Simplified citizenship interview

Hi Ivan, Great question, which I would also love to hear the answer to. Nem tudok magyarul...

@Ivan Crawford I do not know which country are you from, I am Dutch and I would be very reluctant to give up my nationality (often not being able to access (without cost) many facilities. You did not disclose your nationality, but sounds English.

Be careful I would say. In Hungary it is easy, just enough money and support yourself (and family), just do not draw on the social system (which is not very genereous).

Question is why?

@Ivan Crawford I do not know which country are you from, I am Dutch and I would be very reluctant to give up my nationality (often not being able to access (without cost) many facilities. You did not disclose your nationality, but sounds English.
Be careful I would say. In Hungary it is easy, just enough money and support yourself (and family), just do not draw on the social system (which is not very genereous).
Question is why?
-@cdw057

A lot of people do it in order to be EU Citizens.

@Ivan Crawford I do not know which country are you from, I am Dutch and I would be very reluctant to give up my nationality (often not being able to access (without cost) many facilities. You did not disclose your nationality, but sounds English.
Be careful I would say. In Hungary it is easy, just enough money and support yourself (and family), just do not draw on the social system (which is not very genereous).
Question is why?
-@cdw057

His profile says USA.  He's not going to give up his current nationality.  He would be a dual national of the USA and Hungary. That's not a problem for either country.

If he's a citizen, he can register for all the HU social services he wants.   It's his right as a citizen to do that.

As an EU national, he would have free movement and visa/permit free privileges in the EEA. It's a good deal.

My son was allowed to become a dual citizen, US and HU through his father.

He didn't have to take a language test.

He also was still a minor when his father applied for him, not sure if that matters as far as the langauge test goes.

In the past I've read the language test isn't that easy.

Like any test, I guess it also depends on who is testing you.

Even with guidelines people can be stricter then others for personal reasons etc.

I suppose that's why they usually have people be resdisents for 8 years before being able to apply for citizenship. They can learn the language during those years.

My Hungarian husband waited out the 7 years in the US before applying for US citizenship. He could of done it sooner because of his marriage to a US citizen but he did it on his own merit.

My Japanese DIL was waiting to take the citizenship test in the US but it was so slow going that they gave up and moved to Japan.

Her English really wasn't all that good. She often was misunderstood and was shy about spekaing English.

It would of been interesting to know if she would of passed the test or not. She had lived in the US for 9 years.

I was under the impression that if you go for HU citizenship with having a parent or grandparent a Hu citizen that they waved the language test. IDK for a fact however.

In the past I've read the language test isn't that easy.
Like any test, I guess it also depends on who is testing you.
Even with guidelines people can be stricter then others for personal reasons etc.
I suppose that's why they usually have people be residents for 8 years before being able to apply for citizenship. They can learn the language during those years.
My Hungarian husband waited out the 7 years in the US before applying for US citizenship. He could of done it sooner because of his marriage to a US citizen but he did it on his own merit.
My Japanese DIL was waiting to take the citizenship test in the US but it was so slow going that they gave up and moved to Japan.
Her English really wasn't all that good. She often was misunderstood and was shy about spekaing English.
It would of been interesting to know if she would of passed the test or not. She had lived in the US for 9 years.
I was under the impression that if you go for HU citizenship with having a parent or grandparent a Hu citizen that they waved the language test. IDK for a fact however.
-@Marilyn Tassy

If one of your parents is Hungarian, then you are too.  No question about that. No language test required either.

Citizenship can also be granted by application to the HU President if there are good reasons.  Not sure what level of greasing that needs or what a good reason is. No language test required.

One of my kids has notions to become an Irish citizen as she has an Irish BF she's thinking of marrying. She said it would take 3 years and she would have to live in Ireland for that time.  But as a British citizen, she can live there anyway, without restriction. The upside of Irish citizenship is they can live and work then anywhere in the EEA/EU without permits or visas.

Waiting 8 years seems excessive to me.   But UK is about the  same.  Mrs F's extremely mega well qualified cousin was turned down for UK citizenship.  She promptly left for the USA and works in research in a famous US hospital as well on the way to becoming a US citizen. UK immigration limited thinking  and a loss to the country's intellectual capital.

