's just my old fashioned way of thinking but unless a person is at least 12 or at the min. 1/4th Hungarian through blood, I can't really see becoming a citizen.
Different in the US where everyone is mixed but in a tiny country I almost go with the sentiment of keeping the culture and HU language alive.Don't hate me just the way I see it.

Just as it is in every other country (as far as I know). The interview and exam will be in the language of the country. Austria > German, Germany > German, France > French etc... So Hungary would be the Hungarian language.

Only exams I know that can be taken in English are for driving licenses.

Persons may apply to be naturalized as a Hungarian citizen after 8 years continuous residence in Hungary if they:

have no criminal past at all,
have a stable livelihood,
are of good character, and
pass a test in basic constitutional studies.

Persons may apply to be naturalized after 5 years residence in Hungary if they were:

born in Hungary, or
established residence in Hungary before age 18, or
are stateless.

Persons may apply to be naturalized after 3 years residence in Hungary if they are:

spouses of Hungarian citizens who have been married for three years (or who are widows or widowers),
parents of Hungarian citizen minor children,
persons adopted by Hungarian citizens, or
recognised refugees.

Persons may apply to be naturalized if they are:

spouses of Hungarian citizens who have been married for at least ten years, or
spouses of Hungarian citizens who have been married for at least five years and they have a child together, and
able to provide proof of proficiency in the Hungarian language.
Applicants aged 60 or over, those of diminished capacity, and persons holding a Hungarian language diploma (from a Hungarian institution) may be exempted the constitutional studies requirement.

SimCityAT wrote:

Persons may apply to be naturalized as a Hungarian citizen after 8 years continuous residence in Hungary if they:

have no criminal past at all,
have a stable livelihood,
are of good character, and
pass a test in basic constitutional studies.

Persons may apply to be naturalized after 5 years residence in Hungary if they were:

born in Hungary, or
established residence in Hungary before age 18, or
are stateless.

Persons may apply to be naturalized after 3 years residence in Hungary if they are:

spouses of Hungarian citizens who have been married for three years (or who are widows or widowers),
parents of Hungarian citizen minor children,
persons adopted by Hungarian citizens, or
recognised refugees.

Persons may apply to be naturalized if they are:

spouses of Hungarian citizens who have been married for at least ten years, or
spouses of Hungarian citizens who have been married for at least five years and they have a child together, and
able to provide proof of proficiency in the Hungarian language.
Applicants aged 60 or over, those of diminished capacity, and persons holding a Hungarian language diploma (from a Hungarian institution) may be exempted the constitutional studies requirement.

Thanks for this info.
Sort of cleared up that over 60thing.
I know a couple of people who took a HU language course for about 3 months, some gov. thing where it was free.
I may look into that, I'll have to ask more details from my friend here.
Or maybe I would qualify for diminished capacity! Not many people would argue that one!

YouTube video asking random Hungarians on the street to answer some of the sample questions on the citizenship test:

https://youtu.be/_nl7PQ1xEXo (with English subtitles)

I would qualify through marriage and residency but the exam seems pretty tough and I'd need to improve my language skills and knowledge of the country.
Just want to have some sort of protection in case the Brexit issue blows up.

Thanks for this. Nehéz .....!😬

Thank you for this helpful information. 👍

Regarding Brexit, as you are married to a Hungarian and you have lived in the country with property since 2012 (6 years) I think you have nothing to worry about. I can not imagine you being deported.

I feel the only problem Brexit might cause is if people wanting to move after Brexit. But we will have to wait and see it might not even happen yet.

jdbm1959 wrote:

Just want to have some sort of protection in case the Brexit issue blows up.

You said you are married to a Hungarian citizen. So the worse, the absolute worse, that would happen is to have to go through the residency permit process for family reunification for non EU citizen spouses.

Like I did.

Worrying about that process, quite frankly, is making a storm in a teacup.

klsallee wrote:

jdbm1959 wrote:

Just want to have some sort of protection in case the Brexit issue blows up.

You said you are married to a Hungarian citizen. So the worse, the absolute worse, that would happen is to have to go through the residency permit process for family reunification for non EU citizen spouses.

Like I did.

Worrying about that process, quite frankly, is making a storm in a teacup.

Or we have to get a visa of some sort? But even if we had to do that, it will be just an inconvenience but nothing to worry about.

"I may look into that, I'll have to ask more details from my friend here. Or maybe I would qualify for diminished capacity! Not many people would argue that one!"

My understanding is that the constitutional studies requirement is actually the de facto language requirement, since the constitutional studies exam is in Hungarian. So if you're exempt from the exam because you're over sixty, you're effectively exempt from any language requirement if you've had the eight years of residence. But of course it would be useful if someone can confirm this understanding.

klsallee wrote:

jdbm1959 wrote:

Just want to have some sort of protection in case the Brexit issue blows up.

You said you are married to a Hungarian citizen. So the worse, the absolute worse, that would happen is to have to go through the residency permit process for family reunification for non EU citizen spouses.

Like I did.

Worrying about that process, quite frankly, is making a storm in a teacup.

