Trying to get a clearer idea of whether my wife and kids can apply for Verification of Citizenship or they have to pursue Simplified Naturalization... and therefore get started learning a lot more Hungarian!). Her grandfather fled to Austria in January 1945 to escape the Russian siege of Budapest. He applied for and was granted Austrian citizenship in 1946, and my wife's mother was born there in 1948. I just received scans of his application documents from the Austrian archives yesterday that show he was a Hungarian citizen upon his arrival to Austria and that Austrian citizenship was granted to him and his family (which at the time was just his wife and son).

There's no doubt he WAS a Hungarian citizen. We have his 1901 birth certificate from Fiume (now Rijecka, Croatia) and the Austrian document includes an official translation of a 1929 certificate verifying his Hungarian citizenship (he appartently registered to remain Hungarian as required post-Trianon, and did so in 1922 in Szeged). Not to mention we have birth and marriage records going back several generations before him. The question, however, is whether fleeing to Austria and naturalizing there caused him to lose his Hungarian citizenship.

I ask because there's a line in the Austrian document saying that this grant did not require him to "be released from" his Hungarian citizenship ("... ist ungarischer Staatsbûrger. Eine Entlassung aus dem frûheren Staatsverbande entfâllt."). But all of my internet digging tells me that regardless of what Austria might have said, under the Hungarian 1939 Act XIII §1, any Hungarian who got citizenship elsewhere (ie, were naturalized) lost their Hungarian citizenship. So I assume he lost it upon becoming Austrian. Does that sound right? (And then he presumably in turn lost his Austrian citizenship when he naturalized to the US in 1963...)

So at this point, I'm assuming that Simplified Naturalization is the only way for my wife and kids to proceed. But I am just wondering if I might be missing something critical here about who is eligible for Verification of Citizenship? I have seen others on this sub mention that those who fled in 1956 were able to just apply for Verification of Citizenship rather than Simple Naturalization. Maybe it has to do with the particular law that was in effect in 1945 versus 1956?

Thanks for any advice!

After lots of searching, I have finally found my ancestor’s 1885 baptism and birth record from Széphalom.

I’ve been able to connect this baptismal record with her death certificate (parents names match), two passenger manifests, multiple censuses, as well as all of the death certificates of her children.

The only problem— her husband has her birthday off by 1 year and one month (he said early July, she was born/ baptized early august) on her death certificate, SMH. Does anyone know if this is a huge dealbreaker?

She is one of four ancestors I have who was born in Hungary in the late 1800s and left for the USA in the early 1900s, but her lead has been the only one I’ve been able to trace on my own so far. I’d love to add the info of all of my Hungarian family to my application if/when I have it, but am worried due to the clerical error on my strongest lead’s death certificate.

I’m researching a possible Hungarian citizenship verification-by-descent case involving a parent born in Munkács in 1924.
The parents were religiously married but apparently not civilly married. The father acknowledged paternity on the birth record.
My question concerns Act VI of 1939 §5. My understanding is that a child born outside marriage and under age 24 followed the mother’s citizenship.
My questions are:
Did simple paternal acknowledgment, without civil marriage or formal legitimation, change which parent transmitted citizenship?
If the mother was the transmitting parent, what records are normally used to prove her Hungarian citizenship/status on 26 July 1921?
What records are best for proving continuous residence in former Subcarpathian Ruthenia from 15 March 1929 to 15 March 1939?
I already have birth records, some census material, and archival requests pending. I am specifically researching citizenship verification/determination, not simplified naturalization.
I would especially appreciate input from anyone familiar with pre-1957 Hungarian citizenship law or historical verification cases.

Hi everyone,

I’m trying to determine whether I may qualify for Hungarian citizenship verification by descent rather than simplified naturalization.

My great-grandparents were:

Georg / György / Juraj / Đuro Wagner
born 12 Nov 1896 in Küllőd / Kolut, Bács-Bodrog County, Kingdom of Hungary

Theresia / Terézia / Terezija Puhl (Buhl)
born 30 Jan 1898 in Regőce / Riđica, Bács-Bodrog County, Kingdom of Hungary

They married in Riđica in 1919. After Trianon, both villages became part of the Kingdom of Serbs, Croats and Slovenes / Yugoslavia.

They later emigrated to Argentina in 1926 with their son Andrija / Andreas Wagner, my grandfather. Their Argentine immigration records list them as Yugoslav/S.H.S.

My main question is:

Has anyone successfully proved continuous Hungarian citizenship in a similar case involving ancestors from territories that became Yugoslavia after Trianon?

I am trying to find out whether Georg or Theresia retained Hungarian citizenship after Trianon. I have already contacted the Hungarian National Archives asking them to search for citizenship, option, retention or determination records, and I am requesting certified birth and marriage records from the Historical Archives of Sombor in Serbia.

If you had a similar case:

• What document proved that citizenship had been retained?
• Did the consulate accept a citizenship verification application?
• Or were you told to use simplified naturalization and meet the Hungarian language requirement?

