Shock in Germany: Hundreds of Hungarian citizens lose refugee status
German authorities have withdrawn the refugee status of 568 Hungarian citizens after it emerged that they had arrived in the country claiming to be fleeing the war in Ukraine, while also holding Hungarian passports. Citizens of the European Union, however, are not eligible for temporary protection or the related social benefits granted to war refugees.
Thousands of suspicious cases in Germany
According to Die Welt, between May 2023 and October 2025, German states reported a total of 9,640 suspicious cases to the Federal Office for Migration and Refugees (BAMF). Of these, more than 1,100 were recorded this year, and in 568 cases it was confirmed that the individuals also held Hungarian citizenship, Index writes.
The issue first surfaced in Baden-Württemberg during the winter of 2022–2023, when immigration officials noticed that several people claiming to be Ukrainian refugees did not speak Ukrainian, communicated only in Hungarian, and even requested Hungarian interpreters.
During hearings, some of them admitted that they had left Hungary due to their dire financial situation, suggesting to the authorities that they were dual citizens trying to gain access to German social benefits.
EU citizens not entitled to protection
EU citizens, including Hungarians, are not automatically entitled to temporary protection in Germany. “EU citizens who wish to stay here longer must either work or support themselves financially,” a ministry official explained.
In autumn 2023, the German Interior Ministry instructed state authorities to report every case where Ukrainian refugees might also hold Hungarian citizenship. If confirmed, those affected must leave Germany unless they have employment or can support themselves independently.
In practice, however, enforcing their departure has proven difficult: some voluntarily return to Hungary, others move on to Western Europe, while many simply disappear from the authorities’ radar.
Transcarpathian Hungarians and Roma families among those affected
Péter Balogh, a researcher at Eötvös Loránd University, told Die Welt that most of those affected come from the Transcarpathia region, home to a Hungarian-speaking minority. Since 2010, under Prime Minister Viktor Orbán’s government, these individuals have been able to obtain Hungarian citizenship through a simplified naturalisation process: a move that has also served political and electoral purposes.
Many of them are of Roma origin who lived in Ukraine before the war but fled westward rather than seeking refuge in Hungary. “Ultimately, it’s a sad story: Roma people are being pushed back and forth everywhere,” Balogh remarked.
Discrimination and difficulties in integration
According to Hungarian civil organisations, Roma refugees often face discrimination both in Hungary and elsewhere in Europe. The Romaversitas Foundation reports that Roma children sometimes encounter prejudice when trying to enrol in school, Index noted.
While many ethnic Hungarians have successfully integrated into Hungary, most Roma families have struggled to make a living. As a result, many have moved to Germany and other Western European countries in the hope of finding better living conditions.
We have thousands of Hungarian Roma refugees in Canada a great many of whom reside in the Toronto area and the nearby city of Hamilton. Some integrate into society and find jobs but a great many are not only illiterate in English but illiterate in Hungarian, keep their children out of school and become a burden on the social security system. Many of these Hungarian “refugees” collect social benefits in Canada but fly back to reside in Hungary. Some have been deported to Hungary and change their names and return to Canada to make a new refugee claim. They show up in wife’s medical office and they don’t even know their own name, forgetting the change of name.
Our Politicians should be sending a plane, no? Welcome them back?
Interesting how some of us not all, do not know our cultural history. Very sad but, history keeps repeating itself in different ways.