President has once again revoked multiple Hungarian citizenships
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Under Hungarian law, the President has the authority to revoke “fraudulently obtained” citizenships based on recommendations from the Minister leading the Prime Minister’s Office. President Tamás Sulyok regularly revokes many Hungarian citizenships. However, following a recent incident concerning the yesterday Russian attack against Transcarpathia, Index reports he is increasingly becoming a liability for the ruling government due to amateur missteps.
Tamás Sulyok was appointed President solely by the ruling Fidesz-KDNP coalition, led by Prime Minister Viktor Orbán, following Katalin Novák’s resignation last year. With a comfortable two-thirds majority in Parliament, the body that elects the President under Hungarian law, the party alliance was able to install Sulyok without opposition.
Several people lose Hungarian citizenship
According to the Official Gazette, eight individuals had a particularly bad day, as all of them lost their Hungarian citizenship. Most appear to have gained citizenship through the simplified naturalisation process. Three are from Transcarpathia, one each from Vojvodina and Partium, plus a Serbian woman, a Ukrainian man, and a Brazilian woman.
The publication only lists three pieces of information for each: name, place, and date of birth. The justification is always the same: unlawfully obtained citizenship. According to Hungarian law, this can include providing false information or omitting vital facts in order to mislead authorities. For example, some may memorise the required oath in Hungarian without understanding the language. In the past, there were cases where officials were bribed to overlook applicants’ lack of Hungarian proficiency.
20-year limit on citizenship revocations
The widespread abuse of simplified Hungarian citizenships, often used for visa-free Schengen travel, and poor bilateral relations led the United States to require visas for every Hungarian citizen born outside the country.
Previously, Sulyok even revoked the citizenship of a then-11-year-old boy, who just celebrated his 12th birthday yesterday.
