Hungarian passports save lives in Ukraine – here is how

Different world rankings regularly show that Hungary’s passport is one of the strongest passports in the world. For example, Henley & Partners found this January that Hungary’s travel permit is the world’s 8th strongest, together with the Polish. They added that one could travel to 183 countries, provided they have one. Now, it seems that a Hungarian passport could save your life in the war in Ukraine. Here is why and how.

Law on double citizenship

The Hungarian parliament passed the so-called double citizenship law in 2010, right after PM Viktor Orbán’s landslide victory in the general elections. The new law made it easier for Hungarians living abroad to get citizenship, a Hungarian passport or ID. Huge Hungarian communities live in Slovakia, Romania, Serbia, and Ukraine. Many of them got Hungarian citizenship. 

Ukraine conducted the last official census in 2001, which found more than 150 thousand Hungarians. Recently, many of them have left the country because of economic difficulties. The double citizenship law only accelerated this trend after 2010. Recent calculations declare that, before the Russian attack, there were approximately 120 thousand Hungarians living in Ukraine’s westernmost region, Transcarpathia.

• Read also: Why do 120 thousand Hungarians live in Ukraine?

Since those Ukrainian citizens who tell authorities they have more than one citizenship can face hardships, nobody knows officially how many Transcarpathian Hungarians have citizenship and a Hungarian passport. However, their number is in the tens of thousands at least. Besides, there are Ukrainians and Russians who got Hungarian citizenship and passports illegally, with forged documents. That is not surprising since the Hungarian travel permit means free travel in the European Union for them. If someone regularly skims through the Hungarian Gazette, they can find that the president occasionally withdraws citizenship from mostly Ukrainian and Serbian nationals. 

The Hungarian passport saves lives

All Ukrainian male citizens between 18 and 60 can be drafted, provided they are physically capable. Locals say that the military sends all conscripts to training, but that preparation lasts only 5-8 days, regardless of whether the soldiers do or do not have any experience. Afterwards, the greenhorns are transported to the front against the invading Russian forces.

Even though hundreds of thousands, among them even women, remained at home or returned to Ukraine from abroad to fight for their country, there is a considerable number of citizens who would like to flee. Many of them are men. However, they cannot leave the country. The only exceptions are those who raise at least three infants and would like to cross the border with them. We reported the story of the former Ukrainian prosecutor general last week. He claimed he had three children in France, but the authorities did not believe him because he could show only a photocopied document.

• Read also: A Hungarian citizen tried to smuggle out conscripts from Ukraine for 15,000 USD

However, if you are a double citizen and cross the border with your Hungarian passport, nobody would make you turn back. That is because, that way, you leave the country, as a Hungarian citizen. The Ukrainian citizen remains, the Hungarian goes, even though they are the same person. Of course, foreign citizens cannot be drafted.

Locals say that Ukrainian authorities have lists of those they suspect have double citizenship. Some Hungarians believe that border police are only waiting for a sign from Kyiv to prevent them from crossing the border. Their computer system shows when and where the Hungarian national was born. If that is somewhere in Transcarpathia, authorities suspect that he is a Ukrainian citizen.

But why do Transcarpathian Hungarians still cross the border? Why do they not all come to Hungary?

Hungarians did not move to Transcarpathia. They have been living there for more than a thousand years. As a result, it is difficult for many to leave their homeland. Many men would now like to return, even though they left the country after the first shock. Work in the fields is starting. Moreover, the fronts are hundreds of miles away from Transcarpathia. Finally, up to now, there has not been any attacks in the region. Russians shot not even a single missile there.

Many Hungarians still living and currently returning to Transcarpathia hope that they will be able to leave Ukraine if the Russian troops approach or when the war starts to devour their homeland. They are building their future in Ukraine on their Hungarian passport.

Read alsoDiplomatic conflict between Ukraine and Hungary intensifies