If you are applying for Hungarian citizenship based on your ancestry, you will need the right documents to prove your eligibility. Should you need help obtaining them, worry not: as part of our genealogy research service, a trusted partner of ours can dig through archives to find every available document to support your application.
How to decide if you need genealogy research?
Depending on what kind of documents you have at your disposal, you might or might not need a separate genealogy research. You do not have to decide alone; as part of our Citizenship Consultation, you and a colleague of ours will review the entire application procedure together as well as the available documents, and they will let you know whether you need any additional documents.
If it turns out that it is necessary to research your family tree, we will do a preliminary search free of charge to see if there is a chance for finding the required data.
Please note: Even if you order this service, there is no guarantee for a positive result. Over the years, various archives have been destroyed, and it might turn out that important documents cannot be recovered.
Getting started
Before our partner starts the genealogy research, it is essential that you share with us all the documents you have and all the information you are aware of regarding your family history. Even if some archives were destroyed, alternative evidence may be found elsewhere if we know where to look.
For example, the best sources of information are the following:
- Birth / marriage / death certificates
- Baptism certificates
- Petitions for naturalization (in the country to where your ancestors emigrated)
- Ship manifests
- Emigration papers
- Army documents
In addition, other pieces of information may come in handy, e.g. about where your ancestors lived, or where they went to school. Some of our clients bring information found through ancestry.com. While this is a great resource, data found there is not normally accepted as conclusive evidence by authorities; it must be supported by actual documents, which might be found more easily on its basis.
Based on all the above, you will get an individual quote for the genealogy research service. If you accept it, we can go ahead.
Genealogy research in Hungary and beyond
While conducting genealogy research on your behalf, our partners review various archives to look for the following:
- Birth / marriage / death certificates
- Baptism certificates
- News articles featuring your ancestor(s)
- Electoral rolls (since only citizens are allowed to vote in general elections)
We conduct family tree research not only in the current territory of Hungary, but also in neighboring countries historically inhabited by Hungarians, especially in the former Austro-Hungarian Monarchy, namely: Austria, Slovakia, Serbia, and Romania. Normally, search could include Ukraine too, but since the outbreak of the war early 2022, our resources there are limited.
The oldest document we have acquired dates back to 1853. However, in most cases we recover documents created in the first half of the 20th century, mostly between 1900 and 1930.
Over the last five years, we have had more than 200 successful cases of genealogy research, with results ready to be used in a subsequent citizenship application procedure.
Delivering results
The time required for family tree research depends on the details of your case, especially on the country where we have to do research. If only Hungary and Slovakia are involved, results can be expected already in 3-6 months. In case of Austria, Romania, and Serbia, results are to be expected in 6-12 months.
Once done, you will receive the results digitally, in a scanned format. Naturally, the original documents will also be sent to you with a courier. If you have bought the genealogy research together with the full application package, you will get your file together with your application documents ready for submission.
Get help from the experts
The Helpers Team offers a comprehensive service palette for Hungarian citizenship application, which naturally includes genealogy research. If you need documents to verify your family history and your eligibility for Hungarian citizenship based on ancestry, we are ready to help.
Got you interested? Contact us today and let us guide you on your journey to Hungarian citizenship.
