Not necessarily. Under Hungary's historical ten-year absence rule, some emigrants could lose their Hungarian citizenship after prolonged residence abroad. This loss could also extend to a wife and minor children living with them. However, exceptions applied, and emigration alone did not automatically terminate citizenship. Establishing when and whether citizenship was lost is essential to determining eligibility for Hungarian citizenship by descent.
Why the date your ancestor left Hungary may determine whether you are already a Hungarian citizen.
Your grandfather was born in Hungary, emigrated to America, and never returned. Did he lose his Hungarian citizenship? And if he did, what does that mean for you and the generations that followed?
This is one of the most important questions in Hungarian citizenship by descent cases.
Hungarian citizenship is primarily based on the principle of descent (ius sanguinis). In general, citizenship passes from a Hungarian citizen parent to a child at birth, regardless of where the child is born.
However, this principle has not operated without exceptions throughout Hungarian history. Earlier citizenship laws included provisions under which a person could lose Hungarian citizenship after living abroad for an extended period. Under certain circumstances, that loss could also affect family members.
For descendants of Hungarian emigrants, particularly families who left Hungary in the late nineteenth or early twentieth century, understanding these rules can make the difference between verifying existing Hungarian citizenship and applying for citizenship through simplified naturalization.
The Historical Ten-Year Rule: Loss of Citizenship Through Absence
Hungary's first modern citizenship law, Act L of 1879, which entered into force on January 8, 1880, introduced a provision known as távollét — loss of citizenship through prolonged absence.
Under this rule, a Hungarian citizen could lose citizenship after ten years of uninterrupted residence abroad, subject to specific legal conditions and exceptions.
Importantly, the ten-year period did not necessarily begin on the day the person left Hungary.
When an emigrant departed with a Hungarian passport, the period was generally calculated from the expiry of that passport. Consequently, establishing when the passport was issued, when it expired, and whether it was subsequently renewed can be essential.
The rule is particularly relevant to ancestors who emigrated before September 1, 1929.
Emigration itself did not automatically terminate Hungarian citizenship. The legal question is whether the ancestor subsequently lost citizenship under the legislation applicable to their circumstances.
What Could Interrupt the Ten-Year Period?
The historical absence rule was not absolute. Certain actions could interrupt the period of absence and prevent the loss of citizenship.
These included:
Returning to Hungary under the conditions specified in the historical legislation.
Renewing or obtaining a Hungarian passport.
Formally declaring the intention to retain Hungarian citizenship before the appropriate authorities.
Obtaining certain official certificates or maintaining a legally recognized consular registration.
These circumstances matter because an ancestor who appeared to have settled abroad permanently may nevertheless have retained Hungarian citizenship.
For example, suppose a Hungarian man emigrated to the United States in 1912.
If he lived abroad continuously and took no action that interrupted the statutory period, he may have lost Hungarian citizenship under the historical absence rule.
But if he renewed his Hungarian passport through a consulate several years after emigrating, that renewal could materially change the assessment.
The decisive evidence may therefore be an old passport, consular record, or citizenship document rather than the original passenger list.
Why September 1, 1929 Matters
September 1, 1929, is an important dividing line in the historical assessment of Hungarian citizenship.
The historical ten-year absence rule is relevant to people who left Hungary before this date. The calculation also involves specific legal exceptions, including the exclusion of certain wartime periods.
This means that someone who emigrated in 1905 may present a very different legal case from someone who emigrated in 1935.
For a person who left Hungary in the 1930s, prolonged residence abroad would not ordinarily establish loss of citizenship through the historical ten-year absence rule. Other possible grounds of citizenship loss may nevertheless require investigation.
The year of emigration is therefore one of the first facts I examine when assessing a family's Hungarian citizenship history.
How Could a Father's Loss of Citizenship Affect His Children?
One of the less widely understood aspects of historical Hungarian citizenship law is that a father's loss of citizenship through prolonged absence could also affect his family.
Under Act L of 1879, loss of citizenship through the távollét rule extended to the emigrant's wife living with him and to his minor children who were living with him and remained under his paternal authority.
This means that a child could be born a Hungarian citizen and subsequently lose that citizenship because of the father's loss.
To understand the implications, consider the following hypothetical family.
Example: A Hungarian father emigrates to America
A Hungarian citizen emigrates to the United States in 1910.
His first son is born in New York in 1915, while the father still holds Hungarian citizenship. Under the historical rules governing paternal transmission, the child acquires Hungarian citizenship at birth.
Now suppose that in 1920, after the relevant statutory period has elapsed and no applicable interruption has occurred, the father loses his Hungarian citizenship through prolonged absence.
What happens to his son?
Scenario 1: The child lives with his father in America
If the son is living with his father in the United States and remains under his paternal authority, the father's loss of citizenship also extends to the child.
