Who can and where can she/he apply for a Hungarian passport?
All Hungarian citizens can apply for a passport.
The average processing time is 4-5 weeks. (Expedited passport processing is only available for applications submitted in Hungary.) If you have no proof of citizenship you must have your citizenship verified before applying for a passport. This procedure takes an average of 8-10 months but could take even longer.
Personal attendance is mandatory (your fingerprints are captured on-site when you apply for a passport; therefore, you will have to apply in person at the Embassy of Hungary in Pretoria) and you have to bring with you one of the followings:
- -your valid Hungarian passport /a valid Hungarian ID card,
- -a Hungarian passport expired within one year or
- -a valid certificate of citizenship
this only prove your citizenship; therefore, in addition, you shall prove your identity by presenting valid foreign photo identification .
AND
- your Hungarian address card or
- your Hungarian birth certificate and also your Hungarian marriage certificate if you wear a married name
- 2 passport size, colored photos taken in front of a white background ( no smile, no glasses please )
If you do not have an address card/ Hungarian birth - marriage certificate yet you have to register your vital life events and request the registration of your data as a Hungarian citizen living abroad. Please check the relevant information on our website and note that without completing these steps the Authority won’t be able to issue a new passport.
If you have a valid visa in your passport, you can request that we give the passport back to you after invalidating it.
If you plan to travel with your passport shortly after applying for a new one, you can do that. In this case, you will not get your new passport before submitting or mailing in your old one.
What special rules apply to applications of minors.
a) who are under the age of 6?
In the case of a passport application of a child under the age of 6, the Hungarian parent who can prove his or her citizenship can sign a statement, on the basis of which the Hungarian citizenship of the child will be presumed.
The registration of the child's birth has to be initiated in parallel with the passport application.
Your child will get his or her Hungarian passport before his or her birth is registered. In this case, however, the name of the passport will be the same as the name on his or her birth certificate (e.g., John instead of János). If this is against your will, do not submit this statement on the child's citizenship.
b) in general?
All passport applications of children under the age of 18 have to be submitted by both parents in person as a general rule.
If only one of the parents is able to be present, the other should sign a consent letter. His or her signature on the letter may be authenticated . Parents must identify themselves (preferably with a Hungarian passport, ID card, or driver's license of a Hungarian parent and a passport of a foreign parent).
A child under the age of 12 does not have to be present at the time of the application. Please bring a passport photo of the child in this case. The photo should have taken in front of a white background.( no eyeglasses, visible teeth )
If only one parent has custody over the child, a document (court decree or death certificate) must be presented as proof.
Please always bring the birth certificate of the child.
What biometric data does the passport contain?
Your passport will store your facial image and two fingerprints on an RFID chip. If you consent to have your fingerprints stored in a database in Hungary, as well, you will be able to apply for a replacement passport online in case your passport is lost, stolen, or damaged.
Expedited passport processing is only available for applications submitted in Hungary.
Consent letter of the absent parent:
