Has anyone gone through the simplified naturalization precedure?

Thanks, all (esp. BrianSlovakia, blonder, and Parobek82) for the helpful information. My paperwork was accepted by the consulate. I'll report back here when I have sense of the timetable. There's very little information in English on the simplified naturalization process, and I suspect this thread will be helpful to others, too.

For what it's worth, this thread has drifted quite a bit off-topic. Many of the recent posters are describing situations for which simplified naturalization would not be appropriate (e.g. children and grandchildren of living Hungarian citizens, citizenship based on residency, etc.). Please note that simplified naturalization provides an entirely different pathway to citizenship.

spooty wrote:

Many of the recent posters are describing situations for which simplified naturalization would not be appropriate (e.g. children and grandchildren of living Hungarian citizens

The path to simplified naturalization includes if the petitioner is, or any of their ancestors was, a Hungarian citizen or if he or she serves reason to believe his or her origin is from Hungary. So children or grandchildren of living Hungarian citizens born abroad do certainly qualify under this topic. For example, someone born in the US, to Hungarian immigrant citizens, is an American citizen by reason of geographic birth (not counting consular workers). And simplified naturalization is basically the way for them to get the Hungarian passport they are entitled to with a lower bureaucratic burden.

Sorry, klsallee, that's not entirely true. Sure, they fit this very general class of individuals, but for (most) children and grandchildren, there's an even simpler process. There's no reason for them to go through the more complicated simplified naturalization procedure. See hunconsulate.com/faq/difference-citizenship-naturalization.html

spooty wrote:

that's not entirely true

I disagree, as I see it completely on topic and correct.

spooty wrote:

Sure, they fit this very general class of individuals

And that is why: A subset of a topic is thus still part of that topic, correct and on topic.

spooty wrote:

There's no reason for them to go through the more complicated simplified naturalization procedure

The 2010 amendment (see my link above) describes who is eligible and who can petition under the new law. The actual bureaucratic methods how each sub group can apply and petition under the law can of course vary. Which is why it is important for those who did mention their actions as children/grandchildren of Hungarian citizens are on topic since their status is covered under the new 2010 law as well. Including your link to the even more simple procedure allowed from the 2010 law. And specifically because Regwo was vague in the original question and personal data, any possible follow ups might be helpful because, maybe, he (or others reading this threat) has a Hungarian parent or Grandparent and can benefit from this added information that he/she/they may not be aware of.

Now some threads here really go off topic, but this is not one of them, in my opinion.

I was recently told by a Hungarian consul -- at a small consulate outside the US that probably handles very few if any simplified procedure applications -- that documents don't have to be apostilled for the simplified procedure when they come from countries on a qualifying list, which includes the US. Can anyone confirm this first-hand? If so, this certainly does make the procedure simplified.

He also suggested the procedure would be much quicker if the application were submitted in Budapest, since there's more bureaucracy involved when it's submitted overseas.

Finally, the 2010 law seems pretty clear that only descent from a Hungarian citizen is required, not Hungarian ethnicity. But a requirement of Hungarian ethnicity could nonetheless be unofficially imposed, and it's hard to know if this is actually the case. Has anyone of non-Magyar descent filed a successful application, particularly descent from ancestors born before 1920 in the old and vast Hungarian Empire, where just about everyone, Magyar or not, was a Hungarian citizen?

zif wrote:

I was recently told by a Hungarian consul -- at a small consulate outside the US that probably handles very few if any simplified procedure applications -- that documents don't have to be apostilled for the simplified procedure when they come from countries on a qualifying list, which includes the US. Can anyone confirm this first-hand? If so, this certainly does make the procedure simplified.

The Consul is referring to the mutual recognition of documents as agreed in the Hague Convention 1965.  Both Hungary and the United States are signatories to the Covention. Hence the need for an apostille is no longer required.

The rest of it, I don't know about.

No, the Hague Convention introduced the concept of the apostille. Before the convention, a much more involved process called legalization was required to use official documents from one country in another.You might be confusing legalization with the apostille, which replaced it.

