Has anyone gone through the simplified naturalization precedure?

Yeah, it was actually my private teacher that started telling me around a month or so ago to go do the interview. He has prepared tons of people that have passed. So I finally contacted the consulate and started working on my forms yesterday.

I did an intensive summer course (4 week course)  there in the summer of 2016, and I came back and started classes with a private teacher. Outside of private classes, I study around 3-6 hours a week, probably more because I don't consider reading websites or basic chats with friends to be studying.

I loved it there, especially the people. I spent the majority of my time outside of Budapest, and everyone I talked to was like a clone of me, or vice versa. We think and act the same. I had never experienced this before, not even where I was born.

zif wrote:

And he's gotten no recognition at all for recognizing right off the bat the problem developing at the border, and taking steps to resolve it. Instead, he was dumped on by all his...

This is very off topic so moving to Absolutely Anything Else

I agree, love allot of things in Hungary but seriously would never on my life even consider working a "real full time job" here.
Dang, the wages are too low but for now for me in my selfish way, it  is working out fine as retired people. We can actually save more then half our income every month without a care, in the US we would be in a fix or sharing a home with relations  live the same lifestyle.
As soon as Hungary raises their prices and or wages, many ex-pats will run away I think.
I know I would rather be a poor old retire in the US then one over here in Hungary.
I do find it very sad to know most Hungarians are smarter, more skilled then many in the west, not sure why Hungary as been always on the wrong side of everything in history.
Such a beautiful place with such a warm culture... sad.
It may be that most Hungarians tend to be head strong and do before thinking, a cool trait but not suited for this material world.
Even so , we try hard not to act like we are above the average hard working person here in Hungary, after all it was only a twist of fate that we were born where we were and into the life we were born into.
I admire the Hungarian spirit as I have visited Hungary twice during the commie years, those years would of broken many of us spoiled brats born in the west.
The kindness shown to me during their dark days will never be forgotten. In many ways I think the people back then tended to stick together more and to actually care about each other more then these days. It has all become about making a buck and not about sharing the load.

Going through simp nat was a beautiful life challenge but u need to think ahead of reality.
Using the passport to work in another EU country or to live in HU.  Yes, the language is difficult and pay is low but Budapest is fabulous. 

Listen to the experts on here like Marilyn and others.  Experience means more than anything and we can only learn from personal experience, hard work and our dreams.

blonder wrote:

New rules were implemented in 2013 and 2014 that made it more difficult (language, present citizenship, monetary back-up etc)

"Monetary back- up" is not and never has been a requirement during the simplified naturalization process. There's not a single form or field on the application where you input savings or earnings, education, or even career/job status.

The "rules" (laws) for simplified naturalization have remained the exact same since it was introduced in 2011.

superkitekr wrote:

Yeah, it was actually my private teacher that started telling me around a month or so ago to go do the interview. He has prepared tons of people that have passed

Well, if your private teacher is telling you to go...go!

There's a lot of negativity and pessimism on this forum - please filter these people out. Have confidence, put in the work...and you'll be fine.

I meant to say...wow, my English is bad this week.

That on your CV it doesn't hurt to show that you are also a financial asset to HU and that you will not live off the system and that you will contribute.
Of course blood is first.  Education and assets can also be "helpful" in speeding up the process in our situation.
Sorry, for the misunderstanding.  Lack of sleep lately.

The point is, that in drafting your CV you should do your best to show that you're a well-educated responsible person. May not be necessary, but as said it can't hurt.

And can I ask, how are you handling translation of documents?

I'm done.  I took my eskü and hon okirat last summer.  Lovely memories. Embassy translated everything at a cost of course.

Sorry, I was directing that at Superkitekr. As I mentioned here before, not all consulates do the translation.

(That wasn't meant to sound ungrateful for your reply, it's just that I'd already asked you the same question here a long time ago.)

Anyway Blonder, having read your posts over the years, it's nice to exchange a few messages with you.

Jesperss: Let them be negative!    negativity slides off my back, especially about this issue. Almost nothing could dissuade me. This issue has consumed my life for the past 3 years or so. I'm just waiting to hear back from the consulate on the final document check. Nagyon ideges vagyok.