Hello everyone, just seeing all the replies : )

I have two citizenships at the moment, Serbian and US. While HU and US allow for triple citizenships Serbia does not so me personally i don't think i would give up my original one. However, this question was mostly about my brother who lives is Serbia and is unable to come visit me for 10 years now and that is easily done if HU citizen.

as mentioned above we have grandparents from Hungary therefore simplified naturalization and embassy told us Hungarian language has to be spoken.

@Marilyn Tassy

i live in Miami, Florida and here if you speak zero English you will get a citizenship. They provide a translator for you + most of the agents speak Spanish. Now, that might just be the case in Florida for obvious reasons but never heard of anyone having issues getting the citizenship because of language. However, if she is in Japan i think she is in a better place anyways : )

my brother who lives is Serbia and is unable to come visit me for 10 years now and that is easily done if HU citizen.

-@Ivan Crawford

I'd double-check that. I know that there have been problems with US visa applicants who acquired HU citizenship recently, they had to apply with their original citizenship, at least that was the case with romanian citizens.

@atomheart

he does not have US citizenship but only Serbian. Confirmed by embassy he is good to go.

@atomheart

sorry just read again what you wrote.. i dont know i know Croatia entered ESTA in 2021 and people from Serbia who have Croatian citizenship as well as Serbian traveling without any issues . There should be no restrictions about which citizenship you are using to apply for it

my brother who lives is Serbia and is unable to come visit me for 10 years now and that is easily done if HU citizen.

-@Ivan Crawford

I'd double-check that. I know that there have been problems with US visa applicants who acquired HU citizenship recently, they had to apply with their original citizenship, at least that was the case with romanian citizens.
-@atomheart

I think that was in the news fairly recently. I am not sure the US is still enforcing those rules. They were complaining about people buying citizenship of places like Malta for $10M etc or something like it.

I am currently working with some people who citizens of a country that seems to be heavily disliked by the USA. Unfortunately, they need a visa to transit US territory to go to another country. There's just no way around them passing through the USA.. The application time is 18 months, including an interview.  It could be even be longer.

I'll double check with US embassy and immigration but i don't see the issue. Many friends that of mine have Serbian as original and Croatian as “secondary” citizenship and they travel to US as they please 🤷🏻‍♂️

however, even if not for US , having a EU passport makes things easier for people from Serbia so either way its a win no matter what. Fastest, cheapest and most straight forward way to a citizenship .

I'll double check with US embassy and immigration but i don't see the issue. Many friends that of mine have Serbian as original and Croatian as “secondary” citizenship and they travel to US as they please 🤷🏻‍♂️
however, even if not for US , having a EU passport makes things easier for people from Serbia so either way its a win no matter what. Fastest, cheapest and most straight forward way to a citizenship .
-@Ivan Crawford

Serbia isn't doing itself any "EU" favours recently over support for Russia. 

At least they didn't recognise Russia's claim on Ukrainian regions.   

But Serbia in the EU, Croatian style? 

The way politics is at the moment in the region, not a chance of that for some years.

@fluffy2560

yes, we dont really want into EU and never did. I don't see it happening ever to be honest.

Gaining Citizenship isn't a quick and fast procedure. Of the people that I have known to go through it which is quite a few, it's taken 18 months to 2 years.

@SimCityAT

not sure i was talking to a couple people who got it and they said a couple months. That is why its called simplified naturalization and that is why i said easiest and simplest meaning you do not depend on anyone else but yourself . Marriage and other ways take much longer that this. Just not depending on others means enough to be justified and done : ) 18 months is not a long time it takes 5-6 years to get citizenships through marriage

@fluffy2560
yes, we dont really want into EU and never did. I don't see it happening ever to be honest.
-@Ivan Crawford

Won't happen for some years for sure.  I think probably it was 5 years away but now, since Ukraine, it's more like 8 or 10 years.

I think it's probably fairly evenly split in Serbia over membership of the EU.   Just guessing. I am not following Serbian politics that much and I haven't worked or been there for some years.

For a small country, almost surrounded by EU countries,  it's better to be in the EU than out of it. Even Switzerland has given in somewhat to make it easier to interact with the EU.

