Who can have a birth registered in Hungary, and how to do it?
If you wish to have the birth of a child under the age of 6 registered, and if at least one of the parents has proof of his or her Hungarian citizenship you can request a passport for the child at the same time without having to initiate a citizenship verification procedure.
The birth of all Hungarian citizens has to be registered in Hungary on the application of the parents or the citizens themselves.
The application may only be submitted in person, mailed-in applications will be sent back without consideration.
When registering the birth of a minor, some statements -especially those pertaining to the name and the residence of the child- have to be made by both parents in agreement.
The application may be submitted in Ottawa, in Toronto, in Montreal, in Vancouver and during extramural consular days.
How much is the fee?
Birth registration is free of charge. For applications submitted during extramural consular days an additional fee is levied. Consular fees are payable by debit/credit card only. We do not accept either cash or cheques.
Which form shall I fill out?
Please refer to the Hungarian language version of the present page on the website of the Embassy. When filling out the form please follow these guidelines (there is a non updated English translation of one of the forms to help you):
- Please fill the form out with a computer or by a blue ink pen, with block capitals.
- Please use full names in the Hungarian order, e.g. Smith John Thomas instead of John Smith or John T. Smith.
- When asked about the mailing of the birth certificate, please tick option a) and write "Ottawa" on the line. We will mail your certificate to the Canadian address you specify.
Which given names can I request for my child?
- As a general rule, if the child has more than two given names, the parents can choose two of them without changing their order (e.g. Emma Olivia Sophia Smith may be registered in Hungary as Smith Emma Olivia or Smith Olivia Sophia or Smith Emma Sophia). If you do not make a choice, the first two (Olivia Sophia) will be registered. If you so request and present the child's Canadian passport, he or she can retain all three given names.
- Normally the name on the Canadian (foreign) birth certificate will be registered, even if it is not a common name in Hungary.
- If the name has a Hungarian equivalent which is an approved given name in Hungary, then you can request to have the Hungarian equivalent on the Hungarian certificate. You have to do that if the name on the Canadian certificate is a Hungarian one (e.g. Istvan), but you wish to have it with correct Hungarian accents (István) on the Hungarian birth certificate.
- You can even have one name with Canadian spelling, and the other as a Hungarian equivalent (e.g. Ildikó Chloé).
What documents shall I submit with the application?
- An original birth certificate. Not all Canadian birth certificates are acceptable! Please refer to the list found here. We will send your original certificate back if you request when the registration is complete, not before that.
- The parents must present their identity documents, and in case of a non-Hungarian citizen, a passport or citizenship certificate which proves his or her citizenship.
- The Hungarian-issued marriage certificate of the parents. If they were married abroad and the marriage has not yet been registered in Hungary, they shall have it registered simultaneously with the birth registration.
- If the child was not born from wedlock, the acknowledgement of paternity will be necessary.
Which Hungarian authority is the one responsible, where can I get more information?
The Budapest Főváros Kormányhivatala (Budapest Metropolitan Government Office) is responsible for the registration of vital statistics events which happened abroad.
