Thread: Dual Citizenship

Are there any dual nationals here?

Next month I will be going to a Hungarian embassy to embark upon the journey of becoming a Hungarian citizen. My father was born in Hungary. I was born here in America, but in the eyes of the Hungarian government, I am a citizen (by right of blood)... I just need to register.

It's something I always wanted to do.. but never got my crap together enough to go through the process. Now I have all of my ducks in a row, and all I need to do is go in person and hand in my paperwork. I will not lose my American citizenship, or else I would not do this.

One cool benefit is that if I ever want to live or work in Europe... in any of the 27 countries that are part of the European union, I can do so without needing any work permits or Visas... as I will be a citizen of the European union. Also... when I visit there... many things such as museums are free to citizens, but any non-citizens have to pay.

Has any gone through this process? Any words of encouragement? Any horror stories? Anyone against dual citizenship?



Happy holidays. :)

Sounds fantastic....wish i could be dual citizen at another country

I believe the only drawbacks are while you are in Hungary, the US citizenship holds no value, as in they will not count you as US citizen if a disaster struck and US citizens were to be evacuated....this is as far as I know and what i've heard from someone...but please correct me if i'm wrong.

U know of any other disadvantages to doing this? The advantages speak for themselves and definately go for it no matter what you gotta go through lol.

That's the only disadvantage I've heard of as well. However if push came to shove and a disaster struck, I'd probably sneak across the Austrian border, just as my father did in 1956 during the Revolution against the communist Russians, lol.

Hey magyar,

I am Aussie/British, both parents Brittish but I was born in Aus. I had no issues getting mine as both are Commonwealth countries (not so important), but both recognize dual nationality (big bonus).

You'll love Europe, coming from a large empty country the thing that blew me away is you can drive for an hour and be in a total new country, culture, language, history etc. then turn around, drive another hour and same again. If you are thinking of taking the train system, wait till you get there to buy your euro-rail pass as its cheaper from within EU than USA.

The thing of note you need to look out for is that the USA does not recognize dual nationalities. AKA they will always think of you as American, no matter what. If you were doing it the other way round they'd request that you hand in your Hungarian citizenship. That said I know many Canadian/American, Brittish/American etc. If you don't tell them they won't know.

Good luck and safe travels!

they will not count you as US citizen if a disaster struck and US citizens were to be evacuated...

If you were in an EU country and there would be a disaster of some sort, no one would care if you are an american or not. By that I mean no one would care what citizenship you have. 1st, it is a disaster, they would probably not even care if you were the pope. Not so tragic but anyway.. 2nd, an avarage european nowadays uses 2 to 3 languages, especially the younger generation, and they/we travel alot. If you are in the capital city of an EU country chances are that the people coming towards you are not even from this country even if they work and/or live there, or a man shoping in the downtown shop is not from this country..

If you have a citizenship from a Schengen country, which excludes basically only UK and Ireland, then, for you, EU basically is borderless, you do not require the passport to physically travel, you can travel from Spain to Finland and no one will bother you unless for speeding. Basically imagine how the US would be like if there would a country in every US state except only without the borders. That is EU. :)

PS. If you will initiate a converstion in english in my country the approached will think you are from Estonia, then Finland, then Sweden, then Denmark, then Republic of Ireland or UK and only then possibly US.

I am definitely looking forward to traveling throughout Europe with only my Hungarian ID card. :)

I know intermediate Hungarian and English... though most of the rest of Europe have people that speak English... so I should be able to get by lol.

I pursued dual citizenship and am glad that I did. I'm working on #3 & #4 now. It opens up new possibilities, particularly with respect to travel or domicile. It will no doubt take longer than your expect and more than one form before you can say that you are done. If it doesn't then you will really be the exception to the rule. Passport agencies are nothing if not bureaucratic.

You won't really find any discouragement from me. But.. you would be wise to look into this more before committing to the process. Getting a second passport isn't just a nifty thing to do.. it means that you gain the rights and responsibilities of citizenship in that second country. Depending on the country this might include things like mandatory military service or taxation.

So.. those are things you should look into. Also some countries such as Germany (AFAIK) don't permit dual citizenship, so in some cases gaining a new passport would incur an obligation to renounce your other citizenship. But after doing your due diligence - more than likely you will find that it is a great thing to pursue. Good luck to you.

I'm Chinese and it does not allow dual citizenship :|

Originally Posted by copper

Some countries such as Germany (AFAIK) don't permit dual citizenship, so in some cases gaining a new passport would incur an obligation to renounce your other citizenship.

In the case of Germany,

It is necessary to apply for a permission to keep your German nationality before accepting a second one. In other words, you need that thing called «Beibehaltungsgenehmigung» at the moment you get a second passport. Hoping that your new country will not tell your old one that you are now with them is a gamble. Especially in the case of Teutonic countries like Austria, Germany and Switzerland, one can probably bet on the fact that everything is recorded and reported at all times.

It is always wise to investigate the respective regulations in the two countries involved in your case. Whether they have a form similar to the «Beibehaltungsgenehmigung» or do not care, it's better to know than to be surprised.

By the way, if anybody has a working recipe on how to become a Swiss, please send me an e-mail. Seriously, Switzerland is the best country in the world but impossible to get a permanent permission to stay, so working tips are most welcome. Should that mean that I have to marry a Swiss edition of Traci Bingham, Kim Kardashian or Nicole Scherzinger, I might even be willing to make that sacrifice ...