Three Years as a Hungarian Citizen: Was Getting a Second EU Passport Actually Worth It?

By Ethan Cohen - Learn Hungarian Anywhere

Three years ago, I became a Hungarian citizen.

I was already an American. I wasn't fleeing the United States. I didn't have a job waiting for me in Budapest. I wasn't planning to sell everything and disappear into a little Hungarian village.

I had Hungarian ancestry, an opportunity that most people in my position don't realize they have, and a father who was convinced we should figure out whether we could turn that ancestry into citizenship.

So I did.

I found the documents. I learned Hungarian. I went through Hungary's simplified naturalization process. I memorized and took the citizenship oath. Eventually, I had a Hungarian passport in my hand.

Three years later, the question people ask me isn't really how I did it.

It's:

Was it worth it?

Yes.

More than I expected.

And for reasons I didn't completely understand when I started.

The Best Benefit of a Second Passport Is Sometimes the Problem You Don't Have

Here's a ridiculously mundane example.

Airport immigration.

If you've traveled internationally enough, you've probably had that sinking feeling when you walk toward passport control and see the line.

We all know mass tourism and EU travel has gotten worse.

I've seen European immigration lines during peak tourism periods that turned into hours-long ordeals. With an American passport, that can mean standing in the non-EU queue watching your connection fly away become increasingly problematic.

Now I pull out my Hungarian passport. And skip through, seriously.

I'm an EU citizen. It really is that fast, and an easy, power pass to a new life in Europe, or even across the world

Different line. More options. New possibilities. 

I use this travel as an example because after three years of Hungarian citizenship, the world still has issues, we are still trying to live our best lives, and this citizenship for me provides the overall value and possibilities I could have wanted or could have ever hoped for.

There's no dramatic second-passport Instagram moment. Nobody plays the Hungarian national anthem when I walk through the airport.

I just don't miss my flight.

And that's when you start understanding what citizenship actually buys you.

Not a passport.

Options.

I Didn't Get Hungarian Citizenship Because I Wanted to Leave America

This is probably the biggest misconception around second citizenship.

People hear “second passport” or “European citizenship” and assume you must want to emigrate.

I didn't.

Three years later, I think of my Hungarian citizenship almost like geographical optionality.

Hungary is a member of the European Union. As a Hungarian national, I'm also an EU citizen. That gives me rights of movement and residence under EU law that an American tourist simply doesn't have.

Suddenly Europe isn't just somewhere I can visit.

It's somewhere I can potentially build part of my life.

That distinction becomes much more important once you actually possess it.

Now We're Looking at Buying a House Near Lake Balaton

Here's another thing three years later I wasn't thinking about when I started learning Hungarian.

We're now looking at houses around Lake Balaton.

Not because citizenship requires me to live there.

It doesn't.

Because once you have another country available to you, you start imagining your life differently.

Could we have a house near Balaton?

Could we spend several months there?

Could we build something in Hungary?

Could Hungary become a European base rather than simply somewhere we visit?

These weren't urgent questions three years ago.

Citizenship made them possible questions.

And that's an important distinction if you're an American wondering, Why would I go through all this if I'm not planning to move to Hungary?

You don't necessarily know today what you'll want ten years from now.

That's the point.

Then My Sister Got Jealous

This may be the best review of the whole process.

My sister watched me become Hungarian.

She's a Ph.D. and has increasingly thought about the possibility of living in Europe.

Eventually she realized:

Wait. I can do this too?

Same ancestry.

Same potential route.

And now she's studying Hungarian.

That says more about the value of citizenship than I probably could.

Once someone close to you sees what you've actually acquired—not theoretically, but what it means in your life—the calculation changes.

It stops looking like a quirky genealogy project.

It starts looking like an asset.

“My Great-Grandparent Was Hungarian. Can I Really Become a Citizen?”

This is where a lot of people discover simplified naturalization.

They find an old birth certificate.

A surname.

A story about a grandfather or great-grandmother coming from Hungary.

Then someone says:

“You know, you might qualify for Hungarian citizenship.”

And down the Google rabbit hole they go.