Membership would make a big difference to inward investment, free movement, human rights, lowered corruption and hugely easier trade.  The exchange will be a small loss of some sovereignty and acceptance of external oversight.

@fluffy2560

not sure what to say. Membership comes with the high price. No one ever gave anything before taking 5x times more especially when it comes to much hated and proud Serbia. As far as Russia and Ukraine thing goes we had this happened to us 20 Years ago so we kinda see it from a different perspective and i blame Ukranian president for everything that is happening but that is something i don't think we should discuss on this forum and thread.

I like studying and have many diplomas and two citizenships by now and don't mind having another one and would go for it id Serbia allows 3 citizenships.

in this case since my family(brother)has basis for either Croatian or Hungarian citizenship i am doing 200% to get him one so he can visit me here in US while i am still here and before i move back to Serbia for good.

@fluffy2560
not sure what to say. Membership comes with the high price. No one ever gave anything before taking 5x times more especially when it comes to much hated and proud Serbia. As far as Russia and Ukraine thing goes we had this happened to us 20 Years ago so we kinda see it from a different perspective and i blame Ukranian president for everything that is happening but that is something i don't think we should discuss on this forum and thread.
I like studying and have many diplomas and two citizenships by now and don't mind having another one and would go for it id Serbia allows 3 citizenships.
in this case since my family(brother)has basis for either Croatian or Hungarian citizenship i am doing 200% to get him one so he can visit me here in US while i am still here and before i move back to Serbia for good.
-@Ivan Crawford

Fair enough.  From Hungary, depending on who you are, Serbia looks like a confused loose cannon with a right wing President.  Nothing new there as far as I know.  I cannot see other large countries helping out to get Serbia into the EU - never doing themselves any favours.  Although really, it might help avoid the Russians to be in the EU.  Just an opinion.

We're entering a new cold war or worse, a real one. Moldova looks a potential coup target.  Reports in the media say that.

If there was  way to get citizenship, Croatian might be a better bet.  Hungary is run by a guy with despotic ambitions.  There is even a small chance Hungary would leave  the EU within say, 10 years, if the HU PM cannot be completely defeated and a return to multi-party politics occurs.

I cannot see Croatia doing that any time in the next 10 years.  They just adopted the EUR and Schengen so they are getting further in.

@fluffy2560

agreed 100%. Both, Croatia and Hungary have the same stance about the citizenship and both honoring jus sanguinis. Croatian citizenship would be way easier regarding language obviously but still working on getting all the details about the process. They are pretty alert and responsive so far so unless some surprises it seems pretty promising. They also entered ESTA program 2021 so that comes handy as well. Will get back to this chat once i get an email from them with the answers about the whole process, eligibility and all that. Thanks for a nice chat 👍🏼

@SimCityAT
not sure i was talking to a couple people who got it and they said a couple months. That is why its called simplified naturalization and that is why i said easiest and simplest meaning you do not depend on anyone else but yourself . Marriage and other ways take much longer that this. Just not depending on others means enough to be justified and done : ) 18 months is not a long time it takes 5-6 years to get citizenships through marriage
-@Ivan Crawford

With citizenship in Hungary through marriage you still need to pass the language test.

@Marilyn Tassy
i live in Miami, Florida and here if you speak zero English you will get a citizenship. They provide a translator for you + most of the agents speak Spanish. Now, that might just be the case in Florida for obvious reasons but never heard of anyone having issues getting the citizenship because of language. However, if she is in Japan i think she is in a better place anyways : )
-@Ivan Crawford

I'd be a bit hard pressed to leave Miami. I love the ocean.

Yes, our son loves Japan. It was his dream to live there since he was a child.

We still don't understand why but it's his life.

I can see him living in Hawaii where he was born, a nice mix of the US and Asia and close enough to Japan to hop over and visit.

I was told at the city hall here in our district that the president of Hungary is the one and only person who makes the final  call on who becomes a Hungarian citizen. It takes over a year to get an answer.