Be patient.  My first time was denied.  Could have been that they misspelled most of my family names or that it got lost in an Embassy in a third world country and sat there for a long time. 
I applied again and kindly showed where the embassy translator misspelled most family names.
Studied my butt off and passed.  Was told 6 months later I would have another 90 min - 120 min oral interview and had to pass or no eskü for me.
I wanted it so bad after so many years and I love a challenge so much that I quit my job and studied in Budapest and who knew...fell in love with the city, people and the way of life.
I studied even more and passed - did my eskü as someone not afraid but extremely proud to Magyar lettem.   My last line was büszke Magyar vagyok!   And I feel it stronger today. 
I did it from pure passion and respect.
Makes the waiting time feel like a minute now. 
Enjoy the ride!   It's a moment in time you get only once.  Embrace your love of being a Magyar.  The day you watch a sunset on the Danube or see Parliament at Christmas to simple kind words spoken.  🙏❤️🇭🇺

From an interview with the Deputy Prime Minister this week:

"Further emphasizing his governing coalition's intentions to use every tool available to maintain their hegemony,  [Deputy Prime Minister] Semjén said he'd like to simplify the by-mail voting procedures for ethnic Hungarians in neighboring countries (overwhelmingly Fidesz voters) and to simplify the so-called 'simplified naturalization procedure' for those populations.  Semjén called reports that there were abuses of that naturalization system 'lies,' and emphasized that while 940,000 people have received Hungarian citizenship through the scheme, 32,000 applications have been rejected and 55 cases have been brought to prosecution."

http://budapestbeacon.com/news-in-brief … -law/45291

"940,000 people have received Hungarian citizenship through the scheme, 32,000 applications have been rejected "
Hope for all.  I was one of the 32,000   it was a sad day, BUT I applied a year later and made sure all was in order and my language skills were B1 level and it shows NEVER give up and ALWAYS study!
My eskü was still the happiest day of 2016! 

Yesterday I went to the KormányAblak and inquired in Hungarian about the process. I was given an appointment for a 30 minute interview and just told to fix a few things on my application form. For example, I wrote a CV as if for a job application and they wanted a motivational letter. But the lady said I spoke Hungarian well and asked me in which district I'd like to take the eskü. She also said that she scheduled me for the soonest appointment, because my residence permit expires in March 2018. I don't know if this means that I've unofficially been approved, based on having intermediate language skills. (I can bring with me a Certificate from my old university that said I completed a B1 course, maybe I should?) Maybe I should also ask a couple professors at my current university for a quick recommendation letter, because I am in what seems to be a B2 class there.

Do I need a copy of my rental contract and the deed for my interview? I don't believe they said I needed one at the KormányAblak yesterday, and when I inquired in Pécs last fall they also didn't say I needed that. But there was a link to the KormányAblak website and it mentioned something about the rental contract and the deed (I assume it wouldn't be hard to do, just an expense I didn't expect, but I will have to move from this flat in June because the owner is returning to Hungary). Did anyone else who applied need to do this?

zif wrote:

From an interview with the Deputy Prime Minister this week:

"Further emphasizing his governing coalition's intentions to use every tool available to maintain their hegemony,  [Deputy Prime Minister] Semjén said he'd like to simplify the by-mail voting procedures for ethnic Hungarians in neighboring countries (overwhelmingly Fidesz voters) and to simplify the so-called 'simplified naturalization procedure' for those populations.  Semjén called reports that there were abuses of that naturalization system 'lies,' and emphasized that while 940,000 people have received Hungarian citizenship through the scheme, 32,000 applications have been rejected and 55 cases have been brought to prosecution."

http://budapestbeacon.com/news-in-brief … -law/45291

Zif, this is very interesting. Thanks for posting this:

I did it last year..never took an oath..never had a language test. I did however have all my paperwork ready..my parents birth certificates, marriage license ,my long form birth certificate, my original marriage license and my grandmothers Hungarian passport. All my English paperwork was translated into Hungarian and certified as true and authentic.

When I went in to the offices here in Tatabanya I was treated well, each step was explained fully and carefully. I did cheat though...I had my Hungarian cousin sitting next to me and and we "discussed" each required element in Hungarian in front of our councellor. (I speak fairly fluent Hungarian) My only real issue was that they spoke very fast at times and used words and terms I was unfamiliar with.

