Hungarian citizenship by descent: who qualifies, the law, and what it takes

Q: Can you claim Hungarian citizenship through a parent?

Possible. Descendants of Hungarian citizens can naturalise on a simplified option in any generation, without living in Hungary, if they can hold a conversation in Hungarian.

Q: Can you claim Hungarian citizenship through a grandparent?

Possible. Descendants of Hungarian citizens can naturalise on a simplified option in any generation, without living in Hungary, if they can hold a conversation in Hungarian.

Q: Can you claim Hungarian citizenship through a great-grandparent?

Possible. Descendants of Hungarian citizens can naturalise on a simplified option in any generation, without living in Hungary, if they can hold a conversation in Hungarian.

Through a parentPOSSIBLESimplified naturalisation Through a grandparentPOSSIBLESimplified naturalisation Through a great-grandparentPOSSIBLESimplified naturalisation

Ways to apply: Simplified naturalisation (§4(3))
Dual citizenship: Kept, however you apply
Language: Hungarian: a conversation with the consular officer (Act LV of 1993 §4(3))
Comes with: EU citizenship: the right to live and work in 27 countries

Each answer assumes none of your ancestors became a citizen of another country before their child was born. Below is what changes each answer.

On this page

01Who qualifies
02Dates that matter
03Through your mother
04Keeping your citizenship
05Ways to apply
06The documents
07What it takes
08Where the records live
09Places that changed countries
10Law changes
11Other options
12Sources

Who qualifies, generation by generation

POSSIBLE

Can you claim Hungarian citizenship through a parent?

Simplified naturalisation

Descendants of Hungarian citizens can naturalise on a simplified option in any generation, without living in Hungary, if they can hold a conversation in Hungarian.

What would settle itWhether someone in the family speaks conversational Hungarian, or is willing to learn it. That, not the paperwork, is the gate.

A non-Hungarian citizen whose ancestor was a Hungarian citizen, or who can prove probable Hungarian origin, may be naturalised on preferential terms if they prove knowledge of the Hungarian language. Act LV of 1993 on Hungarian Citizenship, §4(3): simplified naturalisation, §4(3)
The language requirement is tested in an interview at the consulate; there is no written exam and no residence requirement. Consulate General of Hungary: simplified naturalisation

What changes the answer

POSSIBLE
If you have a criminal conviction or charges pending
The applicant must have a clean criminal record under Hungarian law, with no criminal proceedings pending, and the naturalisation must not threaten Hungary’s public or national security. Embassy of Hungary, Pristina: simplified naturalisation (conditions), §4(3) with §4(1)(b) and (d)
POSSIBLE
If you can pass the Hungarian language requirement
Whether the consulate accepts the records linking you to a Hungarian-citizen ancestor; with the language in hand, the paperwork is the remaining gate.
POSSIBLE
If you can’t pass the Hungarian language requirement
Descendants of Hungarian citizens can naturalise on a simplified option in any generation, but only once they can hold a conversation in Hungarian; until then the option is closed to you.

POSSIBLE

Can you claim Hungarian citizenship through a grandparent?

Simplified naturalisation

Descendants of Hungarian citizens can naturalise on a simplified option in any generation, without living in Hungary, if they can hold a conversation in Hungarian.

What would settle itWhether someone in the family speaks conversational Hungarian, or is willing to learn it. That, not the paperwork, is the gate.

A non-Hungarian citizen whose ancestor was a Hungarian citizen, or who can prove probable Hungarian origin, may be naturalised on preferential terms if they prove knowledge of the Hungarian language. Act LV of 1993 on Hungarian Citizenship, §4(3): simplified naturalisation, §4(3)
The language requirement is tested in an interview at the consulate; there is no written exam and no residence requirement. Consulate General of Hungary: simplified naturalisation

What changes the answer

POSSIBLE
If you have a criminal conviction or charges pending
The applicant must have a clean criminal record under Hungarian law, with no criminal proceedings pending, and the naturalisation must not threaten Hungary’s public or national security. Embassy of Hungary, Pristina: simplified naturalisation (conditions), §4(3) with §4(1)(b) and (d)
POSSIBLE
If you can pass the Hungarian language requirement
Whether the consulate accepts the records linking you to a Hungarian-citizen ancestor; with the language in hand, the paperwork is the remaining gate.
POSSIBLE
If you can’t pass the Hungarian language requirement
Descendants of Hungarian citizens can naturalise on a simplified option in any generation, but only once they can hold a conversation in Hungarian; until then the option is closed to you.

POSSIBLE

Can you claim Hungarian citizenship through a great-grandparent?

Simplified naturalisation

Descendants of Hungarian citizens can naturalise on a simplified option in any generation, without living in Hungary, if they can hold a conversation in Hungarian.