Hungary has an unusually interesting ancestry-based route called simplified naturalization. In broad terms, someone with a Hungarian citizen ancestor—or who can substantiate Hungarian origin—may potentially qualify, provided the other legal requirements are satisfied.

And the ancestor doesn't necessarily have to be your parent or grandparent. You can take a sample eligibility quiz here and see for yourself.

That can make Hungary particularly interesting for Americans whose Hungarian connection goes several generations back.

But there's an important catch.

You have to prove the chain.

Knowing that great-grandpa József came from Hungary is one thing.

Documenting József, his child, the next generation, and eventually you—with the relevant births, marriages, name changes and other records—is another.

Genealogy suddenly becomes detective work. And you need to make sure you find what you need.

And Yes, You Actually Have to Learn Hungarian

This is the part that changes everything.

Simplified naturalization isn't simply:

Hungarian ancestor + paperwork = Hungarian passport.

Hungarian-language ability is what I believe your most IMPORTANT part of the process when it comes to Hungarian citizenship through descent. And you can learn more about our proprietary language program here for the citizenship interview.

And contrary to what I initially imagined, it isn't necessarily a neat, standardized exam where you memorize 100 questions, check some boxes and receive a passing score.

You need to be able to function and anticipate what comes next.

You submit the application personally. You need to understand and anticipate the person speaking to you and next steps. You need to answer questions independently in Hungarian.

That's a very different challenge.

If you're starting from zero, Hungarian can look insane.

There are languages where an English speaker can glance at a sentence and make a lucky guess.

Hungarian generally isn't one of them. But bear with me, and yourself!

How Good Does Your Hungarian Actually Need to Be?

This is probably one of the most common questions people have about simplified naturalization.

The wrong way to think about it is:

What exact level do I need to pass?

There are now many ways to learn. Including reading our blogs :)

But there's a difference between learning Hungarian generally and learning to function confidently in the specific environment of simplified naturalization. Here are some more FAQs on the process.

“How Long Does Hungarian Citizenship Take?”

This question needs another question:

Which part?

Finding the ancestry?

Obtaining old Hungarian records?

Building the document chain?

Learning Hungarian from scratch?

Preparing the application?

Or waiting for the government's decision?

People tend to compress all of that into “How long does it take?”

Don't.

For many applicants, learning enough Hungarian is going to be the longest part of the journey.

That's why waiting until your documents are finished before taking the language seriously can be a major mistake.

If you think you may qualify, investigate both tracks early:

Can I prove my ancestry?

and

Can I realistically learn the Hungarian I need?

Citizenship by Descent Isn't Always the Same Thing as Simplified Naturalization

Here's another thing I wish more articles explained.

People—including me—use “Hungarian citizenship by descent” as shorthand.

But there are different situations hiding underneath that phrase.

Some people may already have Hungarian citizenship through descent and need to have that citizenship verified.

Others are using Hungarian ancestry as the basis for acquiring citizenship through simplified naturalization.

Those are not identical procedures, and the language implications can be different.

So before spending months preparing for simplified naturalization, figure out which situation you're actually in. 

Consular websites, like this one, also share important info on this process you should know.

What Does a Hungarian Passport Actually Give You?

This is where the process becomes much bigger than Hungary.

Hungary is part of the European Union.

Hungarian citizenship therefore also makes you an EU citizen, with rights under EU law including freedom of movement and residence subject to the applicable rules.

For me, that's the enormous value.

I'm not limited to thinking:

Would I ever move to Hungary?

The question becomes:

Might I ever want to build a life somewhere in the European Union?

Those are very different questions.

My sister understands that.

I understand it much better three years later.

There Can Be Business Optionality Too

This wasn't why I became Hungarian, but once you're genuinely looking at spending more time in Hungary, you start noticing things you never cared about as a tourist.

Hungary, for example, currently has a 9% corporate income-tax rate.

That does not mean “get a Hungarian passport and magically pay 9% tax.” Tax residence, company residence, management, distributions, U.S. tax obligations and cross-border structures are separate and considerably more complicated questions.

