Hungary’s Fidesz party, which holds a two-thirds majority in the legislature, submitted a bill on dual citizenship to parliament on Monday.
The bill, authored by PM-elect Viktor Orban, Deputy PM-designate Zsolt Semjen and two other Fidesz MPs, offers Hungarian citizenship to anyone descendant of a Hungarian citizen, with a free criminal record and proven knowledge of the Hungarian language.
The citizenship would be open to application on an individual basis at the local registrar, consulate or other designated office.
Semjen, leader of the Christian Democrats, earlier said the procedure is likely to take up to three months.
The bill is planned to take effect on the national holiday of August 20, Constitution Day, this year, but Fidesz said it would only apply from January 1, 2011.
Senior officials of the Fidesz-Christian-Democratic alliance have cast doubt on whether the new citizenship rules would entail voting rights for people who are citizens but not permanent residents of Hungary with no clear statement made so far.
Radical nationalist Jobbik has urged voting rights to go with citizenship.
Hungarian citizenship to anyone descendant of a Hungarian citizen, with a free criminal record and proven knowledge of the Hungarian language
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If “descendant of a Hungarian citizen” means that any of my parents are Hungarian citizens (at time of their death, if not still alive), then this new law would exclude the majority of the ethnic Hungarians living abroad, if they live in pre-Trianon areas
‘justasking’ would be a typical example of a person for whom the law would apply, the children of -56ers
But the majority of people living in Slovakia, Romania, etc do not have parents who are/were Hungarian citizens. Their grand- or even grand-grand parents were
What does language have to do with it? What is “proven knowledge of the Hungarian language?” Jo reggelt? Or something a bureaucrat decides on an arbitrary basis? You could drive a truck through that definition of citizenship.
I also point out that most persons who were born of parents who were Hungarian but not within Hungary are dead, except for some very very old folk. I would also point out that there are areas where it is difficult to obtain proof of birth because records are not well kept. (Can’t find death of a cousin in Vrshetz, Serbia in 1912, for instance).
This could be an interesting court case.
“with a free criminal record and proven knowledge of the Hungarian language.”
This i like!
In Sweden they are pepole who do not even speak swedish and they are swedish citizens. I and they do not even try to learn it!!
“Radical nationalist Jobbik”
Would it kill the liberal media to call them simply Jobbik? Do we have to set up our own JDL
(Jobbik Defense League)?
The same MTI has never called MSZP “radical anti-nationalist” or “corrupt ruling party” or any other well-deserved names. Why is that? Who’s running the liberal media?
@Common Sense: I agree with your comment re MTI; we don’t have the time to edit out that qualifier from every story, but we do take it out of the headlines. Meanwhile, please note that commentators may want to move over to this piece on the same topic, just to organize the debate a bit.
“Radical nationalist Jobbik”
Would it kill the liberal media to call them simply Jobbik?
Common Sense at May 18, 2010 1:36 PM
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Jobbik like *officially* to call themselves both “Radical” and “Nationalist”, so what is the problem?
Fidesz is normally described as ‘center-right’ (or the other way around) or even ‘conservative’
No media call the ‘populists’ (except me9 but I have other names on Jobbik, then their official “Radical nationalist”
If I could prove my grandparents were Hungarian Citizens (although, they were “honved” so forth), then I could have already become citizen even under the Socialists/Free Democrats!
This is a joke!
Not allowing to vote?! Ask anyone in the so called “West:” how would the about 20-22 million X-patriots feel, if they could not vote in France, Izrael, Costa Rica etc…? (wherever permanently they moved decades ago)
Not allowing to vote?! Ask anyone in the so called “West:” how would the about 20-22 million X-patriots feel, if they could not vote in France, Izrael, Costa Rica etc…? (wherever permanently they moved decades ago)
Julia K. Wagner at May 18, 2010 3:49 PM
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I think we need to divide between countries that had colonies, because they will always have some troubles with ‘its white citizens moving to the colonies’ and the promises they made to local people that co-operated with them (‘free’ immigration to the ‘mother-country’)
Israel is a strange bird in this context (also)
Left is ‘normal’ European countries like Hungary and Sweden
Both countries has traditionally (but not at the same time) been emigrant countries. As a Swedish citizen I can vote in the national elections, even if I emigrated many years ago
For me, and many emigrants (at least inside the EU), it would be better to be allowed to vote in the national elections where you actually live (permanent residence), then I pay tax here, etc
.
As being an ‘inside-EU’ immigrant I can vote in the local and EP elections where I live
With the tighter integration of the EU, the national elections more are becoming just ‘regional’ elections
.
I think it is wrong to vote in a district/region/country where you do not live permanently, meaning that Olga should continue to vote in the Canadian elections only and not mess up our finances by electing some idiot to PM
I would like to thank Viktor Orban for implementing the double citizenship act for
Hungarian Minorities and for following agressive national politics. Actually this
caused many Hungarians living in Slovakia problems and kicked off the Hungarian SMK
party of the Slovak Parliament. On the other hand side it almost helped to get rid
of Slovak Nationalist Party – SNS from our parliament, because people no mather
whether Slovak or Hungarians want to live in piece and in a good economical
conditions and they are not interested in creating multinational tensions. This
day, I am so proud to be Slovak, because Slovaks including Hungarian Minority said
STOP this arrogant politics. So Viktor, thanks again and please keep doing it your
way. I can guarantee you that YOU and politicians like YOURSELF (not the Hungarian
people)will be ignored not only by the Hungarian minorities but by the whole
Europenian Union. Life will be again so nicer.