What would settle itWhether someone in the family speaks conversational Hungarian, or is willing to learn it. That, not the paperwork, is the gate.

A non-Hungarian citizen whose ancestor was a Hungarian citizen, or who can prove probable Hungarian origin, may be naturalised on preferential terms if they prove knowledge of the Hungarian language. Act LV of 1993 on Hungarian Citizenship, §4(3): simplified naturalisation, §4(3)
The language requirement is tested in an interview at the consulate; there is no written exam and no residence requirement. Consulate General of Hungary: simplified naturalisation

What changes the answer

POSSIBLE
If you have a criminal conviction or charges pending
The applicant must have a clean criminal record under Hungarian law, with no criminal proceedings pending, and the naturalisation must not threaten Hungary’s public or national security. Embassy of Hungary, Pristina: simplified naturalisation (conditions), §4(3) with §4(1)(b) and (d)
POSSIBLE
If you can pass the Hungarian language requirement
Whether the consulate accepts the records linking you to a Hungarian-citizen ancestor; with the language in hand, the paperwork is the remaining gate.
POSSIBLE
If you can’t pass the Hungarian language requirement
Descendants of Hungarian citizens can naturalise on a simplified option in any generation, but only once they can hold a conversation in Hungarian; until then the option is closed to you.

The dates that matter

No date named in Hungary’s rule decides who qualifies. The answers above turn on the family’s facts, not on when anyone was born or left.

Claiming through your mother or grandmother

Hungary’s rule gives the same answer whether the line runs through a mother or a father.

Dual citizenship with your home country

You keep your citizenship.

On every open route, the rule lets a citizen of the United States, Canada, the United Kingdom, Australia, New Zealand, Brazil, Argentina or South Africa keep that citizenship.

Hungary permits its citizens to hold another citizenship. Act LV of 1993 on Hungarian Citizenship, §4(3): simplified naturalisation

Every way to apply, and the law behind it

Simplified naturalisation

Open to you through a parent, a grandparent or a great-grandparent

POSSIBLE
Through a parent
POSSIBLE
Through a parent, if you can’t pass the Hungarian language requirement

The law

A non-Hungarian citizen whose ancestor was a Hungarian citizen, or who can prove probable Hungarian origin, may be naturalised on preferential terms if they prove knowledge of the Hungarian language. Act LV of 1993 on Hungarian Citizenship, §4(3): simplified naturalisation, §4(3)
The language requirement is tested in an interview at the consulate; there is no written exam and no residence requirement. Consulate General of Hungary: simplified naturalisation
The applicant must have a clean criminal record under Hungarian law, with no criminal proceedings pending, and the naturalisation must not threaten Hungary’s public or national security. Embassy of Hungary, Pristina: simplified naturalisation (conditions), §4(3) with §4(1)(b) and (d)

What would settle an unsure case

Whether someone in the family speaks conversational Hungarian, or is willing to learn it. That, not the paperwork, is the gate.
Whether the conviction counts against a clean record under Hungarian law (spent convictions do not), and whether any proceedings are still pending.
Whether the consulate accepts the records linking you to a Hungarian-citizen ancestor; with the language in hand, the paperwork is the remaining gate.

The documents, as the rule lists them

Simplified naturalisation

Through a parent or grandparent or great-grandparent

Your ancestor’s Hungarian birth, marriage or citizenship record (pre-1920 records from territories now outside Hungary often qualify)
Birth and marriage records for each generation to you
A short interview in Hungarian at the consulate

Most countries also want proof that your ancestor didn’t become a citizen somewhere else before their child was born: the naturalization record with its date, or a letter saying there isn’t one.

What it takes: time, cost, the hard part, who decides

Simplified naturalisation

Time: 6–12 months after the interview.
Cost: About $200–500 in copies and translations. The application is free.
The hard part: The interview is in Hungarian. You need conversational Hungarian, not fluency; most applicants spend 6–12 months with a tutor first.
Who decides: The Hungarian consulate for your address, in person.
The first record: Your ancestor’s Hungarian birth record, from The local registry office (anyakönyvi hivatal) or the Hungarian National Archives. FamilySearch has indexed Hungarian civil registration 1895–1980; find the entry, then request the certified copy from the registry office. familysearch.org

