Want to live and work in Europe as a U.S. citizen?

Expand your options

U.S. citizens can come to Europe for a vacation or even a longer stay, but this cannot exceed 90 days within a 6-month period, and they cannot work in Europe. If you want to relocate more permanently, or work or study in Europe, you will need a permit, just like any other non-European citizen.

As an American-Hungarian dual citizen, however, you will be able to live, study, and work anywhere in the European Union, not just in Hungary. Citizens of every EU member state have the right to free movement, which means that thanks to your Hungarian citizenship, you may stay anywhere in the EU as long as you like.

Dual citizenship in Hungary

Hungary offers citizenship to anyone who has at least one Hungarian ancestor. This could be one of your parents, grandparents, great-grandparents, or any other ancestor, as long as you can prove you are related. Based on this relation, you can apply for Hungarian citizenship, which will be granted in about just a year.

Your Hungarian citizenship will let you live, work, study, or do business anywhere in the European Union without extra paperwork or waiting. Moreover, since both the U.S. and Hungary allows for dual citizenship, you do not have to give up anything or risk anything by picking up a second citizenship, you will just expand your options.

Hungarian citizenship by descent

Currently there are around 1.5 million U.S. citizens eligible for Hungarian citizenship, so it is worth looking into if you are eligible too. Even one ancestor can grant you eligibility, even if you do not have all the documents – since documents can usually be recovered, with the help of a family tree researcher. Once you have the right birth and marriage certificates proving your relation to your Hungarian ancestor, you can apply for Hungarian citizenship with confidence.

For a successful application, you might need to speak Hungarian at least on a conversational level. This depends on when your ancestors left Hungary, and which procedure is available to you. Our expert will tell you more about this as well during the consultation.

Hungarian citizenship services

If you want to know if you are eligible for Hungarian citizenship, you can start with our free online eligibility test. It takes just a few minutes, and you will get a general idea if you are eligible and if you have the necessary documents. Then you can proceed with a personal consultation with one of our experts, during which you can review your documents and your options, discuss the next steps, the timeline, and the additional services you might be interested in, such as family tree research, assistance with the application, or language lessons.

If it turns out you are not eligible for Hungarian citizenship, you can still apply for Hungarian residency. For example,

• If you are more business minded, you can set up a Hungarian company and get residency based on your business.
• If you have money to invest, you can get Hungarian residency for your entire family for 10+10 years based on an investment in a Hungarian investment fund or in Hungarian real estate. You can learn more about guest investor residency here.

About Hungary

Hungary is located in the center of Europe, with excellent connections to all European capitals and major cities on road, on rail, and in air. Hungary has an advanced infrastructure that offers a high living standard, while living costs are much lower than in western Europe. Public safety is great, while education and healthcare services are also available to everyone. Hungary has a thousand years of history, while the capital, Budapest, is a lively cultural and business hub. You can learn more about Hungary here.

About Helpers

Helpers is Hungary’s leading provider of business and immigration solutions, with 20 years of experience and a team of more than 20 experts committed to helping our clients realize their goals. We have a dedicated citizenship team working exclusively on citizenship applications, who will support you every step of the way toward your Hungarian citizenship.

Got you interested in dual citizenship? Contact us today, and start your Hungarian citizenship journey now.