Exactly, we 3rd "country"peeps went through this process to get resident permits.
Might just have to literally pay your dues.

I will be 60 in October next year so maybe that be the best time to apply if as you say the language requirement ceases to apply but I guess there's likely to be some test of language skills, no?
My only thinking regarding dual citizenship is travelling within the EU in the future and maybe needing visas for each country and then accessing free public transport here in due course.

I really doubt there would be a need for a visa for each country in the EU. I travel widely around Europe now. Although I'm British and have the right to move freely, I've never needed to show my passport when driving, or on the train.

jdbm1959 wrote:

I will be 60 in October next year so maybe that be the best time to apply if as you say the language requirement ceases to apply but I guess there's likely to be some test of language skills, no?

The simple solution is to just contact the correct Hungarian government office for complete clarification. Here is their contact info in English:

http://www.bmbah.hu/index.php?option=co … mp;lang=en

jdbm1959 wrote:

My only thinking regarding dual citizenship is travelling within the EU in the future and maybe needing visas for each country

Hungary is in Schengen (the UK is not by the way). Which applies to both EU citizens and non-EU citizen residents. If you are simply registered as a full time resident of Hungary you have Schengen rights. This information is easy to find with a little self research. For example, at Wikipedia:

"foreigners with a valid residence permit in a Schengen State and carrying valid documents can travel within the territory and do not need any special permission to do so."

jdbm1959 wrote:

I will be 60 in October next year so maybe that be the best time to apply if as you say the language requirement ceases to apply but I guess there's likely to be some test of language skills, no?
My only thinking regarding dual citizenship is travelling within the EU in the future and maybe needing visas for each country and then accessing free public transport here in due course.

Well they are about to require a HU SS sort of card for free travel for those over 65.
Went into the SS offices 2 weeks ago to see about getting a senior discount card, too young yet for the freebie stuff.
It all goes through the SS office and then to BKK.
They were suppose to already give out new travel cards to those over 65 but so far it hasn't happened.
I was getting all sorts of different answers to whether or not i could even get a discount card or not.
First it was age 62, then 63 then 63 1/2 but with a HU resident card only.
Forget how much exactly the card costs every month, just under 3,400F for one month.Something like that amount.
Had to submit all my US SS papers and marriage cert. to show I am married to a citizen. Not sure if everyone would need  a marriage  or not but they asked for it.
passport, local address and ID cards which they made copies of.Tax ID card too.
The works, told me they would send me a hey or nay within 45 days.
Then they same women said for sure I'd get free travel at 65, so what is the deal?
Then only because I am a perm. resident of HU and retired.
They wanted my retirement paperwork from the US .
First my husband said he wanted me to get the discount through him and that was good but then they said I could get it on my own with papers.
He said why do I need to submit papers from the US, what if I never worked in my life? She then said in Hungary even housewives get some sort of papers when they are of age through HU SS.
Was also told at BKK before heading to SS offices here that I for sure couldn't get a discount card on my own. One our later they at SS said good for age 65 and wait 45 days to see about the tmp card until I am of full retirement age of 65.
Confusing isn't even the word for it.
For now,I'll just wait on the mail. Doesn't matter really, I hardly ever use public transportation, in fact most times I will meet my husband somewhere, I'll walk and he will use the tram, subway or bus. I  9 times out of 10 am waiting on the other end for him to show up.
I can walk faster then him taking a couple of lines.
Would be nice though for once in awhile or to go on the train to the lakes.
This discount pass is only good in the city limits but they give some stickers for a few discount trips on the trains as well. Think 2 50 % off's and one 90% off a one way trip.
So it's not like I am holding my breath and need the discount but worth a try just because.
Not sure what will happen when someone turns 65 here and is not registered as a resident with Hu ID. If they start giving out special travel cards to seniors then using just your passport won't work.
Will keep you updated if possible, still have nearly 2 years to wait myself here.
Oh, the women didn't speak any English so if you go in bring a native speaker with you.
It is up to the HU SS dept. whether or not they will give you a discount or not, nothing to do with BKK at all. You just show the ID or papers that HU SS gives to be able to purchase a discount card or get a travel pass.
Seems they are changing the system to be more geared for HU citizens and perm residents only in the near future.
If I had not taken early SS at 62 from the US then I wouldn't have any papers to show the HU SS dept. that I was retired so suppose if you don't retire early you don't get a discount pass until you are of full retirement age, in the US that is now 66 years old.
Like I said, it's confusing , they are just starting to deal with all of us foreign retirees and still working out the kinks in the system.
Oh, one more thing, they asked for translations of my US SS papers so be ready to spring for that cost as well at 65.
My husband sort of talked and charmed her out of making me get a translation but only because when he was 63 he got the discount travel pass and didn't need a translation for his US papers. Guess it was able to slide by because of being married to him and him already haven gotten the discount years back plus he was able to show her his old pass and say he didn't need translations so why do I need them.
Hard to say, every case is different I suppose.
Who knows they may still ask for translations later on.

Thank you 👍