How it’s filed

Where: In person at the Hungarian mission for your U.S. state: Embassy Washington (AL, DC, GA, LA, MD, MS, NC, PA, SC, VA, WV); Consulate General New York (CT, DE, FL, ME, MA, NH, NJ, NY, RI, VT, PR, USVI); Los Angeles (AK, AZ, CA, CO, HI, ID, KS, MT, NE, NV, NM, ND, SD, TX, OK, OR, UT, WA, WY); Chicago (AR, IL, IN, IA, KY, MI, MN, MO, OH, TN, WI) office list
How: In person; you appear in person
Form: Honosítási / visszahonosítási kérelem (naturalisation application, with handwritten CV and name-change section), plus the data sheets for domestic registration of your birth and, if married, your marriage
Appointments: Konzinfo Booking (konzinfobooking.mfa.gov.hu) or, at New York, by email to info.ny@mfa.gov.hu. New York takes simplified-naturalisation appointments only by email (info.ny@mfa.gov.hu) and turns away applicants who arrive with unfinished forms. Konzinfo Booking runs Google reCAPTCHA and hCaptcha checks; Los Angeles accepts no mail or walk-in citizenship applications.
Fee: No fee
Decision: 3–12 months
Your records: Apostilled, no translation. Documents in Hungarian, English, French or German need no official translation; the applicant’s marriage and divorce records are apostilled.

Your consulate

Every office in the United States (4)

Consulate General of Hungary, Chicago

Serves Arkansas, Illinois, Indiana, Iowa, Kentucky, Michigan, Minnesota, Missouri, Ohio, Tennessee, Wisconsin

How: In person; you appear in person
Address: 303 East Wacker Dr, Suite 2050, Chicago, IL 60601

source ↗

Consulate General of Hungary, Los Angeles

Serves Alaska, Arizona, California, Colorado, Hawaii, Idaho, Kansas, Montana, Nebraska, Nevada, New Mexico, North Dakota, South Dakota, Texas, Oklahoma, Oregon, Utah, Washington, Wyoming

How: In person; you appear in person
Address: 11766 Wilshire Blvd, Suite 410, Los Angeles, CA 90025

source ↗

Consulate General of Hungary, New York

Serves Connecticut, Delaware, Florida, Maine, Massachusetts, New Hampshire, New Jersey, New York, Rhode Island, Vermont

How: In person; you appear in person
Address: 223 East 52nd Street, New York, NY 10022

source ↗

Embassy of Hungary, Washington DC

Serves Alabama, District of Columbia, Georgia, Louisiana, Maryland, Mississippi, North Carolina, Pennsylvania, South Carolina, Virginia, West Virginia

How: In person; you appear in person
Address: 3910 Shoemaker Street NW, Washington, DC 20008

source ↗

What goes in the file (9)

Naturalisation application form, completed in advance and signed in front of the officer
Data sheet for domestic registration of your birth
Data sheet for domestic registration of your marriage (if married or previously married)
Your long-form birth certificate (original or certified copy), apostilled
Your marriage certificate or divorce decree (original or certified copy), apostilled; divorce decrees translated
Birth, marriage and death records for every generation back to the Hungarian ancestor
The ancestor’s Hungarian proof: church or archival birth extract citing volume/page/entry, military book, work book or school certificate
One passport photo
Valid passport or ID card

What goes wrong (7)

The gate is Hungarian: the officer who receives the application checks that you can present it and answer simple questions in Hungarian yourself; there is no exam and no exemption. Every applicant, including children, must attend.
Free of charge; consular fees apply only to extras such as copy authentication ($22/page) or translation checks.
Statutory time is 3 months, extendable by 60 days, not counting time to supply requested documents; real cases often run 6–12 months.
After approval the President issues a naturalisation certificate; you become Hungarian on the day you take the oath, which must happen within one year of the first summons or the naturalisation lapses. New York schedules oaths a few months after the certificate arrives.
The consulate gives no status updates on pending cases (New York).
Citizenship can be revoked within 20 years if obtained with false information.
From CA/GB/AU/NZ/BR/AR/ZA: file in person at the Hungarian mission for your residence; the language check and the free application are the same everywhere; Portuguese and Spanish documents need Hungarian translation.

source ↗

Fees are each office’s published fee, converted to U.S. dollars.