Apostilles are still required generally when using US official documents in Hungary, and vice versa. His point was that there's now a special rule for the simplified naturalization procedure in which certified documents from the US and some other countries can be used without an apostille or any other formality, beyond the original certification (and translation, of course). As I said, this great if it is true, and would quite literally remove a layer of red tape.

(I'm very familiar with the Hague Convention, legalization, apostilles and such and I'm not confusing them.)

zif wrote:

....(I'm very familiar with the Hague Convention, legalization, apostilles and such and I'm not confusing them.)

I bow to greater knowledge.   Certainly inter-EU, there's no need for add-on certification. Presumably this is outside the convention and EU treaty based.

Having recently gone through the process at a Hungarian consulate in the USA, I can tell you that no apostille was required for my US documents (in this case, birth and marriage certificates). My only other documents were Hungarian, and hence of course also did not require an apostille.

But don't take my word for it; the website of the Hungarian embassy in the USA explains, regarding documents to support simplified naturalization, "For non-US or non-Canadian certificates: additional authentication is needed" and then goes on to describe apostilles. See washington.kormany.hu/hungarian-citizenship-general

Thanks. That's consistent with what I was told: that documents from a few countries on a list (including the US) are exempt from apostille/legalization requirements when presented for simplified naturalization.

I was sceptical -- bureaucrats everywhere love those stamps -- so it's good to know first-hand that just an ordinary certified US birth/marriage certificate will do.

June 20 2014 (a day I hope to forget)

After waiting one year, I received an email reply stating I did NOT get Hungarian citizenship.  They lost my birth certificate and the answer was given to the wrong Embassy 7 months ago.  I am PISSED.  I have read only 1.5% are not accepted and yet mine started out great and ended in a mess and NO appeal allowed.
Basic language skills, ALL paperwork from grandparents was flawless and NEVER any requests for additional paperwork.
I can try again but why should I if everything was so perfect the first time around?
A VERY VERY disappointed Canadian.  I really believed in this simp nat citizenship and lost in the end!

blonder wrote:

If your parents are Hungarian and you are first gen American, you are not naturalized but Hungarian by descent which means they must give you Hungarian citizenship = easy process.

IF you are asked about a criminal past which was one of the sections on simplified naturalization docs, you should answer honestly.  I had a background check done as I thought I needed it and while "being clean", they stated they just needed to see it but it was not required to be submitted.  They do their own check. I don't know how easily the US supplies info but it seems like a business there and perhaps less hoops for a country to find out your past.  Charges also differ than an actual conviction is something I read on the docs.  Charges = nothing but convictions = possible issues.  Not sure where your "felony" lies.

Good luck!

zif wrote:

Finally, the 2010 law seems pretty clear that only descent from a Hungarian citizen is required, not Hungarian ethnicity. But a requirement of Hungarian ethnicity could nonetheless be unofficially imposed, and it's hard to know if this is actually the case. Has anyone of non-Magyar descent filed a successful application, particularly descent from ancestors born before 1920 in the old and vast Hungarian Empire, where just about everyone, Magyar or not, was a Hungarian citizen?

I have not filed an application yet, however I have a somewhat similar situation. My grandparents were born within the borders of present day Hungary, however they were ethnic Germans. I assumed this would still make me valid for Hungarian citizenship via descent. Where it gets confusing is that due to their Germanic ethnicity, they were expelled from Hungary and had their citizenship removed at the end of the second world war. Even though they were Hungarian citizens, they spoke very little Hungarian as they were ethnically German. Hence I also speak VERY limited Hungarian, however I am fluent in German.

Is anyone else here in a similar situation? There were well over 200,000 ethnic Germans expelled from Hungary after WWII, surely there must be others in this situation. I have contacted my local consulate and the national embassy, however I have been given different answers regarding whether I'm eligible for citizenship, and how I could go about applying. As I don't speak Hungarian I would need to pay for translations and assistance in completing Hungarian forms, hence I don't want to pay someone and then it turns out I'm filling out the wrong forms, and getting the wrong documents translated.

