Registering a birth in Hungary

David wrote:

Hi,

About to have a baby or already had children? Let's share your experience about the paperworks for registering a birth in Hungary.

What are the formalities to obtain a birth certificate?

What is the procedure to follow if both parents are of the same nationality or for a mixed couple?

Thank you in advance for participating,

David

Speaking from 4 years ago....

As far as I remember, the hospital should send the birth details to the local government automatically, then you get an address card and birth certificate in the post. You need to name the baby there and then at the time of birth. There's no waiting period allowed so be prepared with names!

You can also go to the local government almost immediately and they will give you the docs if you have the right paperwork from the hospital and you can argue  effectively (but they don't like it) for the paperwork there and then. You might need to do that if you need to apply for a passport for the baby quickly.

You have to take your passport(s) if not Hungarian and your nationality will be recorded on the birth certificate.

The birth certificates is now internationalised A4, so it has Hungarian, English and French on it. It's acceptable as a legal document in any EU country.

Angolhapsi wrote:

....as we are both UK citizens - that too requires a trip, only this time to the British Embassy in Budapest - a TAD further afield!! ...

I wouldn't bother with the consular birth certificate because it is stupidly expensive. The Hungarian birth certificate is absolutely legal documentation in all EU countries.

I used the HU birth certificate to get a passport for our baby and it was not even questioned by Embassy staff (we had one of the last passports issued by the Embassy before the FCO idiots outsourced it to Dusseldorf)

The only reason to have a consular birth certificate is to make sure the birth is registered in the UK, and not only retained in the Embassy records (which apparently, remains in the Embassy and is not sent to London).

Angolhapsi wrote:

The UK Passport is a 'ticket to travel' and allows free access & entry to so many places that would otherwise demand a Visa if travelling on the Hungarian passport!!

Maybe so, but this is not what I said.

It is not necessary to have total rip off consular birth certificate to obtain a British passport, the Hungarian version birth certificate is equally acceptable to the British authorities.

Also, it's not a universal truth that visa free travel is equally obtained. You might find it's worth having both HU and UK passports for your child because sometimes visas are cheaper on the Hungarian passport than the British one. Also, some countries do not need visas for HU citizens but they do for UK ones.

BTW, visa issuing staff anywhere in any country can often be persuaded to hand out a visa even if you are not a resident. Just say that you live here part of the year. Worked for me numerous times including a couple of weeks ago. The only place I couldn't persuade them was in a Nigerian Embassy but they are known to be awkward.

Ildy wrote:

.... Again, as I was "unmarried" they would have needed a document from the father, saying that he admits that he is the father. (Apasági Nyilatkozat) My husband needed to get this through the embassy but woud have taken too long. Besides, according to them he was already married (to me) so didn't see the need to issue this document....

Yes, I had forgot about this. 

However, all I had to do was sign a paper at the registrar's office (local government) agreeing I was the father.

I didn't need anything else at all, not even produce a marriage certificate and I certainly didn't go to the Embassy for anything at all.  My nationality was however noted on the birth certificate(s).

gabderecki wrote:

Hi everyone out there
My dad is Hungarian but I was born and married in Australia - my daughter would like to travel in Europe.  She has an Australian Passport - do I need to register my birth and marriage in Hungary and also my daughters birth for her to obtain a Hungarian Passport to make travelling there easier?  What are the implications if I do this - are there any national laws we will be subject to?

Your first stop should be the HU Embassy in Australia.   

I would have thought you can get a HU passport and therefore so can your daughter.   

There's nothing in HU law to stop anyone being a dual national.   When in any country, anyone there is subject to the national laws of the country.  With that in mind, caveat is that one cannot expect expect the Australian Embassy to help out in HU if there's a need to call them for "emergency assistance".   Dual nationals of the country they are present in, normally cannot access embassy resources from their alternate nationality.   

On the other hand, your daughter should have a great time in Europe.  Obviously if she's a EU citizen, she can work in Europe if she chooses to.  Plenty of people do it.