Where each record lives, and how to ask for it

birth1895–2026
The registrar (anyakönyvvezető) of the municipality: state civil registration from 1 October 1895; events recorded in the electronic register (all events from 1 July 2014, plus older ones already migrated) can be issued by any registrar or by a Hungarian consular officer
Registrar of the town (today’s municipality) where the event was registered. For places now in Slovakia, Romania, Serbia, Ukraine, Croatia or Austria, the records are in that country’s registry or archives, not in Hungary.
Ask
By post, in Hungarian
Search
FamilySearch: Hungary Civil Registration 1895–1980 (free login)
Fee
0 HUF (about $0)
Takes
2–9 weeks
Good to know (5)
- Certificates (anyakönyvi kivonat) are free of stamp duty; the statutory issue time for electronically held events is 15 days.
- Online requests on magyarorszag.hu need an Ügyfélkapu login and cover only your own events; for an ancestor, write to the registrar.
- The Hungarian consulate can also obtain a Hungarian certificate: New York’s tariff lists issuing a certificate at the consulate as free, and $49 for obtaining one from Hungary with an apostille.
- For the citizenship file, the officers ask for the exact source (volume, page, entry number) of any church or archival extract.
- FamilySearch needs a free account to search and view the images.
source ↗
birth1895–1925
Hungarian National Archives (Magyar Nemzeti Levéltár), county archives: the duplicate state registers (állami anyakönyvek másodpéldányai), open for research after about 100–110 years for births, 75–86 for marriages and 30 for deaths (branch pages differ)
The county (vármegye) archive for today’s county of the town; each county archive publishes a list of the registry districts it holds.
Ask
By email, in Hungarian
Takes
4–17 weeks
Good to know (2)
- The archive cannot issue a certified copy from the state registers, even to the person concerned; only the registrar can. It makes a plain copy of an entry only if the person concerned, or after their death a relative, consents in writing.
- For the citizenship file, get the certificate from the municipal registrar, which holds the first copy and issues it free; use the archive to find the entry (volume, page, number) when the town is hard to identify or the registrar’s book is lost.
source ↗
birth1700–1895
Church registers (Catholic, Reformed, Lutheran, Orthodox parishes; Jewish registers from 1851) kept by the parish, with duplicates in the Hungarian National Archives county archives
The parish that served the village, then the diocesan or county archive. FamilySearch has filmed most Hungarian church books.
Ask
By email, in Hungarian
Search
FamilySearch (Hungary church books; free login)
Takes
4–17 weeks
Good to know (2)
- A baptismal record from the Kingdom of Hungary before 1920 is the usual proof that an ancestor was a Hungarian citizen for §4(3).
- Registers were kept in Latin until the mid-19th century, then Hungarian.
source ↗
marriage1895–2026
The registrar of the municipality of the marriage (civil marriage from 1 October 1895)
Ask
By post, in Hungarian
Fee
0 HUF (about $0)
Takes
2–9 weeks
Good to know (1)
- A marriage record is required for every maternal link, to prove the maiden and married names.
source ↗
residence1929–1949
Hungarian documents showing residence in Hungary (identity papers, school, work or military records) held by the family or by county archives
Ask
By email, in Hungarian
Takes
1–6 months
Good to know (1)
- For verification of existing citizenship (not simplified naturalisation), the consulate asks those who left before 1 February 1949 for a Hungarian document showing residence in Hungary after 1 September 1929.
source ↗

Translations

Into: Hungarian
Who may translate: A translator on the consulate’s list
About: $22–$60 a page

Civil-status documents in English, German or French need no translation (Los Angeles consulate). Documents in other languages need an official Hungarian translation: OFFI (the state translation office) or another official translator; Romanian documents may be translated by translators on the Romanian Ministry of Justice list (New York). The consulate will check and certify your own translation for a fee: New York charges $22 per page into Hungarian.

source ↗

The passport

Where: At the Hungarian mission by appointment, after the oath, once your birth is registered in Hungary and you have an address card (lakcímkártya); urgent passports can be issued in Budapest at the Central Document Office on the naturalisation certificate
Fee: About $93
Time: 4–13 weeks

source ↗

Places on old papers that lead to Hungary

If your family’s records name one of these, Hungary’s law may be the one that applies. The town decides.

Austria-Hungary · also Austro-Hungarian Empire, Habsburg
Austria-Hungary became a dozen countries in 1918. Pick the one the town is in today.
Today: Austria, Hungary, Czechia, Slovakia, Croatia, Slovenia, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Romania, Ukraine, Poland, Italy, Serbia
Transylvania · also Siebenbürgen, Erdély
Transylvania is Romania; Hungary also counts descendants of its pre-1920 citizens.
Today: Romania, Hungary

Recent and pending changes

We know of no pending bill or recent court ruling for Hungary.

We re-read the official pages behind this guide every day. When one changes, a person checks the rule before we update anything here.

If descent doesn’t reach you

3 residence programs lead to Hungary without an ancestor, each with its own law and road to citizenship.

Every source on this page

3 laws and official pages behind the answers, then the offices and pages behind the records and filing.

Not legal advice. Every answer comes from the country’s own laws and is tested against real cases. Where the law isn’t clear, we say “possible” rather than guess.