My impression is that you will probably not get a reliable answer to a special situation like that from a consulate; they just don't have the experience to answer it. However, I also have the impression that they can, if they are willing, ask the Citizenship Office for clarification of your situation before you formally file an application and start polishing up your Hungarian (German language skills don't count for anything, I believe). So I'd suggest you find a consulate that's not too busy and gently inquire whether they could ask for clarification. They'll need to know not just about your grandparents' situation in general terms, but what specific documents you can submit to support it.

In any event, it is an odd situation. The law itself simply makes Hungarian citizenship of an antecedent the requirement -- so why shouldn't you qualify -- yet almost all publicity about the law refers to ethnic Hungarians alone.

Yes, I think you're correct. The consulate worker gave me a rough idea of what I may have to do, however they informed me that they couldn't tell me exactly what I must do, and I would have to contact the embassy for an answer. The embassy did give me an answer, however the process they suggested for me seemed very generalised, and I had to wonder whether they fully understood my situation. They also refused to give me advice via email, only via telephone. I would have much preferred to have their advice in writing.

A question for those who have applied, were you required to send away original copies of documents (birth, marriage certificates, etc), or did they just have to be sighted/photocopied at the consulate or embassy? I have the original copes of my grandparents birth certificates, but as they are from the mid 1920's they are obviously in a fragile condition, and would certainly not survive being sent away.

I was told by the consul that they will make certified copies of your original documents which you can submit with your application; the cost is EUR20/page.

If the documents aren't in Hungarian they'll need certified translations of course; some consulates/embassies provide this service (for a fee) and some don't, so you have to check. Obviously it's more convenient to use an embassy/consulate which provides this service. (The certified translation gets attached to the untranslated document, so you'll need to get certified copies made before you have those antique documents translated.)

How many others (from the dreaded 1.5% that were rejected) have decided to apply once again since they don't have to give you a reason and you can't appeal?
Even after all papers are approved showing blood relations and dues paid as well as full translations, you wait a year and get the "standard" rejection scan of 5 lines.
I did show Hungarian language school receipts and paperwork of a whole lot of land I inherited near the border that I am selling to buy a hotel in Budapest ... not sure if that dream will happen now after a year of waiting and rejected.  Lost my original long-from birth certificate and all my certified documents from my grandparents.  I really do not get this process and am very sad at how it is being handled.  Re-apply in another country with all my certified docs (if they ever find them and return them)

They don't care about your German. I am fluent in 6 languages and even showed my receipt for Hungarian schooling and if my rejection was based on my "basic Hungarian", maybe you are not in a better situation than I am.
Maybe it all depends on where you apply or how well the consulate staff is experienced.  I think this was the first for the girl who filed my docs as she said all was fine this last year and in reality something went wrong.

Luckily, if I am eligible, I believe that my Hungarian skills will not come into question. This is because I would be applying via the "regular" citizenship procedure rather than the simplified naturalization procedure.

Ｉｎｔｅｒｅｓｔｉｎｇ　ｙｏｕ　ａｒｅ　ｒｅｃｅｉｖｉｎｇ　ｔｈｉｓ　ｔｈｒｏｕｇｈ　ｄｅｓｃｅｎｔ．
Ｉ　ｔｒｉｅｄ　ｔｈａｔ　ｒｏｕｔｅ　ｆｉｒｓｔ　ａｓ　ｍｙ　ｇｒａｎｄｐａｒｅｎｔｓ　ｗｅｒｅ　ｂｏｒｎ　ｉｎ　ｔｈｅ　Ｋｉｎｇｄｏｍ　ｏｆ　Ｈｕｎｇａｒｙ　（ｅａｒｌｙ　１９９０ｓ）　ａｎｄ　Ｉ　ｗａｓ　ｔｏｌｄ　ｔｏ　ｄｏ　ｔｈｅ　ｓｉｍｐｌｉｆｉｅｄ　ｎａｔ　ｒｏｕｔｅ　ａｎｄ　ｙｅｔ　ｙｏｕ　ｃａｎ　ｇｅｔ　ｃｉｔｚ　ｔｈｒｏｕｇｈ　ｄｅｓｃｅｎｔ　ｗｉｔｈ　ａ　Ｈｕｎｇａｒｉａｎ　ｂｏｒｎ　ｇｒａｎｄｆａｔｈｅｒ　ａｎｄ　ｎｏｎ－　Ｈｕｎｇａｒｉａｎ　ｂｏｒｎ　ｍｏｔｈｅｒ．
Ｉ　ａｍ　ｉｎ　ｔｈｅ　ｓａｍｅ　ｓｉｔｕａｔｉｏｎ　ｂｕｔ　ｙｏｕｒ　ｇｒａｎｄｐａ　ｗａｓ　ｂｏｒｎ　ｉｎ　Ｂｕｄａｐｅｓｔ　ａｎｄ　ｍｉｎｅ　ｉｎ　ｔｈｅ　Ｋｉｎｇｄｏｍ　ｏｆ　Ｈｕｎｇａｒｙ　（ｐｒｅｓｅｎｔ　ｄａｙ　Ｓlovakia.  I wonder why this is?