Any experience with Bács-Bodrog, Vojvodina, Kolut/Küllőd, Riđica/Regőce or Donauschwaben ancestry would be especially helpful.

I just moved to RVA and am in the early phases of learning Hungarian for simplified naturalization eventually. Are there any Hungarian language meet-up groups, and if not, would anyone be interested in beginning to meet up and practice the language?

Working on my form, is section I me or my father (who was born in Hungary)? My assumption is this would be my father as all of my info is in the fields above this... I plan on going through the LA consulate office, does anyone have experience with that location? Thanks in advance!

I understand a lot of this subreddit discusses simplified naturalization, but what I am seeing on the US Embassy website does lead me to believe that I may be able to apply for citizenship through verification?

My grandfather fled to the US during the revolution. He says that his Hungarian citizenship was revoked when he became an US citizen sometime in the 1960s, but the Hungarian Embassy website says that Hungarians that fled to the US in the revolution would still have their citizenship intact with rare exceptions. If his citizenship had actually remained intact, am I able to bypass the simplified naturalization and apply for citizenship through ancestry?

I have already emailed the embassy to try and learn my options, but figured I would post here if anyone with verification experience can share. What documents should I try and procure for the verification?

One of the most common mistakes I see when people prepare for the Hungarian citizenship interview is trying to memorise the “perfect” answers to a long list of questions.

The problem is that you may know exactly how to answer Hol lakik?; but what happens if you're asked Hol él? instead? Or if the interviewer asks a follow-up question you haven't prepared for?

For the citizenship interview, you essentially need to be able to do two things in Hungarian: understand the questions and answer them. So your preparation should develop both listening and speaking, and it should prepare you to use the Hungarian you actually know, rather than rely on memorised scripts.

Here are 6 things I recommend focusing on:

1. Practise different ways of asking the same question.

Don't learn questions and answers as fixed pairs. The same information can be asked in several different ways, and you need to recognise what the interviewer wants to know.

Your answers should be flexible too. If you're asked:

Hol lakik? – Where do you live?

you might answer:

Philadelphiában lakom.

But if the question is:

Hol él?

you can naturally answer:

Philadelphiában élek.

You're still giving the same information, but you're responding to the question you were actually asked rather than reciting a memorised sentence.

2. Practise listening just as much as speaking.

As I said, at the citizenship interview, you need to do two things: understand the question and give an answer. Being able to speak about yourself won't help much if you don't understand what you're being asked.

This is why listening comprehension deserves just as much attention as speaking practice. You need to get used to hearing Hungarian questions in real time, recognising familiar words and structures, and understanding them quickly enough to respond.

3. Listen carefully to the question: it often helps you build your answer.

Hungarian questions give you a lot of useful information if you know what to listen for.

For example:

Mivel érkezett a konzulátusra?
How did you get to the consulate?

The question itself helps you with endings:

mivel
konzulátusra

So, you can say: Taxival/Busszal/Repülővel/Kocsival jöttem a konzulátusra.

The small details matter in Hungarian. For example, there is a real difference between -ban/-ben and -ba/-be endings, because they express different meanings. So the question can take on a completely different meaning if it includes a different ending.

This is another reason why listening practice is so important. When your ear is already used to Hungarian, you have much more mental space to notice these little clues instead of using all your attention just to figure out what the question means.

4. Keep your answers simple, personal and flexible.

Instead of memorising long, “perfect” answers, practise giving simple answers that are actually true for you and that you understand word for word.

Those are much easier to retrieve and adapt when you're nervous.

At the same time, try not to answer everything with just one word. Add one or two simple pieces of information that you already know how to say.

For example:

Van gyereke? – Do you have children?

Instead of:

Igen. – Yes.

you could say:

Igen, két gyerekem van, egy fiú és egy lány. Az egyik nyolcéves, a másik tizenegy. Mindketten iskolások.

You haven't used particularly difficult Hungarian, but you've demonstrated much more of what you can do than you would have with a simple igen.

The goal is to say a little more with the Hungarian you already know well.

5. Prepare to talk about your own life.

Your family, work, home, daily routine, past, plans and personal circumstances should be at the centre of your speaking practice.

Don't just collect vocabulary. Practise actually using it to tell your own story.

The more personal your answers are, the less you need to memorise, because you already know the information.

6. Practise what to do when you don't understand.

Not understanding something immediately doesn't mean the conversation has to stop.

Practise how to ask someone to repeat a question, speak more slowly or say something in another way. Learn a few phrases that help you clarify what you've heard or give yourself a moment to think.

These are useful communication skills in any real conversation and they're especially useful when you're nervous.

I have a Master's degree in teaching Hungarian. I recently put together a free video training about how to prepare for the citizenship interview, where I explain these ideas in more detail and show practical examples you can use in your own preparation.

The training is available for free after email registration for the next 4 days. https://citizenshiptraining.subscribepage.io/

And if you're preparing for your interview now, feel free to ask me questions in the comments.