Through a parentPOSSIBLESimplified naturalisation Through a grandparentPOSSIBLESimplified naturalisation Through a great-grandparentPOSSIBLESimplified naturalisation

Ways to apply: Simplified naturalisation (§4(3))
Dual citizenship: Kept, however you apply
Language: Hungarian: a conversation with the consular officer (Act LV of 1993 §4(3))
Comes with: EU citizenship: the right to live and work in 27 countries

Each answer assumes none of your ancestors became a citizen of another country before their child was born. Below is what changes each answer.

On this page

01Who qualifies
02Dates that matter
03Through your mother
04Keeping your citizenship
05Ways to apply
06The documents
07What it takes
08Where the records live
09Places that changed countries
10Law changes
11Other options
12Sources

Who qualifies, generation by generation

POSSIBLE

Can you claim Hungarian citizenship through a parent?

Simplified naturalisation

Descendants of Hungarian citizens can naturalise on a simplified option in any generation, without living in Hungary, if they can hold a conversation in Hungarian.

What would settle itWhether someone in the family speaks conversational Hungarian, or is willing to learn it. That, not the paperwork, is the gate.

A non-Hungarian citizen whose ancestor was a Hungarian citizen, or who can prove probable Hungarian origin, may be naturalised on preferential terms if they prove knowledge of the Hungarian language. Act LV of 1993 on Hungarian Citizenship, §4(3): simplified naturalisation, §4(3)
The language requirement is tested in an interview at the consulate; there is no written exam and no residence requirement. Consulate General of Hungary: simplified naturalisation

What changes the answer

POSSIBLE
If you have a criminal conviction or charges pending
The applicant must have a clean criminal record under Hungarian law, with no criminal proceedings pending, and the naturalisation must not threaten Hungary’s public or national security. Embassy of Hungary, Pristina: simplified naturalisation (conditions), §4(3) with §4(1)(b) and (d)
POSSIBLE
If you can pass the Hungarian language requirement
Whether the consulate accepts the records linking you to a Hungarian-citizen ancestor; with the language in hand, the paperwork is the remaining gate.
POSSIBLE
If you can’t pass the Hungarian language requirement
Descendants of Hungarian citizens can naturalise on a simplified option in any generation, but only once they can hold a conversation in Hungarian; until then the option is closed to you.

POSSIBLE

Can you claim Hungarian citizenship through a grandparent?

Simplified naturalisation

Descendants of Hungarian citizens can naturalise on a simplified option in any generation, without living in Hungary, if they can hold a conversation in Hungarian.

What would settle itWhether someone in the family speaks conversational Hungarian, or is willing to learn it. That, not the paperwork, is the gate.

A non-Hungarian citizen whose ancestor was a Hungarian citizen, or who can prove probable Hungarian origin, may be naturalised on preferential terms if they prove knowledge of the Hungarian language. Act LV of 1993 on Hungarian Citizenship, §4(3): simplified naturalisation, §4(3)
The language requirement is tested in an interview at the consulate; there is no written exam and no residence requirement. Consulate General of Hungary: simplified naturalisation

What changes the answer

POSSIBLE
If you have a criminal conviction or charges pending
The applicant must have a clean criminal record under Hungarian law, with no criminal proceedings pending, and the naturalisation must not threaten Hungary’s public or national security. Embassy of Hungary, Pristina: simplified naturalisation (conditions), §4(3) with §4(1)(b) and (d)
POSSIBLE
If you can pass the Hungarian language requirement
Whether the consulate accepts the records linking you to a Hungarian-citizen ancestor; with the language in hand, the paperwork is the remaining gate.
POSSIBLE
If you can’t pass the Hungarian language requirement
Descendants of Hungarian citizens can naturalise on a simplified option in any generation, but only once they can hold a conversation in Hungarian; until then the option is closed to you.

POSSIBLE

Can you claim Hungarian citizenship through a great-grandparent?

Simplified naturalisation

Descendants of Hungarian citizens can naturalise on a simplified option in any generation, without living in Hungary, if they can hold a conversation in Hungarian.

What would settle itWhether someone in the family speaks conversational Hungarian, or is willing to learn it. That, not the paperwork, is the gate.

A non-Hungarian citizen whose ancestor was a Hungarian citizen, or who can prove probable Hungarian origin, may be naturalised on preferential terms if they prove knowledge of the Hungarian language. Act LV of 1993 on Hungarian Citizenship, §4(3): simplified naturalisation, §4(3)
The language requirement is tested in an interview at the consulate; there is no written exam and no residence requirement. Consulate General of Hungary: simplified naturalisation

What changes the answer

POSSIBLE
If you have a criminal conviction or charges pending
The applicant must have a clean criminal record under Hungarian law, with no criminal proceedings pending, and the naturalisation must not threaten Hungary’s public or national security. Embassy of Hungary, Pristina: simplified naturalisation (conditions), §4(3) with §4(1)(b) and (d)
POSSIBLE
If you can pass the Hungarian language requirement
Whether the consulate accepts the records linking you to a Hungarian-citizen ancestor; with the language in hand, the paperwork is the remaining gate.
POSSIBLE
If you can’t pass the Hungarian language requirement
Descendants of Hungarian citizens can naturalise on a simplified option in any generation, but only once they can hold a conversation in Hungarian; until then the option is closed to you.

