Pre-1957 maternal-line descent declaration (gap restitution by descent) — 1957. október 1. előtt magyar anyától született személy nyilatkozata

Qualifying conditions (all required): (1) born before 1957-10-01; (2) mother was a Hungarian citizen at the relevant time; (3) father was a foreign citizen (in-wedlock birth); (4) the person did not become Hungarian at birth under the pre-1957 paternal-line-only rule. Not required: residency, age cap, Hungarian-language proof, §4/A exam, or any §4(1) naturalisation condition.

Unlike §4(3) diaspora naturalisation, the §5/A(1)(c) declaration route does NOT require proof of Hungarian-language knowledge — it is a declaratory restitution of descent for the enumerated pre-1957 cohort, not a naturalisation, so the language and §4/A-exam conditions do not attach.

The declaration (nyilatkozat) is lodged in Hungarian on the prescribed form before the anyakönyvvezető (registrar), a kormányablak/Kormányhivatal organ, or — for declarants abroad — the competent Hungarian consul (125/1993 §13(1)). Because it is a declaration, not a discretionary application, the procedural posture differs from §4 naturalisation.

Illetékmentes (fee-free). As with all first-instance citizenship administrative procedures since 2021-01-01, the §5/A declaration route carries no procedural fee (Itv. Melléklet XV. cím citizenship-fee items repealed, 2017. évi II. törvény onward); only consular translation fees may apply. [P1 correction applied.]

§5/A(1)(c) has been live since Act LV/1993 entered into force (1993-10-01) and is operative and unrepealed in the consolidated text (hatály 2025.XII.23). There is no age cap and no time-bar on lodging the declaration, so the route remains open indefinitely for the eligible pre-1957 cohort. Window W6 OPEN.

The declaration is examined by the citizenship-matters organ (állampolgársági ügyekben eljáró szerv — Budapest Főváros Kormányhivatala / BFKH, per 125/1993 §13/B) and operates under the President's competence. NOT OIF — OIF handles immigration/asylum and the Guest Investor residence permit only. [P1 correction: processor is not OIF.]

Edge case — successor-state archival loss: where the mother's Hungarian-citizenship records sit in territory ceded after Trianon (1921:XXXIII anchor 1921-07-26) or were lost in WWII, documentary proof of her historic citizenship can be difficult; the route still requires affirmative establishment of the mother's Hungarian citizenship at the applicant's birth and does not admit a 'probable origin' alternative (unlike §4(3) diaspora).