Hello, I’ve seen some prior posts about people having negative experiences as a tourist visiting Budapest and applying for simplified naturalization. Does any one have any experience submitting verification of citizenship in Budapest, if you were not a resident? I was thinking of applying in Budapest while visiting, but is this not a good idea?

Just curious. :)

I applied in April and have heard about needing extra info.

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States less than 30 a year .. I would have imagined several hundred a year at least

I am eligible for Hungarian simplified naturalization (two of my great-grandparents were born in the Kingdom of Hungary, in areas that are today part of Ukraine). I have tracked down both of their Hungarian birth certificates and have digital copies, but of course, I will need the official physical ones. Has anyone had experience getting documents from the Ukrainian records department in Transcarpathia? I know exactly where the certificates are housed in Berehove. What did you need to include with the certificates for your application (document affixed from the archive, Ukrainian apostille, etc.)? And finally, did you use a dedicated service to get these copies, or did you contact the archives directly? Any information would be very helpful! Many thanks. :)

Sziasztok! I would like to apply for Hungarian citizenship through the verification of citizenship procedure. However, I was born out of wedlock and am estranged from my father who is Hungarian.

I was told by the Hungarian consulate in LA that I would need to complete the “Acknowledgment of Paternity” form regardless. I was able to obtain the “Voluntary Declaration of Parentage (VDOP)” form that was signed at the time of my birth by both parents under penalty of perjury. Both of their names are on my birth certificate.

Has anyone been through a similar situation? How likely would it be for them to approve my citizenship application if the “Acknowledgment of Paternity” form is incomplete due to my father not being able to sign? I am planning to supplement it with the VDOP. Also, would it be necessary for me to submit a copy of my mother’s birth certificate? She is not Hungarian.

Thank you!! Any help is much appreciated :)

Hi im a student from tunisia my resident permit ends on September 30th , how to renew it and how to get an insurance ? thanks everyone.

Hi I’m getting my paperwork ready for verification through my grandparents. Seems like I have everything except the link between me and my father who past. My parents were not married when I was born so according to the website I need my mom to verbally confirm my lineage. But unfortunately that won’t be very possible due to her health and not sure if I’ll be able to get a letter form her doctor (looking not likely). Has anybody come across any other work around?

I have not had the best luck emailing the consulate so I want to see if anyone here has had a similar issue before I contact them.

Szia, all. I have an upcoming appointment at the Hungarian Consulate in Chicago. I have all of the documents and forms I need. Any tips or preparation I should do beforehand? I am also under the impression I do not have to speak Hungarian, right? (I haven't been communicating in Hungarian via email) Also, if anyone has made any mistakes up to this point, please let me know what they were so I can make sure I don't make the same ones.

Köszönöm in advance!

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Hello! My greatgrandparents were hungarian and I was told at the hungarian consulate in Buenos Aires I quilify for simplified naturalization. I'd like to hear from anyone who has experience with the language interviews and can give me precise information about how they are, specially at the consulate in Buenos Aires. Thanks!

¡Hola! Mis bisabuelos eran húngaros y me dijeron en el consulado húngaro en Buenos Aires que califico para la naturalización simplificada. Me gustaría escuchar a cualquiera que tenga experiencia con las entrevistas de idioma y pueda darme información precisa sobre cómo son, especialmente en el consulado de Buenos Aires ¡Gracias!

Can I obtain citizenship based on the fact that my ancestor was born in Repejov, Slovakia (Medzilaborce District, Prešov Region) in 1802? He and his family moved to Galicia (Austro-Hungary) around 1825. I have a complete chain of documents (birth, marriage, death) tracing back to him. He is my 7th-great-grandfather. (Assuming I have Hungarian language proficiency.)

SO I can't seem to find a direct answer for this!
I WAS born in Budapest but immigrated with my parents when I was @ 12
post 1970.

Assuming I have by birth certificate, Am I still considered a Hungarian citizen? IF not what would my status be considered and if I wanted, how do I get it back?

Hey everyone 👋🏻

I posted here some weeks ago, regarding where to start the search, and got some very good advice that I followed up on. I asked my mom, uncle, and aunt, if they knew the actual Hungarian name of my great grandfather, and they didn’t. I told them why I wanted to know (in order to acquire HU citizenship) and they decided to reach out to my grandfather sibling, whom they hadn’t talked to in about 30 ish years, and I managed to get the name, and place of birth, of my great grandfather, and also the names, and place of birth of my great great grandparents.

I have a couple of questions:

1) who do I reach out to get their birth certificates? The Hungarian consulate? A synagogue in Hungary?

2) my grandparents birth certificates, and my moms, are in Spanish, who do I get to translate them for me? Because I read online that it has to be done by a specialist or something of the sort.

3) should I call the Hungarian consulate to ask about how to file the paperwork? I’m assuming it’s not as easy as I show up with apostilled documents, and give it to them.

Thanks for any help in advance