The dates that matter

No date named in Hungary’s rule decides who qualifies. The answers above turn on the family’s facts, not on when anyone was born or left.

Claiming through your mother or grandmother

Hungary’s rule gives the same answer whether the line runs through a mother or a father.

Dual citizenship with your home country

You keep your citizenship.

On every open route, the rule lets a citizen of the United States, Canada, the United Kingdom, Australia, New Zealand, Brazil, Argentina or South Africa keep that citizenship.

Hungary permits its citizens to hold another citizenship. Act LV of 1993 on Hungarian Citizenship, §4(3): simplified naturalisation

Every way to apply, and the law behind it

Simplified naturalisation

Open to you through a parent, a grandparent or a great-grandparent

POSSIBLE
Through a parent
POSSIBLE
Through a parent, if you can’t pass the Hungarian language requirement

The law

A non-Hungarian citizen whose ancestor was a Hungarian citizen, or who can prove probable Hungarian origin, may be naturalised on preferential terms if they prove knowledge of the Hungarian language. Act LV of 1993 on Hungarian Citizenship, §4(3): simplified naturalisation, §4(3)
The language requirement is tested in an interview at the consulate; there is no written exam and no residence requirement. Consulate General of Hungary: simplified naturalisation
The applicant must have a clean criminal record under Hungarian law, with no criminal proceedings pending, and the naturalisation must not threaten Hungary’s public or national security. Embassy of Hungary, Pristina: simplified naturalisation (conditions), §4(3) with §4(1)(b) and (d)

What would settle an unsure case

Whether someone in the family speaks conversational Hungarian, or is willing to learn it. That, not the paperwork, is the gate.
Whether the conviction counts against a clean record under Hungarian law (spent convictions do not), and whether any proceedings are still pending.
Whether the consulate accepts the records linking you to a Hungarian-citizen ancestor; with the language in hand, the paperwork is the remaining gate.

The documents, as the rule lists them

Simplified naturalisation

Through a parent or grandparent or great-grandparent

Your ancestor’s Hungarian birth, marriage or citizenship record (pre-1920 records from territories now outside Hungary often qualify)
Birth and marriage records for each generation to you
A short interview in Hungarian at the consulate

Most countries also want proof that your ancestor didn’t become a citizen somewhere else before their child was born: the naturalization record with its date, or a letter saying there isn’t one.

What it takes: time, cost, the hard part, who decides

Simplified naturalisation

Time: 6–12 months after the interview.
Cost: About $200–500 in copies and translations. The application is free.
The hard part: The interview is in Hungarian. You need conversational Hungarian, not fluency; most applicants spend 6–12 months with a tutor first.
Who decides: The Hungarian consulate for your address, in person.
The first record: Your ancestor’s Hungarian birth record, from The local registry office (anyakönyvi hivatal) or the Hungarian National Archives. FamilySearch has indexed Hungarian civil registration 1895–1980; find the entry, then request the certified copy from the registry office. familysearch.org

How it’s filed

Where: In person at the Hungarian mission for your U.S. state: Embassy Washington (AL, DC, GA, LA, MD, MS, NC, PA, SC, VA, WV); Consulate General New York (CT, DE, FL, ME, MA, NH, NJ, NY, RI, VT, PR, USVI); Los Angeles (AK, AZ, CA, CO, HI, ID, KS, MT, NE, NV, NM, ND, SD, TX, OK, OR, UT, WA, WY); Chicago (AR, IL, IN, IA, KY, MI, MN, MO, OH, TN, WI) office list
How: In person; you appear in person
Form: Honosítási / visszahonosítási kérelem (naturalisation application, with handwritten CV and name-change section), plus the data sheets for domestic registration of your birth and, if married, your marriage
Appointments: Konzinfo Booking (konzinfobooking.mfa.gov.hu) or, at New York, by email to info.ny@mfa.gov.hu. New York takes simplified-naturalisation appointments only by email (info.ny@mfa.gov.hu) and turns away applicants who arrive with unfinished forms. Konzinfo Booking runs Google reCAPTCHA and hCaptcha checks; Los Angeles accepts no mail or walk-in citizenship applications.
Fee: No fee
Decision: 3–12 months
Your records: Apostilled, no translation. Documents in Hungarian, English, French or German need no official translation; the applicant’s marriage and divorce records are apostilled.