Hello everyone, just joined so pls dont mind me if asking the wrong question.
It is been already confirmed by Hungarian embassy that i am eligible for a simplified naturalization by descent from Hungary. Gathering, translating and notarizing the documents i got it but i have one concern that i am sure many faced before me so wanted to ask: what level of hungarian language you have to speak at the interview in order to pass? Are there any common questions that should be learned? We all know how hard Hungarian is to learn and i am guessing immigration officers know to that someone who never spoke wont be fluent at it.
please share your experience if you had the interview in the past. Thank you
-@Ivan Crawford

Hi!

In a long period (2011 - 2020) language test was mostly formal.

Since 2020 it became more strict, more close to the non-simplified.

Needs:

• Fill the official forms in Hungarian
• Make a handwritten (!) CV about your life, qualifications, and past experiences in Hungarian

Talk:

Officially they say nowdays "about middle level" language skill needed.

In reality if someone able to understand the questions in Hungarian and more or less capable to give simple answers in Hungarian that eligable.

Typhical topics:

• Hungarian national symbols and their origin/ meaning (like Turul, colors of the (nowdays) official flag, etc...)
• Hungarian public memorial days and celebration days: their cultural origin, historical background
• Questions about the Constitution (advised to read it before the interview for at lest 5 times)
• Some very basic everyday questions/ common situations, like: ask for directions at street, grocery shopping, and similar regular topics from any beginner language book
• A good answer in Hungarian: "Why do you wish to became a citizen?"

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For your relative in case he is also US citizen:

Recently the US administration enacted some sanctions against Hungary, and that made some trouble for dual US - Hungarian citizens along others in the "double taxation". A few years back there were agreements to avoid things like dual taxation - so a consultation with an accountant is advised to clarify details beforehand. 

---
For your relative in case he is also US citizen:
Recently the US administration enacted some sanctions against Hungary, and that made some trouble for dual US - Hungarian citizens along others in the "double taxation". A few years back there were agreements to avoid things like dual taxation - so a consultation with an accountant is advised to clarify details beforehand.
-@sjbabilon5

The OP is a US citizen (and of Serbia).  His brother is a Serbian citizen and there are difficulties for him getting a US visa.   Probably backlog at the US Embassy.

They can get either Croatian or Hungarian citizenship to make it easier to go to the USA visa free. 

IMHO, Croatia citizenship is a better bet longer term than Hungary.

@fluffy2560

we are already gathering the documents with Croatian embassy. Def easier for us since language is the same. Thank you for clarifying that to the person above. Always saw Hungary as a super prosper country and was confident their citizenship is very “powerful”. Surprised to read that is not the case.

btw , i would trade with your kid US for Japan any time 24/7/365 : ) anything just to leave this bubble here . 

@fluffy2560
we are already gathering the documents with Croatian embassy. Def easier for us since language is the same. Thank you for clarifying that to the person above. Always saw Hungary as a super prosper country and was confident their citizenship is very “powerful”. Surprised to read that is not the case.
btw , i would trade with your kid US for Japan any time 24/7/365 : ) anything just to leave this bubble here .
-@Ivan Crawford

Hungary is always in a state of flux like anywhere.  There are considerable divisions between the city dwellers who tend to be more liberal and Western leaning and those in the countryside who are more right wing and seem to admire the East.

I'm a city dweller (well, burbs) and we loathe the current government and cannot wait for it to be replaced with something more middle of the road.  There are quite severe political divisions within the wider Mrs Fluffy family. I'm invested as I'm married to a Hungarian, we have Hungarian kids and we own property. I am not just an observer.

If I tried to be an observer, it seems like politics is not a civilised process in Hungary at all. I even think there's a possibility of civil unrest. Current government always looks for scapegoats - EU, LGBTQI+, judges, teachers, doctors, blah-blah. Mostly the intelligensia.

It's not about the possibility of war with the Russians, it's the knock on effects of the current war on prices - between 50-100% on food for example. Hungary is starting to look like a basket case - inflation is very high whereas it's more manageable in the EUR zone. Probably - and no-one really knows - HU will have to go to the IMF eventually if it continues this way. Lender of last resort. EU won't give money without some political reforms - HU is supposedly depoliticising the universities. It's really important for one of my kids who will go to Uni within 2 years.  We think we'll have to send the kid abroad to avoid the interference.

Croatia is looking good from Hungary.

