New law empowers authorities to suspend the Hungarian citizenship of potentially hundreds of thousands of foreigners
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The Hungarian Parliament has passed a new law empowering authorities to suspend the citizenship of foreign individuals. The new regulation could affect hundreds of thousands of people, although its application is subject to strict conditions. Some Hungarian experts and opposition leaders believe the legislation targets individuals such as George Soros. Others fear that opposition figures with dual citizenship – for example, former joint opposition prime ministerial candidate Péter Márki-Zay – could become targets if the Orbán government chooses to act against them.
Orbán’s spring “clean-up” continues in Hungary
Prime Minister Viktor Orbán spoke about the importance of a spring “clean-up” in Hungary during his 15 March speech in front of the Hungarian National Museum. Two weeks later, János Halász, a Fidesz lawmaker, submitted a draft bill enabling the temporary suspension of Hungarian citizenship in certain cases and for certain individuals. This is the bill that Parliament approved yesterday, meaning it will become law unless the Hungarian President vetoes it.
President Tamás Sulyok was elected by Orbán’s Fidesz-KDNP supermajority, and the initiative came from the Prime Minister himself, so it is unlikely that the President will object. In any case, if he does reject the law and Parliament passes it again, Sulyok will be constitutionally obliged to sign it.
- Hundreds of Hungarian citizenships have been withdrawn: how and who can strip you of citizenship?
The new law allows Hungarian authorities to suspend the Hungarian citizenship of individuals who do not hold citizenship in another EEA country. As such, it does not apply to citizens of EU member states, Switzerland, Norway, or Liechtenstein. Additionally, the individual in question must hold another nationality, ensuring that suspension will not result in statelessness. Therefore, it may apply to dual citizens who also hold, for example, British, American, Russian, or Chinese citizenship.