But citizenship changes the kinds of long-term possibilities you begin investigating.

• Residence.
• Property.
• Business.
• Family.
• Europe.

None of those were the reason I started.

They're part of why I'm glad I finished.

There's Also Something Less Practical That Surprised Me

This part is harder to explain.

You begin this process with genealogy.

Then you're learning their language.

You go to Hungary.

You become a citizen.

I've discovered things about Hungary I love and things I don't particularly like. That's probably healthy. Citizenship isn't supposed to require pretending a country is perfect.

But overwhelmingly, becoming Hungarian has made me feel connected to another place and another people in a way I didn't anticipate.

The passport made me Hungarian legally.

Everything after it has slowly made that feel more real.

So, Was Learning Hungarian Worth It Just for Citizenship?

For me?

Yes.

Full stop.

What I Would Do Differently Through?

I would start Hungarian earlier.

I would treat genealogy and language preparation as parallel projects instead of sequential ones.

I would spend less time thinking about the interview as something to “pass” with fluency and panic, and more time thinking about becoming comfortable enough to know the exact situations you will go through in Hungarian that the interview wasn't dependent on a memorized script or try to rely on "general" Hungarian language skills.

And I would have understood earlier that citizenship wasn't really the finish line.

It was the beginning of what I could do with it.

Questions I Had Before Becoming Hungarian

Do I have to give up my American citizenship?

The United States does not generally require an American to relinquish U.S. nationality merely because they acquire another nationality, and Hungary permits dual citizenship. Your individual circumstances can matter, so verify the rules applicable to you.

Do I have to live in Hungary first?

Simplified naturalization based on Hungarian ancestry does not generally require you to establish prior residence in Hungary. Applications can be made through appropriate Hungarian authorities, including eligible consular locations abroad.

Does my ancestor have to be my parent or grandparent?

Not necessarily. Hungarian ancestry potentially extending through earlier generations can be relevant. What matters is establishing the qualifying ancestry and documenting the family chain.

Do I need to speak Hungarian?

For simplified naturalization, yes. Hungarian-language ability is a substantive requirement. Don't confuse simplified naturalization with citizenship verification, which is a different procedure.

Is there a Hungarian citizenship language test?

Think less in terms of passing a conventional written language examination and more in terms of demonstrating that you can independently communicate in Hungarian during the process.

Can I live elsewhere in Europe afterward?

Hungarian nationals are EU citizens. EU citizenship carries significant free-movement and residence rights throughout the European Union, although particular circumstances and administrative requirements still apply.

Is Hungarian citizenship worth getting if I don't want to move to Hungary?

That's the question I would have answered least intelligently before I became a citizen.

Three years later, my answer is yes—if you're eligible, willing to do the work, and value having options.

I didn't need to know three years ago that we'd eventually start looking at houses around Lake Balaton.

I didn't need to know that my sister would decide she wanted the same opportunity.

And I definitely didn't predict standing in a European airport, looking at an enormous immigration queue and realizing that the little red-white-and-green passport in my hand might be the reason I made my next flight.

That's what optionality means.

You acquire the option before you know exactly when you're going to need it.

If You Think You Might Have Hungarian Ancestry

Start with two questions.

Can I document the Hungarian connection?

Am I willing to learn Hungarian?

Three years ago, I thought I was going through a process to get another passport.

I was.

I just didn't realize how many other doors were attached to it.

If you need more help or want to learn more on your journey to Hungarian Citizenship by Descent, please don't hesitate to contact us. 

About the author: Ethan Cohen is a Hungarian-American dual citizen who obtained Hungarian citizenship through simplified naturalization after learning Hungarian and documenting his family's Hungarian ancestry. His experience ultimately contributed, in part, to the development of Learn Hungarian Anywhere, which along with his wife, Lidia, helps simplified-naturalization applicants develop the Hungarian-language and interview preparedness the process.

This article describes Ethan's personal experience and is provided for general educational purposes, not legal, immigration, or tax advice. Citizenship requirements and individual circumstances can change; prospective applicants should verify current requirements with the appropriate Hungarian authorities.