Other then that..I love being Hungarian...
If anyone is planning to visit the area where I live I would love to get together for a coffee. I do miss having a good conversation in English.

I was wondering if anyone can help me with this. My great-great-grandfather was a Hungarian citizen and immigrated to the US from Hungary in 1906 and became a US citizen in 1943. The part of Hungary that he was born and raised in is now a part of Ukraine. I have all the documents required to prove that he was a Hungarian citizen like his birth certificate, but have no idea if he renewed or lost his Hungarian citizenship between 1906 and 1920. Assuming he might have lost it, would I still be able to apply for Hungarian citizenship through him?

Simplified doesn't care if they lost it or not...

To my knowledge you can't immediately become a Hungarian citizen with his papers. HOWEVER you can learn Hungarian to an intermediate level and apply for simplified naturalisation, using his documents.

Contact your local Hungarian consulate or embassy, send them images of your ancestor's documents and ask them what you can do.

The best method to learn the language would be to study intensive Hungarian through the Balassi Intezét. Not everyone would have the time for this, nor ability to move to a city where there is a Balassi Intezét branch. With much commitment, this level of Hungarian can be learned independently. If you want, I can tell you in more detail how I learned independently.

Whether your great-great-grandfather lost his Hungarian citizenship is a really hard question, given the passage of time. It's possible he didn't lose it under the Trianon Treaty since he left Hungary long before 1920, but there were other ways Hungarian citizenship could be lost, most particularly ten years' absence from Hungary. But the ten-year rule had its exceptions, of course.

In any event, as mentioned, for Simplified Naturalization you simply need one ancestor who was for at least a time a Hungarian citizen. And you need to be able to handle the Hungarian language at some more than basic level.

You also need a certified original of his birth record, not simply a copy from your family records. Presumably your ancestor was born before the establishment of government record offices around 1895, so his birth record would be a church record, now held somewhere in Ukraine. Sometimes these can be difficult to find, and sometimes impossible.

Thank you! I contacted the Hungarian embassy about it a year ago and haven't heard back from them, which is why I found this forum and came here to ask hoping someone could help. Judging by some of the other comments it seems they hardly every reply back to messages.

Sure, I would be interested in learning about how you learned to speak Hungarian independently since it may be of help. I found a few websites that teach Hungarian and also some YouTube videos to at least try to learn it on a basic level, but am not sure if they will be enough.

My great-great-grandfather was born in 1885 so his birth certificate is a church record, but fortunately I found a Genealogist in Ukraine who was able to find it and get it for me from the Uzhhorod archives, but it's only a photo copy since the Ukrainian government won't release the official records to even Ukrainian citizens let alone to foreigners and they even give people a hard time about obtaining photo copies unless you're a local genealogist or work for the Ukrainian government and have access to them. I believe there was even a court case and the US government tried some years ago to get them to release them for Holocaust survivors trying to obtain their, their parents or their grandparents birth and marriage records and they wouldn't. I was lucky to find it at all since the genealogist told me that records for the area he was born in only go back a couple of years before his birth and any before that were lost or destroyed. I guess I might just have to try with the photo copy and hope they accept it under the circumstances, but I also obtained some other records of his just in case that might be of some extra help, like his naturalization record since it not only has his date and place of birth on it, but also his original name since he changed his first name and the spelling of his last name after he came to the US.

I'm not clear. Of course you have a photocopy; the archives is not going to hand over the original. But the photocopy should have a stamp or a seal or a letter attached that shows it's an official copy of the original. If so, that should be sufficient. (On the other hand, if it's just a photocopy your genealogist made while researching at the archives, it will need some sort of official authentication.)

Most church records are handwritten in Latin (if Roman Catholic) or Church Slavonic (if Eastern Orthodox). The birth record must like all your documents be translated into Hungarian, but finding a qualified translator who can read old script is sometimes difficult.

As you probably know, you also need a complete chain of official birth and marriage certificates demonstrating your descent from your great-great-grandfather, with Hungarian translation. Name changes introduce some confusion, but you can explain them in your CV.

