Deputy Prime Minister for Nation Policy Zsolt Semjén announced on Wednesday in a statement given to Hungarian News Agency MTI that the total number of naturalisation requests has reached 750 thousand, and 700 thousand people have taken the oath of citizenship.

Deputy Prime Minister Zsolt Semjén was of the opinion that the goal of having one million new Hungarian citizens through the simplified naturalisation procedure by the end of the term, i.e. by early 2018, is one that can be achieved. These are people who were not previously Hungarian citizens, but who have ties to Hungarian culture, speak our language, and whose ancestors came from the former territory of the Kingdom of Hungary.

The President of the Christian Democratic People’s Party also said that according to plans, the number of people will not be naturalised but who instead will be recognised as Hungarian citizens will also reach one-hundred thousand by the end of the term. The parents or grandparents of these citizens typically immigrated to the US, Canada or Australia from the territory of modern Hungary; they are Hungarian citizens by birth, as they are descendants of Hungarian citizens, but their Hungarian citizenship had not been previously recognised.

Mr. Semjén pointed out that the citizenship procedure is the strictest administrative procedure, as all applicants undergo a three-fold check, with an administrative, a public security and a national security review are being carried out in every case.

According to the Deputy Prime Minister, the naturalisation procedure is an unprecedented effort in the history of the Hungarian State, which “Hungary will continue to conduct with the same commitment and effort in future”.

“However, it is important to realise that Hungarian naturalisation is against the interests of successor states, who accordingly often try to hinder the process though disinformation, but without much success. In fact, by now, they have more or less accepted the fact that the naturalisation procedure is an unparalleled success, a process that cannot be impeded”, Mr. Semjén explained.

He also said that the Hungarian Consulates also organising Consulate Days for Hungarians abroad – typically in smaller settlements –to facilitate the naturalisation procedure.

Mr. Semjén emphasised that since 2010 – when the required foundations were set down in the Fundamental Law, the Citizenship Act and the Act on National Unity – Hungarian nation policy “has followed a uniform path”; and the Government will not change one iota of this successful nation policy.

However, the Deputy Prime Minister also noted that the scope of nation policy efforts is expanding. As examples, he mentioned the Kőrösi Csoma Sándor Programme, within which young Hungarians are sent to diaspora organisations abroad to facilitate their community-building work, and the various thematic years that focus on Hungarian kindergartens or schools abroad. He also pointed out that the Government attaches great importance to supporting the vocational training of young Hungarians abroad, and to the economy, which – according to Mr. Semjén – is vital to assuring their continued livelihoods.

Finally, the Deputy Prime Minister underlined that Hungary does not pass on citizenship information to anyone and accordingly he urged people living in countries that do not accept dual citizenship – such as Slovakia for example – to come to Hungary, where the administrative procedure of naturalisation will be conducted and they will be issued their Hungarian passports.

Mr. Semjén also noted that apart from the Centre for Democracy, they have also come to an agreement with the Democratic Alliance of Hungarians in Romania (RMDSZ) on creating a network of offices aimed at maintaining the high number of naturalization requests.

(Prime Minister's Office)