Although the son acquired Hungarian citizenship when he was born in 1915, he subsequently loses it in 1920 together with his father.
This is an important distinction: acquiring citizenship at birth does not necessarily mean retaining it for life.
Scenario 2: The child remains in Hungary with his mother
Now imagine that the son born in 1915 returns with his mother to Hungary, living with his mother, while his father continued living in America.
In these circumstances, the father's loss of citizenship through absence would not extend to the son under the same provision, because the child was not living with the absent father.
The son could therefore retain his Hungarian citizenship even though his father had lost his.
Scenario 3: Another son is born after the father's loss of citizenship
Finally, imagine that the father has another son in New York in 1928.
By then, the father has already lost his Hungarian citizenship.
Since the father is no longer a Hungarian citizen when the younger son is born, the younger child does not acquire Hungarian citizenship through him.
The three children illustrate different legal outcomes:
A child who acquired Hungarian citizenship at birth but subsequently lost it together with his father.
A child who acquired Hungarian citizenship at birth and retained it because the father's loss through absence did not extend to him.
A child who never acquired Hungarian citizenship through his father because the father had already lost it before the child's birth.
These hypothetical examples assume that the father actually lost citizenship in 1920 under the applicable historical rules, including the calculation of the ten-year period. That date cannot be established from the year of emigration alone.
Why This Matters for Citizenship by Descent Today
These distinctions can have consequences several generations later.
A descendant of the child who retained Hungarian citizenship may be able to establish an uninterrupted line of Hungarian citizenship, provided no subsequent legal event interrupted its transmission.
A descendant of the child who lost citizenship with his father may have a different legal position, potentially requiring simplified naturalization rather than citizenship verification.
This is why establishing that a great-grandparent was born in Hungary is only the beginning of a citizenship investigation.
We must reconstruct not only when citizenship was acquired, but also whether, when, and under what circumstances it may have been lost.
Historical rules concerning marriage, parental authority, residence, and the transmission of citizenship through mothers must also be examined. In particular, the legislation that entered into force on October 1, 1957, substantially changed the rules governing maternal transmission of Hungarian citizenship.
Did Acquiring American or Another Foreign Citizenship Cause a Loss of Hungarian Citizenship?
Living abroad and becoming a citizen of another country are two distinct legal events.
Hungarian law has generally permitted dual citizenship, but historical laws and international agreements could affect an individual's citizenship status.
The relevant questions may include when the ancestor acquired another nationality, how that nationality was acquired, and whether a particular Hungarian legal provision or international treaty applied at the time.
It would therefore be incorrect to assume either that foreign naturalization always terminated Hungarian citizenship or that it could never have affected it.
In complex cases, foreign naturalization records can help establish the chronology of a family's citizenship history.
They may also contain valuable genealogical information, including an ancestor's original Hungarian name, birthplace, former nationality, and date of arrival.
How Can We Prove That an Ancestor Retained Hungarian Citizenship?
The greatest challenge in many historical citizenship cases is not necessarily interpreting the law. It is finding the documents needed to establish the relevant facts.
Depending on the case, useful sources may include:
Historical Hungarian passports and passport applications.
Consular registrations, correspondence, and declarations.
Citizenship certificates and archived nationality files.
Passenger lists and immigration records.
Foreign naturalization applications and certificates.
Historical birth and marriage records, including their supporting documentation.
Municipal affiliation certificates (illetőségi bizonyítvány) and other records establishing an ancestor's official connection to Hungary.
Sometimes the most important evidence appears in a document that was not originally created for a citizenship application.
For example, historical marriage registration files may contain copies of an earlier passport or citizenship certificate. An immigration application may identify the exact date on which an ancestor arrived abroad.
In cases involving the loss of citizenship through absence, documents establishing the residence of the wife and children may also be relevant.
Such evidence can help establish a chronology, identify legal questions, and support the reconstruction of a family's citizenship history.
Finding and interpreting these documents often requires research in several countries.
What Happens If Your Ancestor Lost Hungarian Citizenship?
The loss of Hungarian citizenship by an ancestor does not necessarily mean that their descendants have no route to Hungarian citizenship today.
It may, however, affect which procedure is available.
Hungarian Citizenship Verification
Állampolgárság igazolása
Citizenship verification is appropriate where the applicant is already a Hungarian citizen under the applicable laws and seeks official confirmation of that status.
In these cases, the central task is to establish that Hungarian citizenship was transmitted through the relevant generations without being interrupted by a legally significant event.
Citizenship verification does not require Hungarian-language proficiency.
Simplified Naturalization
Egyszerűsített honosítás
Simplified naturalization may be available to qualifying descendants of former Hungarian citizens who cannot establish existing Hungarian citizenship through an uninterrupted line of descent.