Sorry, I should have cleared up any confusion by mentioning the word "certified." It's difficult to get an original (certified) copy if you're a foreigner. Residents and citizens of Ukraine wait for many months to get a certified copy of a birth certificate or even an answer about it and that's only if they're trying to obtain a secondary copy of their own birth certificate or a parent's or vice versa. Trying to get a certified copy of an ancestor's birth certificate, especially if you're a foreigner is nearly impossible unless you know someone who can pull strings for you, but most people don't. There are a lot of complaints online from desperate people who filled out and sent in a form along with other information and a money order to the Ukrainian embassy as required trying to get information about an ancestor or a copy of their birth certificate and months or years later haven't heard anything back. The genealogist even told me that they hardly ever even read them and purposely neglect them if you're not a resident or a citizen. So the copy I have is unfortunately just a photo copy (non-certified) and most likely the best I can ever do as far as obtaining one.

As for translation though, the genealogist I found speaks several languages and was able to translate his birth certificate and a few other records for me so luckily I didn't have to worry about that part, but I still need to find someone to translate records for the rest of my ancestors from English into Hungarian, which hopefully I can do myself if I learn Hungarian well enough. I'm able to obtain certified copies of birth certificates for my great-grandfather down to me and certified copies of my parent's and grandparent's marriage certificates, but can only get a non-certified photo copy of my great-grandparent's marriage record and can't seem to find my great-great-grandfather's and great-great-grandmother's marriage record even though they met and married in the US some time between 1907 and 1910. And as for the name change, that's why I figured his naturalization record would be of help because it has both his changed name and his birth name on it, because from what I read they require some form of proof if the names don't match and the surname on my grandmother's and great-grandfather's birth certificates don't match the name on his. But his naturalization record is also just a non-certified photo copy and all I can obtain.

My interview is scheduled; I'm going next month. I didn't know 6 months ago that I was going to have to take the wife and kid with me! We're going to have to take a bus, and then catch a flight to get there. Hotels too, so it's going to be expensive $$$. <I know this sounds corny>, but I don't care about the expense because this is what I've wanted my entire life.

Before embarking on learning Hungarian, KEM91, you really need to contact the embassy or a consulate to confirm that what you have will pass muster. I doubt they'll know first-hand; they'll probably have to contact Budapest. If your emails aren't being answered, call and schedule an appointment and meet in person. It's that important.

For what it's worth, my impression is you do need something more formal than a mere plain photocopy for your base document, just as you need official copies of the other birth and marriage records.

As to translations, unless the consulate does the translation, you need to use a designated translator; you can't simply provide your own translation or a translation done by someone else, no matter how skilled. On this page there's a list of the designated translators in Ukraine; Google Translate will put it into good enough English. (There's other useful information on that page, as well.) Again, it's possible these somewhat official translators will only work with a somewhat official copy.

https://ottawa.mfa.gov.hu/page/egyszeru … -honositas

I just found this thread from a Google search. I don't want to say too much about my situation but, I will be taking the ceremony soonish after three years (!!!) of waiting, having papers lost, etc. I had to take the interview twice before passing, and I pretty much gave up after a year of hearing nothing--now my Hungarian is quite rusty and I have not much time before the esku. I'm so scared they'll try to catch me out on the day of the ceremony. I saw the elbows and knees comment.. goodness. Has anybody here been through the esku and doesn't mind talking to me about it? I'll post more details of my situation once I go to the embassy and either pass or not. I'm not trying again.. it's been so long and I've been through so much emotional heartache. I'll give it this shot and then I'm done. 

I had 3 years of back and forth but when the decision came in I had 4 months to study my butt off and I quit my job and went to Budapest for 4 months and with 4 different teachers and 8-10 hours a day I reached my B1 level - it IS worth it and the oath ceremony is beautiful and the best thing happened to me in my life last year.
I also too my resident card, ID card and everything else I needed these past months.
I fell in love with Budapest and the people and yes, it is worth it.  Study very hard and I used a teacher via Skype on italki.com called Zoltán.  He was incredible and helped me so much and now helps others in the same situation.
Don't give up now.  You are in the home stretch.  I was turned down the first time and my papers lost but got back on the saddle again and studied and prepared once again and now I am a proud Magyar!

