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I have a quick question regarding obtaining Hungarian citizenship, and am hoping that some of you may be able to clear some things up for me.
My grandmother was born in Hungary, and emigrated to America during Soviet occupation in WWII. She settled in the U.S. and raised a family. I was wondering if either my father or I would be able to claim Hungarian citizenship. I'm sure he has a better shot at it than I do, but would I be able to claim it after him, if he decided to claim it first? (I remember reading something about how citizenship could only be obtained through paternal ties or something similar to that.)
Hungary has recently changed its citizenship law. It appears that if you can prove Hungarian ancestry and speak Hungarian, it is pretty easy. Here is a link that summarizes it, but read the links at the bottom of this link, for more details.
I have a quick question regarding obtaining Hungarian citizenship, and am hoping that some of you may be able to clear some things up for me.
My grandmother was born in Hungary, and emigrated to America during Soviet occupation in WWII. She settled in the U.S. and raised a family. I was wondering if either my father or I would be able to claim Hungarian citizenship. I'm sure he has a better shot at it than I do, but would I be able to claim it after him, if he decided to claim it first? (I remember reading something about how citizenship could only be obtained through paternal ties or something similar to that.)
Thanks!
Quote:
Originally Posted by iuyno
Hungary has recently changed its citizenship law. It appears that if you can prove Hungarian ancestry and speak Hungarian, it is pretty easy. Here is a link that summarizes it, but read the links at the bottom of this link, for more details.
The real question based on this is whether one speaks Hungarian or not.
And Hungarian is not a language with a lot of nice easy cognates that you can pick up in a few days if you know some Spanish or German. It is a Ural-Altaic language, unlike any other European language family.
Note the dissimilarity in the translation of the above:
És a magyar nem egy nyelv a sok szép egyszerű ragozott formáit, hogy vedd fel a napokban, ha tudod, néhány spanyol vagy német. Ez egy ural-altáji nyelv, ellentétben más európai nyelv család.
The OP already knows this, I'm sure. Just in case any one else thinks this is a quick way to get a passport.
And Hungarian is not a language with a lot of nice easy cognates that you can pick up in a few days if you know some Spanish or German. It is a Ural-Altaic language, unlike any other European language family.
Note the dissimilarity in the translation of the above:
És a magyar nem egy nyelv a sok szép egyszerű ragozott formáit, hogy vedd fel a napokban, ha tudod, néhány spanyol vagy német. Ez egy ural-altáji nyelv, ellentétben más európai nyelv család.
The OP already knows this, I'm sure. Just in case any one else thinks this is a quick way to get a passport.
The Hungarian translation must have been written by someone who is not familiar with Hungarian, it is a dreadful butchery of the language. It actually makes no sense the way it is written.
Though I do know several people who moved to Hungary as adults and did successfully take on the language. Full immersion is very helpful as is a person who speaks both Hungarian and your native language.
OP, if you do have your heart set on acquiring the citizenship, it can be done. I would recommend that you spend time in Hungary to see how you like it and to get full language immersion. Here are a few quotes about the language that may be of interest to you.
George Bernard Shaw : “After studying the Hungarian language for years, I can confidently conclude that had Hungarian been my mother tongue, it would have been more precious. Simply because through this extraordinary, ancient and powerful language it is possible to precisely describe the tiniest differences and the most secretive tremors of emotions.”
Berglund : „Today, that I have some idea about the structure of language, it is my opinion, that the Hungarian language is the summary product of human logic.”
Jakob Grimm the fabulist said that “Hungarian language is logical and has a perfect structure and surpasses every other language”.
The Hungarian translation must have been written by someone who is not familiar with Hungarian, it is a dreadful butchery of the language. It actually makes no sense the way it is written.
There are summer language programs in Hungary you can sign up for.
And fyi:
With the new Hungarian nationality law, by January 2011, every person who was a Hungarian citizen or is a descendant of a person who was a Hungarian citizen before 1920, and speaks Hungarian may apply to become a Hungarian citizen even if he or she does not live in Hungary.
There are summer language programs in Hungary you can sign up for.
And fyi:
With the new Hungarian nationality law, by January 2011, every person who was a Hungarian citizen or is a descendant of a person who was a Hungarian citizen before 1920, and speaks Hungarian may apply to become a Hungarian citizen even if he or she does not live in Hungary.
So are you saying that if someone does a crash summer course in Hungarian, it is enough to qualify as a speaker of Hungarian for this purpose?
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