Blonder, just for some clarification: no reason was given for why your application was rejected? You said above that they lost your birth certificate, but do you just mean that they didn't return your supporting documents? Or do you mean that your application was rejected *because* they had lost your birth certificate?

Email:
I am afraid I have bad news. After you asked me reportedly how your application procedure was going, and I also found it a little bit strange that I got a decision made, notification required notice in our electronic system at the end of last year (without further details), I called the Immigration Office. After I managed to find there someone who actually dealt with answering such requests, I was told that we were sent an official letter about your request for naturalisation being rejected, back in February. However, that letter (please see attached) never arrived to us, as it was apparently sent by mistake to another Hungarian embassy, who never notified the Ministry about this mistake.

Since I assume that you would mostly be interested in the reason of the rejection, and as this is not detailed in the official notification, I asked the Immigration Office, who informed me that they can only give informal information about this. In your case the problem has apparently been the lack of sufficient Hungarian knowledge, while a that would be required by law. I am truly sorry to have to give you these bad news  and on top of it all by e-mail  and a little bit surprised by this decision. However, what I was told in the Immigration Office is that while you cannot appeal against this decision, you have the right to submit your application again once you fulfil the criteria of speaking Hungarian. We will be happy to handle your case again, also based on the documents you have already submitted, once this criteria is met.

As for your birth certificate which has been submitted in an original copy at the time of your application, once the official letter lost somewhere in the system finds its way to us, I will dully forward it to you.

I ask for your kind understanding regarding the above, and hope you will find the time to learn Hungarian and resubmit your application.

Blonder, just for some clarification: no reason was given for why your application was rejected? You said above that they lost your birth certificate, but do you just mean that they didn't return your supporting documents? Or do you mean that your application was rejected *because* they had lost your birth certificate?

OK, for the moment let's take the consular official's explanation at face value. When you submitted your application, she would have had to check a box at the end of the form, certifying either that you did or did not understand and speak Hungarian ("a magyar nyelvet érti és beszéli / a magyar nyelvet nem érti és nem beszéli"). Presumably, had she checked the latter box that would have been the end of your application, right there. I can't imagine why she would have forwarded the application to Hungary if the answer had been "no." Still you might ask, just to confirm.

That's all that the local accepting official should have to say on the matter. There's no further qualitative assessment, just a yes or no.

So assuming that the answer was "yes", for someone in Hungary to have made the determination that your Hungarian was insufficient, it would have to have been purely on the basis of your written application. And here, the most obvious place I can see where suspicion could have fallen was on your handwritten CV. Was your CV written "correctly", i.e. did it provide a brief chronological narrative of your personal and professional life? Was it written in proper Hungarian, and perhaps checked by a native reader to make sure it made sense?

This is awful, and I'm sorry to hear it.

But I have to say I was surprised when I first read your earlier post about your "very very basic Hungarian" and your enrolment in a six-month course, and that the consul accepted your application on that basis. That didn't sound like enough.

I don't know what box the consul checked on that form about your language ability, but I suspect she made some sort of explanatory note somewhere to the effect that your skills were "very very basic" and that you were enrolled in a language course to improve them. And I suspect that's why your application got bounced. As I said in an earlier post, I don't think consuls are necessarily familiar with the precise standards used by the Citizenship Office, and she could well not have been aware that she was effectively killing your application by doing anything other than just checking the right box.

