Why and how can Hungarian citizenship be suspended — and how to regain it?

Hungarian citizenship suspension
Source: depositphotos.com

The Hungarian government introduced a new modification concerning Hungarian citizenship months ago, making it possible to suspend the citizenship of “dangerous people” temporarily. Furthermore, it is also a prerequisite of such a procedure that the person concerned must have at least one other citizenship, so that, by the suspension, they will not become stateless. Hungarian opposition parties said the Orbán cabinet would use the new option to silence their political adversaries. Others believe that the first victim of the new power will be George Soros, the Hungarian-born American philanthropist, businessman and investor.

Hungarian citizenship suspension: a brand-new idea of the Orbán cabinet

PM Viktor Orbán talked about the importance of a spring “clean-up” in Hungary in his 15 March speech in front of the Hungarian National Museum. Two weeks later, János Halász, a lawmaker of Orbán’s Fidesz, submitted a draft bill enabling the temporary suspension of Hungarian citizenship in certain cases and people.

According to the bill, which has not yet been approved by the Hungarian Parliament, Hungarian citizenship can only be suspended for individuals who do not hold citizenship in another EEA country. This means the suspension does not apply to citizens of the EU, Switzerland, Norway, or Liechtenstein. Furthermore, the individual affected must hold the citizenship of another state, so the suspension of their Hungarian citizenship will not result in becoming stateless for them.

That means the bill, provided the parliament passes it, will be applicable to, for example, dual citizens who hold, among others, British, American, Russian, and Chinese citizenship. Some opposition key figures and the Hungarian media speculated that even mayors like Péter Márki-Zay, the joint opposition’s former prime ministerial candidate in 2022, who holds Canadian citizenship, might be a target. Others believe the bill will be used against George Soros.

Soros network
George and Alexander Soros. Photo: FB/Soros

“Dangerous citizens”

Hungarian citizenship can be suspended for a maximum of 10 years if its existence represents a danger to Hungary’s public order or national security.

Such danger may arise if the person:

  • serves in a foreign military or foreign public service,
  • acts on behalf of a foreign power or organisation in a manner incompatible with Hungarian citizenship,
  • left Hungary’s territory to join a terrorist organisation,
  • or has been legally convicted of serious crimes such as crimes against humanity, treason, or financing terrorism.

Additional rules

The suspension will be signed by the minister empowered by the government decree that details the official process. Such a decree will only be issued after the acceptance of the bill. The measure can remain in effect as long as the threat persists, but not longer than 10 years. The decision to suspend citizenship must be communicated to the individual and published in the Official Gazette, becoming final after publication.

The good news is that, according to the draft bill, the affected person may request the reinstatement of their citizenship if they can prove that the threat no longer exists; this request can only be made once during the suspension period. For reasons of public or national security, the initiation of the procedure may be kept confidential. During the process, the minister may ask for the National Information Centre’s opinion, but is not obliged to follow it.

Currently, János Halász’s draft bill about the citizenship suspension is on the table of the Committee for Legislation in the Hungarian Parliament. However, considering that he is a Fidesz MP and Orbán’s Fidesz-KDNP has a supermajority in the parliament, it is hard to imagine that, provided it receives the green light from Orbán, it will not pass.

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Featured image: depositphotos.com

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