# Hungary: ordinary naturalisation

Ordinary naturalisation normally requires eight continuous years of qualifying Hungarian residence, language and constitutional knowledge, and personal and financial conditions. Shorter special routes are separate.

Scope: Ordinary adult naturalisation under section 4(1), not ancestry, marriage, refugee, statelessness, reacquisition or discretionary national-interest routes.

Jurisdiction: Hungary. Sources reviewed 2026-09-17; review due 2026-12-16.

General information, not legal advice or a finding of eligibility. Requirements depend on the route, applicant and filing date. Verify the official instructions before applying.

## Eight years of qualifying residence

The ordinary route requires eight continuous years living in Hungary before applying. Section 23 counts residence from address registration for people with long-term residence rights, recognised refugee or subsidiary-protection status, or exercised free-movement residence rights with the required notification. This is not eight years on any temporary permit.

Evidence: documented. [Hungary, National Legislation Database: Act LV of 1993 on Hungarian citizenship, current consolidated text](https://njt.jog.gov.hu/jogszabaly/1993-55-00-00). Source location: Sections 4(1)(a) and 23(1).

## Hungarian and constitutional knowledge

Applicants must pass the constitutional-basics examination in Hungarian, or qualify for a statutory examination exemption and prove Hungarian-language knowledge. The current statute does not assign a CEFR level to this ordinary-route requirement.

Evidence: documented. [Hungary, National Legislation Database: Act LV of 1993 on Hungarian citizenship, current consolidated text](https://njt.jog.gov.hu/jogszabaly/1993-55-00-00). Source location: Section 4(1)(e), read with section 4/A.

## Examination and language exceptions differ

Examination exemptions cover specified restricted legal-capacity or incapacity categories, Hungarian-medium educational qualifications, applicants aged at least 60 when applying, and proven lasting, irreversible health deterioration preventing examination. These are not automatically language exemptions: section 4(8) separately permits waiver of language proof for legally incapacitated applicants.

Evidence: conditional. [Hungary, National Legislation Database: Act LV of 1993 on Hungarian citizenship, current consolidated text](https://njt.jog.gov.hu/jogszabaly/1993-55-00-00). Source location: Sections 4(8) and 4/A(2)(a)–(d).

## Conduct, support and acquisition

Applicants need subsistence and housing in Hungary, must meet the clean-record requirement under Hungarian law and have no criminal proceedings pending before a Hungarian court at decision, and must present no public-security or national-security harm. The President decides on the minister's proposal. Citizenship normally takes effect on taking the oath or equivalent pledge; the statute provides incapacity-related arrangements.

Evidence: conditional. [Hungary, National Legislation Database: Act LV of 1993 on Hungarian citizenship, current consolidated text](https://njt.jog.gov.hu/jogszabaly/1993-55-00-00). Source location: Sections 4(1)(b)–(d), 6(1) and 7.

## Dual nationality and security restrictions

Hungarian law permits dual nationality. Retention is not unconditional: sections 9/A–9/B allow proportionate security-based suspension for a defined Hungarian/non-EEA dual-national cohort without another EEA-equivalent nationality; the definition also treats EU candidate-country nationality as equivalent. The other country's retention rules still require separate checking.

Evidence: conditional. [Consulate General of Hungary, Los Angeles: Hungarian citizenship](https://losangeles.mfa.gov.hu/en/hungarian-citizenship); [Hungary, National Legislation Database: Act LV of 1993 on Hungarian citizenship, current consolidated text](https://njt.jog.gov.hu/jogszabaly/1993-55-00-00). Source location: Consular General information, point 4; Act sections 2(2), 9/A and 9/B(1)–(3).

## Scope and limitations

- Shorter and simplified statutory routes are not the ordinary eight-year baseline. No fixed annual physical-presence or permitted-absence allowance is asserted here.
- Meeting these conditions does not guarantee a grant. Language proof, qualifying residence and exemption evidence require individual assessment.

## Explore this passport

- [Passport rank and travel access](https://multipassrank.com/passport/hungary)
- [Tax residence & income](https://multipassrank.com/passport/hungary/taxes)
- [Country-profile JSON, including sources and scoped requirements](https://multipassrank.com/api/v1/country-profiles/HU)
- [Multiple-citizenship policy guide](https://multipassrank.com/dual-citizenship-countries)

[Canonical page](https://multipassrank.com/passport/hungary/citizenship)