Your consulate

Every office in the United States (4)

Consulate General of Hungary, Chicago

Serves Arkansas, Illinois, Indiana, Iowa, Kentucky, Michigan, Minnesota, Missouri, Ohio, Tennessee, Wisconsin

How: In person; you appear in person
Address: 303 East Wacker Dr, Suite 2050, Chicago, IL 60601

source ↗

Consulate General of Hungary, Los Angeles

Serves Alaska, Arizona, California, Colorado, Hawaii, Idaho, Kansas, Montana, Nebraska, Nevada, New Mexico, North Dakota, South Dakota, Texas, Oklahoma, Oregon, Utah, Washington, Wyoming

How: In person; you appear in person
Address: 11766 Wilshire Blvd, Suite 410, Los Angeles, CA 90025

source ↗

Consulate General of Hungary, New York

Serves Connecticut, Delaware, Florida, Maine, Massachusetts, New Hampshire, New Jersey, New York, Rhode Island, Vermont

How: In person; you appear in person
Address: 223 East 52nd Street, New York, NY 10022

source ↗

Embassy of Hungary, Washington DC

Serves Alabama, District of Columbia, Georgia, Louisiana, Maryland, Mississippi, North Carolina, Pennsylvania, South Carolina, Virginia, West Virginia

How: In person; you appear in person
Address: 3910 Shoemaker Street NW, Washington, DC 20008

source ↗

What goes in the file (9)

Naturalisation application form, completed in advance and signed in front of the officer
Data sheet for domestic registration of your birth
Data sheet for domestic registration of your marriage (if married or previously married)
Your long-form birth certificate (original or certified copy), apostilled
Your marriage certificate or divorce decree (original or certified copy), apostilled; divorce decrees translated
Birth, marriage and death records for every generation back to the Hungarian ancestor
The ancestor’s Hungarian proof: church or archival birth extract citing volume/page/entry, military book, work book or school certificate
One passport photo
Valid passport or ID card

What goes wrong (7)

The gate is Hungarian: the officer who receives the application checks that you can present it and answer simple questions in Hungarian yourself; there is no exam and no exemption. Every applicant, including children, must attend.
Free of charge; consular fees apply only to extras such as copy authentication ($22/page) or translation checks.
Statutory time is 3 months, extendable by 60 days, not counting time to supply requested documents; real cases often run 6–12 months.
After approval the President issues a naturalisation certificate; you become Hungarian on the day you take the oath, which must happen within one year of the first summons or the naturalisation lapses. New York schedules oaths a few months after the certificate arrives.
The consulate gives no status updates on pending cases (New York).
Citizenship can be revoked within 20 years if obtained with false information.
From CA/GB/AU/NZ/BR/AR/ZA: file in person at the Hungarian mission for your residence; the language check and the free application are the same everywhere; Portuguese and Spanish documents need Hungarian translation.

source ↗

Fees are each office’s published fee, converted to U.S. dollars.