In any event, it seems to me you are getting a clear message about the importance of language skills when filing an application, and it's one that we all should appreciate. (But if you could sit down and write out your CV in Hungarian about your family's property, then your language skills must have been beyond "very very basic," so I am confused a bit.)

By the way, do you get your documents back if your application fails? The FAQ on the official website makes clear that if your application is approved you do not get them back. (Which is another reason you don't want to send heirloom originals but have the consul certify copies instead.)

I did not get all the certified copies back of my grandparents' papers.  I believe they are somewhere with my original birth certificate and paid translations of the English copies.

Regarding language, I did my whole application by myself, had my CV checked by a native and was told that my "desire to improve" and henceforth enlisting at a school was good enough as they are only looking for basic Hungarian as stated on many government sites.

At first she wanted to put me in "through descent" or "regular" citizenship as both parents were born in the Kingdom of Hungary, we started that whole process and then for some reason she thought since my grandparents stayed past 1920 in the same area (not many moved around back then) that they never took the offer to become Hungarian citizens and stayed Czechoslovakian citizens.  Everyone was a simple farmer back then, not like they had choices as we do today.

Therefore she said you are still Hungarian blood and canceled regular citizenship for simplified citizenship.
I am still in Hungarian classes to this day and was never called back to consul or asked for anymore documents.

I do want my verified translations and original birth certificate returned but I don't think applying again will help me anymore than what I submitted one year ago.  In fact I think the whole process will be a lot more difficult as I was rejected the first time.

Wow blonder, this really makes me wonder how my application will be processed. I know that the consulate assistant checked "no" for the knowledge of Hungarian language box on my application. When I asked her about it, she said I am not required to know the language since I am not applying through the "simplified naturalisation" route but it still worries me... It has been almost 4 months since submitting my application and I have not heard anything yet.

I am thinking of migrating to Hungary by starting a small business and applying for PR.

Any one gone through this process?

audiophile wrote:

Wow blonder, this really makes me wonder how my application will be processed. I know that the consulate assistant checked "no" for the knowledge of Hungarian language box on my application. When I asked her about it, she said I am not required to know the language since I am not applying through the "simplified naturalisation" route but it still worries me... It has been almost 4 months since submitting my application and I have not heard anything yet.

Please keep us up to date when you do hear something, I'll be interested to see how long it takes and what the result will be. I hope for a positive outcome for you.

Thanks, I will update when I know more. She did say to expect 6 months or longer, however. I was also able to make an application for a passport while I was there submitting my citizenship paperwork so I am guessing they would not allow me to go through all of that trouble of taking my photo, fingerprints, etc. if my application is going to be potentially rejected...

DXBDINO28 wrote:

I am thinking of migrating to Hungary by starting a small business and applying for PR.

Any one gone through this process?

Your profile shows Pakistan, Malaysia then UAE.  If you are not of Hungarian origin, you will not be able to get citizenship through the routes described in this section.  The other topic of residence via investment has been covered elsewhere.  Do a search.

You will be fine as through descent there is no need for language skills and since you already went through the process of fingerprints and photo, this means you will be getting your passport.

I have filed with an ombudsman and hopefully some result.  I have never been lead to believe this was such a sure thing and then be told different.  I want to find out how/why a possible mistake was made.  BTW, still no originals have been returned to me and no further word from the embassy.  I would consider Slovak as my mother is a citizen of Slovakia but they do not have simplified anything like the Hungarians and Czechs do. 
Perhaps random selection but I still can't believe I was part of that 1.5% rejection rate.  I will not apply again as I know it as a second time applicant I would be under more scrutiny.  Just my 2 forints.

Thanks, I think you are right but worried some weird complication will occur.

I really hope your situation is resolved because it just does not add up.. I don't think they should be denying you citizenship based on what you've provided. If  you have to re-apply I think your chances will be better given all of the drama with you case. Especially if you have documentation of the responses you have received. Let us know what evolves out of this process for you.

Thanks all. This post has been very informative and helpful for me, both the good and bad stories.