Unlike citizenship verification, simplified naturalization is a procedure through which citizenship is acquired.
It generally requires Hungarian-language proficiency sufficient to communicate with the authorities during the application process.
Citizenship by Declaration
Állampolgárság megszerzése nyilatkozattal
Hungarian citizenship law provides a special procedure through which certain individuals can acquire or reacquire Hungarian citizenship by declaration, without having to demonstrate Hungarian-language proficiency.
Under Section 5/A of Act LV of 1993, this procedure is available to several specifically defined categories, including:
People born before October 1, 1957, to a Hungarian citizen mother and a foreign citizen father, who did not acquire Hungarian citizenship at birth under the legislation then in force.
Former Hungarian citizens who were deprived of their citizenship under certain historical laws, particularly during the postwar and communist periods.
Individuals who were released from Hungarian citizenship between September 15, 1947, and May 2, 1990.
Certain ethnic Germans who lost Hungarian citizenship following their compulsory resettlement to Germany after the Second World War.
The law also provides declaration-based procedures for certain people born in Hungary who would otherwise be stateless, subject to specific residence, age, and other statutory conditions.
Unlike simplified naturalization, acquiring citizenship by declaration does not require a Hungarian-language interview.
However, eligibility depends on meeting the precise statutory criteria. The procedure is not generally available simply because an applicant has Hungarian ancestors.
Re-Naturalization: Regaining Hungarian Citizenship
Visszahonosítás
Re-naturalization is a procedure for individuals who personally held Hungarian citizenship in the past but subsequently lost it.
This distinction is important. Someone whose grandfather lost Hungarian citizenship may qualify for simplified naturalization, but re-naturalization concerns the former citizen themselves, not descendants who have never held Hungarian citizenship.
Re-naturalization may be relevant to people who lost their citizenship through historical legal provisions, including prolonged residence abroad under the former ten-year absence rule, marriage under earlier nationality laws, or other legally recognized grounds.
Under Section 5 of Act LV of 1993, applicants for re-naturalization must demonstrate Hungarian-language proficiency and satisfy the applicable criminal-record and public-security requirements.
Re-naturalization does not require residence in Hungary.
For former citizens who qualify for citizenship by declaration, that procedure may offer an alternative without a Hungarian-language requirement.
Why Choosing the Correct Procedure Matters
Hungarian citizenship verification, simplified naturalization, re-naturalization, and citizenship by declaration are legally distinct procedures.
Selecting the appropriate route requires examining not only an ancestor's Hungarian origins but also the historical circumstances under which citizenship was acquired, transmitted, or lost.
For a more detailed explanation, read Hungarian Citizenship by Descent: Verification or Simplified Naturalization?.
A Historical Detail Can Change the Entire Case
An ancestor's emigration may appear straightforward in family history: they left Hungary, settled abroad, established a new life, and never returned.
From the perspective of citizenship law, however, the story may be considerably more complicated.
A passport renewed through a Hungarian consulate, an overlooked citizenship certificate, the residence of a minor child, or the precise date of a birth can affect whether citizenship was retained or transmitted to the next generation.
Two branches of the same family, descending from the same Hungarian ancestor, may therefore have different citizenship histories.
That is why I approach Hungarian citizenship cases through a combination of historical legal analysis and professional genealogical research.
The objective is not simply to establish that an ancestor came from Hungary. It is to reconstruct the documentary and legal history necessary to determine whether Hungarian citizenship continued through the family.
Establishing Your Family's Hungarian Citizenship History
If your parent, grandparent, or great-grandparent emigrated from Hungary, the date and circumstances of their departure may be central to your eligibility.
I specialize in Hungarian citizenship by descent and Hungarian Jewish genealogical research, including complex cases involving historical emigration, changing borders, and incomplete records.
My work combines professional genealogical investigation with an understanding of the historical citizenship rules that may determine the appropriate application procedure.
Book a Professional Consultation to discuss your family's history and the possibility of establishing Hungarian citizenship by descent.
Anett Neumann, MSc
Hungarian Citizenship Consultant & Professional Genealogist
Historical and Legal Sources
Dr. Parragi Mária, Állampolgársági ügyek, particularly section 2.2.5, Távollét (pp. 21–22).
Act L of 1879 on the Acquisition and Loss of Hungarian Citizenship, particularly §§31–32.
Act LV of 1993 on Hungarian Citizenship.
Hungarian Ministry of Foreign Affairs, official consular guidance on verification of Hungarian citizenship.
This article provides general historical and procedural information. Individual citizenship status is determined by the competent Hungarian authorities under the applicable legislation and supporting evidence.
Anett Neumann, MScHungarian Citizenship Consultant & Professional Genealogist · formerly Anett Goldstein ·
