I am in the process of trying to get Hungarian citizenship for myself and my daughter (because of the advantages conferred by Hungaryâ??s membership in the EU), for which I understood that we are eligible because my late father was born in Hungary.

I've gathered nearly all of the documents I was told by a consular official that I would need in order to apply, but I've encountered an obstacle that Iâ??ll describe below. Iâ??m wondering if any H-SIG members have had a similar experience and/or has information or advice they can offer.

The following appears on the New York City Consulate website: "Those who left Hungary before September 1st, 1929 could lose their citizenship by living continuously abroad for a period exceeding 10 years. This 10-year period began after the expiry date in the person's last Hungarian passport. Therefore, in this case, a Hungarian official document (e.g. a passport, a written declaration made in a Hungarian Consulate, etc.) must be produced which would prove that the person kept his/her citizenship.â??

The problem is that my father, who was born in 1919, emigrated to the United States in 1928, with his mother and sister. They had been preceded by my grandfather, who emigrated to the United States in 1921, and made at least one visit back to Hungary between 1921 and 1928.

The conditional wording (â??couldâ?? lose their citizenship rather than â??willâ?? lose their citizenship) is ambiguous. Are there circumstances under which the descendants of someone who left Hungary before September 1rst, 1929 and who lived continuously abroad for more than 10 years after the expiry date on their last Hungarian passport, would still be eligible for Hungarian citizenship? If so, what would those circumstances be? And, since I do not have my familyâ??s Hungarian passports/written declarations, etc., is it possible for me to obtain copies of the relevant ones. If so, where would I find such documents in Hungary? And which documents would be relevant? Would my father, then a 9-year-old boy, have had a passport of his own, or would he perhaps have been included on my grandmotherâ??s or grandfatherâ??s passports? Or mentioned in a declaration made by my grandfather? And what was the expiry date likely to have been for passports issued between the 1920s and late 1940s?

Thanks for your patience, as I know that this question is not strictly relevant to H-SIGâ??s concerns (although answers to questions about the existence of copies of the documents I mentioned could certainly be useful for Hungarian genealogical research). If H-SIG's moderator doesnâ??t think that this query should be answered on H-SIG then kindly contact me offline.

Erika Gottfried
Teaneck, NJ

HUNGARY: Braun Gottfried Klein Reinitz Rozinger Wasserman

Moderator: OK to continue this discussion as long as it does not stray too far beyond
the primary scope of this discussion group.