My mother and I intend to apply shortly for citizenship through ancestry. My grandmother was born in Györ in the 1930's, her name is on my mother's birth certificate, and my mother's name is on my birth certificate. She left Hungary in 1957 for pretty obvious historical reasons. That seems pretty straight forward and simple, but everything I read online is kind of confusing. It also doesn't help that I know no Hungarian at all and my mother only conversationally.

Documents I have are:
My mother's birth certificate in English and Hungarian
My birth certificate in English and Hungarian
My grandmother's original birth certificate issued in 1930 and photocopied (I have the original but there's no way I'm sending the original)

I've decided to also send a copy of my four year degree. No idea if that's even necessary or if I should at all. Finally, the application itself. Since I currently do not know Hungarian and my mother only knows conversational, I am having difficulty filling out the form as well as who would even be the appropriate contact to hire to help fill out the form. All I know is my respective Consulate sent me three packets of forms and I'm going to have to figure out which is the most appropriate for me. They all seem to be on different things. Google Translate is "OK." Most of what I want to know is, am I on the right track or am I not even close?

Thank you and I apologize for the length!

Hello Everyone,  I'm new to this site/forum. I came across this thread, and noticed many similarities with my situation and the "simplified" Hungarian citizenship process. Long story which I will try to condense. In October of 2013, I applied for my citizenship (duel) and Hungarian passport. The consulate was visiting Atlanta, so I made an appointment and went down. Since I am been doing my Hungarian genealogy since I was 14 (40's now), I had original certificates of all my ancestors over 4 generations back (both sides/both my parents are Hungarian), submitted everything, paid fee, fingerprints, translated my marriage cert., and told them my parents marriage was register in Budapest. In addition I speak and understand Hungarian. I also inquired with the consulate if the fact that I was born out of wedlock would be a problem; she assured me no. So...I went to Hungary to surprise my mother for Christmas and stayed 2 months (we have a family home there). Came back and waited, and waited and waited. Finally I called the consulate in D.C., to check the status, and no one knew what the hold up was.  Finally, they told me my birth was not registered in Budapest as I thought, so I filled out more paperwork to have it registered. Then my paternity became a issue (even though BOTH my parents are/were born in Hungary.)  My father passed away so I submitted my birth certificate, and later the official long copy; not good enough, then I sent the embassy every piece of documentation I could find. Original passport application with my father's name on it, (went to kindergarten there/stayed for 9 months), property records, inheritance records, entire genealogy history, had my mother call the immigration office in Hungary; you name it I am sure I submitted it. In any event here it is 1 year later, and was told they have 3 months to respond after the deadline. I was also told a lot has to deal with politics and if only one parent, for example, the mother's side was Hungarian, they don't pay it as much attention as both.  Needless to say, I'm very upset about the whole thing considering my obvious connection with my heritage, and the fact I submitted more paperwork them 10 applicants combined.  Okay, sorry so long.  Has anyone heard of THIS many problems, or have a clue as to what the hold up is?

Kati

Kati,
Though our situations are different we ended up with the same results.
I was told no problem at the Embassy/Consul and waited a year to find out that they did reply within 3 months but lost the letter and my paperwork.
Last week the Embassy/Consul staff said they are still looking for my documents.  Yes, some were originals.
They don't tell you why you have been rejected and only speculate.  I had perfect documents, originals and even showed my Hungarian school receipt. 
I sent my issue to the Ombudsman at         [email protected]
They have been quick to reply and are investigating.  Apparently I was turned down 1 year ago this month.  My paperwork has been lost for a year now. 
I have been encouraged to keep studying and apply again.  With what?  You lost my originals?  If I were to apply again how much better could I be?  I gave stats down to days and followed up with all the same paperwork you did.
Slovakia is no better with their archaic system and I am VERY disappointed with the office in which my citizenship paperwork was processed.
NEVER had a language test.  No reason.  I find the mistake was most likely with the staff member at the Embassy here in Asia that had no experience.
My grandparents were born in the Kingdom of Hungary and I have their Hungarian birth certs from the church as well as long-form everything.
I am economically well off and already a dual citizen but I did this process to respect my blood.
I asked nothing of Hungary but was willing to sell my grandparents land in the north and invest in Budapest.
Use the email above and file your complaint.  I did and they seem quite helpful.
Do you think they were just looking for numbers before the "big vote"?  I have no idea but IF I do apply again it will be with a Hungarian lawyer.