@fluffy2560

all i know is last summer i went to Budapest 3 times and keep begging my wife for us to move there but she wants to be close to my family in Serbia which i guess is the right way to go. I simply love Budapest too much i can't help it. But if we move to Belgrade it is super easy to come visit any time once a month or so : )

@fluffy2560
all i know is last summer i went to Budapest 3 times and keep begging my wife for us to move there but she wants to be close to my family in Serbia which i guess is the right way to go. I simply love Budapest too much i can't help it. But if we move to Belgrade it is super easy to come visit any time once a month or so : )
-@Ivan Crawford

Oh sure, it's easy.

It's even easier they now finished the Budapest-Belgrade highway.

I used to travel sometimes on the train between capitals and it was horribly slow but supposedly it's much faster now. But I am not even sure if the Chinese constructed railway is finished. Never heard what happened to it.

Haven't tried to go to Belgrade for some years. It's a nice town but rather too many money laundering outlets on the main street. All those designer shops and plenty of nice cars. Someone is doing OK there. And some are doing much worse.

Overall I'd rate Budapest as being nicer than Zagreb. It's regional origins are very obvious. It's just a big town in development than one of the great European capital cities.  But of course, they are an industrious lot and it's probably changed a bit in the time since I was there.

I've worked all over these places and out of all of them, I would personally I'd say Croatia now has the edge as a country. Especially as it's now Schengen and Euro.  Sea, mountains, scenery, historic sites, great road network and excellent weather in the summer. And of course, Croatian/Serbian language skills are excellent for the non-local speaker/visitor. Hungarian language skills  are not quite as good.

@fluffy2560

Budapest is ages in front of Zagreb Budapest to me is like Belgrade on steroids. Alive, safe, spacious, plenty of areas and attractions to go to. From what we experienced public transportation is good(we did not pay any tickets )

Serbia.. people live way better than someone looking from the side would think. Everybody has their own car, own a house/apartment, food is great and cheap, cities are very safe, people are welcoming.. People in Serbia will complain just about everything but i of course learned how to stay inside my Chinese wall and don't pay attention to anything that radiates bad energy. Obviously, Belgrade is the city i grew up, survived bombing, graduated from colledge, everything and everyone i love is there and it more than any Miami or Tokyo out there.. but Budapest is very close, not so different and i like it so would not mind retiring there or so.

Just paid my fees for the birth certificates of my ancestors from Croatia and will be contacting embassy for more in details process steps. Perhaps i should open a new thread now about the Croatian naturalization and see what other people experiences are. This forum is great!

@fluffy2560
Budapest is ages in front of Zagreb Budapest to me is like Belgrade on steroids. Alive, safe, spacious, plenty of areas and attractions to go to. From what we experienced public transportation is good(we did not pay any tickets )
Serbia.. people live way better than someone looking from the side would think. Everybody has their own car, own a house/apartment, food is great and cheap, cities are very safe, people are welcoming.. People in Serbia will complain just about everything but i of course learned how to stay inside my Chinese wall and don't pay attention to anything that radiates bad energy. Obviously, Belgrade is the city i grew up, survived bombing, graduated from college, everything and everyone i love is there and it more than any Miami or Tokyo out there.. but Budapest is very close, not so different and i like it so would not mind retiring there or so.
Just paid my fees for the birth certificates of my ancestors from Croatia and will be contacting embassy for more in details process steps. Perhaps i should open a new thread now about the Croatian naturalization and see what other people experiences are. This forum is great!
-@Ivan Crawford

Definitely Belgrade is smaller town with less going on.  It's still attractive, especially the old part.   I live on the Buda side of Budapest and only occasionally go across the river to go to places like the airport.  I like the forest and the hills and dislike the traffic.   Some nice things outside Belgrade - that radio/TV tower with viewing platform comes to mind.  Croatia has the sea and some good beaches with sand.  Islands are nice. It's  a shame the season is so short there.

People complain about everything all the time.  It's a national sport in my home country (UK).

Everyone should pay for their public transport tickets in Budapest.  It's not expensive and the risks of being caught and fined is relatively high.  The enforcers can be quite threatening.  They hassled one of our kids and they shouldn't have been so aggressive against a child. The operative word is KID, i.e. not an adult.  I was furious.