Update on my case:

I spent a boatload of money for the the family to travel to the consulate. My first impression: intimidating for me because I had so much ($$) riding on the appointment. He said I passed, but he said something later about getting a call from Budapest. Does anyone know about that?

I just hope my application is approved so I can keep going with it. I really enjoy the language, but it's hard to justify continuing to study or making sure my son learns if we're never going to get citizenship.

About the language test, all I can say is be ready for anything. Sure, some of the questions were standard, but they can ask you whatever they want to, and in my case, they did.

Zif, my document came out of Slovakia, so I was told I had two options since the document didn't originate in modern day Hungary:

1) send the document to the Hungarian consulate in Poszony to be officially translated
2) send the document to any OFFI in Hungary to be officially translated

I chose #2. I think it cost me around 6500 Ft. to get the translated copy.

I took the original Slovak birth cert. to the consulate with me (OFFI makes a copy and attaches it to the Hungarian translation). They gave the original back to me, wheww.. because it was a hard document to get!

They kept ALL of my other documents. The birth certificate I've had since I was a kid.. it's with them now. If you need do anything with any of your documents, do it before you go to the consulate!

The possibility of getting a phone call is discussed earlier in this long thread.

Can you fill us in a bit more on the "anything goes" questions?

Also, how long did you study Hungarian, and how.

Thanks!

(Yes, they keep everything, but the consul told me that for a fee they'd make certified copies for submission and return the originals on the spot. But maybe not all consulates do this.)

zif wrote:

The possibility of getting a phone call is discussed earlier in this long thread.

Can you fill us in a bit more on the "anything goes" questions?

Also, how long did you study Hungarian, and how.

Thanks!

(Yes, they keep everything, but the consul told me that for a fee they'd make certified copies for submission and return the originals on the spot. But maybe not all consulates do this.)

Do you happen to know around which page the phone call thing is discussed? I get a lot of SPAM calls, and private number calls, so I almost never answer my phone. Ahhhhhh..

I started studying a couple of years ago, but got REALLY serious in 2016. I did a summer course there, and then came back and started with a private teacher. I do some sort of hard activity nearly every day. I know some people in Hungary and we exchange messages almost every day too. I'll be happy when I can say everything that I can say in my first 2 languages, in Hungarian.

I saw someone mentioned the Carol Rounds book a few pages back. Here's my experience with that book:

I got the structures from that book and made a boatload of sentences about my life with those structures to present to my teacher. I kept hearing "We don't say that/Nobody talks like that" so I threw the book to the side.

My main books are the FSI books + A Practical Hungarian Grammar (the big green book) + some Hungarianpod + Assimil (<- I think this book is hard to learn from!). With the FSI books, I've already gone threw them before, but now I'm going back and trying to do everything without looking. I keep a spreadsheet and record my daily progress.

When I think about the interview, I remember years ago reading how you just needed to know basic greetings, numbers, colours, that sort of stuff. How things have changed!!

Ignore the "phone call" stories. Either your application will be approved or denied. If the consulate/embassy decides to accept it there is a 95% chance you'll be approved.

zif wrote:

(Yes, they keep everything, but the consul told me that for a fee they'd make certified copies for submission and return the originals on the spot. But maybe not all consulates do this.)

In the USA there is a $25/document fee for each certified copy. I needed seven done so it cost me $175...payable by cash only.

jesperss wrote:

Ignore the "phone call" stories. Either your application will be approved or denied. If the consulate/embassy decides to accept it there is a 95% chance you'll be approved.

The problem with the phone call is that we're bombarded by telemarketing calls. I doubt I'm the only person that won't answer calls from unknown numbers.

I think nowadays, if you're under 40 years of age, everything is text messaging (not SMS)

jesperss wrote:

Ignore the "phone call" stories. Either your application will be approved or denied. If the consulate/embassy decides to accept it there is a 95% chance you'll be approved.

That's reassuring, jesperss, thanks.

The consulate submitted my application late last year, and I'm still waiting to hear. Anyone know what the turnaround time for applications is now? I read somewhere that Budapest changed which office is processing them, as of the beginning of this year. Has that maybe slowed things down?

How long did it take people to hear back?