Blonder,
As to the original paperwork luckily, the only original document I had to submit was my marriage cert., with the copy I translated in Hungarian. The consulate made copies of everything at our appointment.  There is one thing that crossed my mind, at least with concern to my situation is my parents marriage and my birth had to be recorded in Budapest as part of the process, with meant another form to fill out (I did). Some of the other paperwork I sent the Embassy in D.C. was via e-mail,  and the others sent regular mail; which they accepted and said they were forwarding it to Hungary.  I know they received my paperwork because I got a e-mail from the gentleman in charge of my case. Thank you for the e-mail address, I might need it, (I hope not.) This is all such a shameful thing in my opinion. I've been back and forth to Hungary more time then I can remember, and almost all of my immediate family/cousins/aunts/uncles, all live there. Oh I almost forgot on that birth registration form, I actually had to include an explanation/statement on my paternity. Like, no I wasn't adopted. Children born out of wedlock is not uncommon, especially in Hungary these days. Who knows maybe they don't like children who's dad was a 56'er??
BTW...0 criminal record too.

Kati

Hello.
Sounds like you have had a real run-around.
What is with all this additional paperwork?
They can't ask for a criminal background check for simplified nat. 
I think you have a case dealer that doesn't understand how the process works.
I am sure that is what happened in my case as well.
Better off to use an immigration lawyer.  I have heard they really set things up clearly so we don't have to go through all this bs for nothing.
Good luck.

Blonder,
Dang it, I think I just lost everything I just replied with. Nevertheless,  I have copies of every piece of correspondence,  e-mail, forms,  documents, names, numbers and when I spoke to them. I really can't afford the lawyer route, but I will be going on a major writing campaign to every official I can find, and using all my media contacts + making a very stern inquire with the Hungarian BAH. Everyone has told me this run around is BS. A couple more months to go I guess and then they have to reply; with a damn good reason if they deny it!

Does anyone know a good source to get a document from the Slovakian national archives? I need to get my g-grandmother's birth record. It has been microfilmed and is available on the internet, but the consulate here said that it has to come from "official" sources. 

One other question: if you can show a clear line of descent with birth certificates, do you really have to submit marriage certificates?

I've found some Brazilians on forums that have gone through this process They make it sound like it's a pretty straightforward process: you give them the documents you want, and they give you what you want. Just that you have to speak the language pretty darn well. From what they say, the language test started out as very basic, but now you have to basically be able to carry on a conversation, talk about your life, etc..

Hey Acbrasil,
I'm new to this forum, but I'm waiting for th "decision" on the paperwork I submitted for citizenship & my Hungarian passport. From my experience it's been a major run-a-round. I'm sure everyone's experience is different. What I can tell you is, the more paperwork the better! I've been doing Hungarian genealogy since I've been 14 and I'm in my 40's now. I have birth/death/marriage certificates from my great x3 grandparents on both sides. You can obtain original certificates from the county of the city of their birth or, at least back in the day pay a fee to the embassy to order it for you.  If you are married then yes you need to turn in your marriage certificate, which has to be translated into Hungarian. I did it myself, or you pay a fee to have it done for you. The marriage certificate for your parents shows patertiny; hence my particular problem my parents were married after my birth. Marriage has to registered in Hungary, and I also need my birth certificate registered in Budapest. Needless to say it has been a major pain in my ass proving patertiny, even with my official long form birth record and my passport application when I was 4 years old and lived and went to kindergarten there. As for straightforward, I wouldn't count my chickens before they were hatched, as the saying goes. You only need to prove 1 parent was Hungarian, they prefer it to be the father's side it seems. No more language test, but they do ask you if you speak and understand the language; which I also do. Other then that, no criminal record, etc. After you submit everything within the 1 year period, they have 3 months after the deadline to give you a response.  Most people find out 6-9 months after submission.  Hope that helps. 😊  P.S. I've heard about quotas, but I'm not aware of it. Oh and almost forgot, former Hungarian territory differs, if it's Slovakian, the date would be helpful as to which county, what part of Slovakia?