Where each record lives, and how to ask for it

birth1895–2026
The registrar (anyakönyvvezető) of the municipality: state civil registration from 1 October 1895; events recorded in the electronic register (all events from 1 July 2014, plus older ones already migrated) can be issued by any registrar or by a Hungarian consular officer
Registrar of the town (today’s municipality) where the event was registered. For places now in Slovakia, Romania, Serbia, Ukraine, Croatia or Austria, the records are in that country’s registry or archives, not in Hungary.
Ask
By post, in Hungarian
Search
FamilySearch: Hungary Civil Registration 1895–1980 (free login)
Fee
0 HUF (about $0)
Takes
2–9 weeks
Good to know (5)
- Certificates (anyakönyvi kivonat) are free of stamp duty; the statutory issue time for electronically held events is 15 days.
- Online requests on magyarorszag.hu need an Ügyfélkapu login and cover only your own events; for an ancestor, write to the registrar.
- The Hungarian consulate can also obtain a Hungarian certificate: New York’s tariff lists issuing a certificate at the consulate as free, and $49 for obtaining one from Hungary with an apostille.
- For the citizenship file, the officers ask for the exact source (volume, page, entry number) of any church or archival extract.
- FamilySearch needs a free account to search and view the images.
source ↗
birth1895–1925
Hungarian National Archives (Magyar Nemzeti Levéltár), county archives: the duplicate state registers (állami anyakönyvek másodpéldányai), open for research after about 100–110 years for births, 75–86 for marriages and 30 for deaths (branch pages differ)
The county (vármegye) archive for today’s county of the town; each county archive publishes a list of the registry districts it holds.
Ask
By email, in Hungarian
Takes
4–17 weeks
Good to know (2)
- The archive cannot issue a certified copy from the state registers, even to the person concerned; only the registrar can. It makes a plain copy of an entry only if the person concerned, or after their death a relative, consents in writing.
- For the citizenship file, get the certificate from the municipal registrar, which holds the first copy and issues it free; use the archive to find the entry (volume, page, number) when the town is hard to identify or the registrar’s book is lost.
source ↗
birth1700–1895
Church registers (Catholic, Reformed, Lutheran, Orthodox parishes; Jewish registers from 1851) kept by the parish, with duplicates in the Hungarian National Archives county archives
The parish that served the village, then the diocesan or county archive. FamilySearch has filmed most Hungarian church books.
Ask
By email, in Hungarian
Search
FamilySearch (Hungary church books; free login)
Takes
4–17 weeks
Good to know (2)
- A baptismal record from the Kingdom of Hungary before 1920 is the usual proof that an ancestor was a Hungarian citizen for §4(3).
- Registers were kept in Latin until the mid-19th century, then Hungarian.
source ↗
marriage1895–2026
The registrar of the municipality of the marriage (civil marriage from 1 October 1895)
Ask
By post, in Hungarian
Fee
0 HUF (about $0)
Takes
2–9 weeks
Good to know (1)
- A marriage record is required for every maternal link, to prove the maiden and married names.
source ↗
residence1929–1949
Hungarian documents showing residence in Hungary (identity papers, school, work or military records) held by the family or by county archives
Ask
By email, in Hungarian
Takes
1–6 months
Good to know (1)
- For verification of existing citizenship (not simplified naturalisation), the consulate asks those who left before 1 February 1949 for a Hungarian document showing residence in Hungary after 1 September 1929.
source ↗

Translations

Into: Hungarian
Who may translate: A translator on the consulate’s list
About: $22–$60 a page

source ↗

The passport

Where: At the Hungarian mission by appointment, after the oath, once your birth is registered in Hungary and you have an address card (lakcímkártya); urgent passports can be issued in Budapest at the Central Document Office on the naturalisation certificate
Fee: About $93
Time: 4–13 weeks

source ↗

Places on old papers that lead to Hungary

If your family’s records name one of these, Hungary’s law may be the one that applies. The town decides.

Austria-Hungary · also Austro-Hungarian Empire, Habsburg
Austria-Hungary became a dozen countries in 1918. Pick the one the town is in today.
Today: Austria, Hungary, Czechia, Slovakia, Croatia, Slovenia, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Romania, Ukraine, Poland, Italy, Serbia
Transylvania · also Siebenbürgen, Erdély
Transylvania is Romania; Hungary also counts descendants of its pre-1920 citizens.
Today: Romania, Hungary

Recent and pending changes

We know of no pending bill or recent court ruling for Hungary.

We re-read the official pages behind this guide every day. When one changes, a person checks the rule before we update anything here.

If descent doesn’t reach you

3 residence programs lead to Hungary without an ancestor, each with its own law and road to citizenship.

Every source on this page

3 laws and official pages behind the answers, then the offices and pages behind the records and filing.

Not legal advice. Every answer comes from the country’s own laws and is tested against real cases. Where the law isn’t clear, we say “possible” rather than guess.

Who qualifies, generation by generation

Can you claim Hungarian citizenship through a parent?

What changes the answer

Can you claim Hungarian citizenship through a grandparent?

What changes the answer

Can you claim Hungarian citizenship through a great-grandparent?

What changes the answer

The dates that matter

Claiming through your mother or grandmother

Dual citizenship with your home country

Every way to apply, and the law behind it

The law

What would settle an unsure case

The documents, as the rule lists them

Simplified naturalisation

What it takes: time, cost, the hard part, who decides

Simplified naturalisation

How it’s filed

Where each record lives, and how to ask for it

Translations

The passport

Places on old papers that lead to Hungary

Recent and pending changes

If descent doesn’t reach you

Every source on this page

Check your family for Hungary.

Who qualifies, generation by generation

Can you claim Hungarian citizenship through a parent?

What changes the answer

Can you claim Hungarian citizenship through a grandparent?

What changes the answer

Can you claim Hungarian citizenship through a great-grandparent?

What changes the answer

The dates that matter

Claiming through your mother or grandmother

Dual citizenship with your home country

Every way to apply, and the law behind it

The law

What would settle an unsure case

The documents, as the rule lists them

Simplified naturalisation

What it takes: time, cost, the hard part, who decides

Simplified naturalisation

How it’s filed

Where each record lives, and how to ask for it

Translations

The passport

Places on old papers that lead to Hungary

Recent and pending changes

If descent doesn’t reach you

Every source on this page

Check your family for Hungary.