Hungarian citizens residing in Hungary and belonging to one of the national minorities (Bulgarian, Greek, Croatian, German, , Polish, Armenian, Roma, Romanian, Ruthenian, Serbian, Slovak, Slovene, Ukrainian,) may request that their nationality be recorded in the central register.

How to proceed

An application must be submitted.

The request may be submitted electronically, in person, or by proxy.

1. Electronically

The request may be submitted electronically, with electronic identification, by clicking on the " Electronically " icon.

2. The request may be submitted in person or by proxy at any local election office.

The request may be submitted in person, and the form required for submitting the application by proxy can be filled in and printed here.

The request will be processed by the National Election Office through an automatic decision-making procedure.

Attention! The personal data provided in the request must match the information on the applicant’s residence card or official identification document (Hungarian identity card, passport, or driving license issued by Hungarian authorities), and the applicant’s Hungarian address must be valid.

You must declare in your application which national minority you belong to.

In the application, the voter may request to be entered in the national register

• only for local elections: in this case, you may participate in the national minority local elections and stand as a national minority candidate in the local elections, but you may vote for a party list (in addition to the individual candidate) in the parliamentary elections, or
• for municipal and parliamentary elections: in this case, you can vote for the national minority list (in addition to the individual candidate), but not for the party list.

Each person can only be registered as a member of one national minority in the central register, and it is not possible to be registered as a member of more than one national minority.

It is possible to request the deletion as member of a national minority at any time, and the declaration of national minority can be amended at any time.

When submitting the request, it is possible to provide a notification address to which the National Election Office will send the decision regarding the acceptance or rejection of the request.

Deadlines

The application may be submitted at any time, regardless of the election.

Registration as a national minority voter for an election already scheduled is valid if the application is received by 4 p.m. on the 9th day before the election.

The cancellation of national minority registration for an election already scheduled is valid if the application is received by 4 p.m. on the 9th day before the election.

Documents to submit

No additional documents need to be submitted other than the request.

Payment obligation

Submitting the request does not incur any payment obligation.

Acting public authority

The National Election Office.

Contact details of the local electoral offices (if the request form is submitted in person or by proxy): https://www.valasztas.hu/elerhetosegek

Supreme authority / legal remedy

An appeal may be filed against the decision of the National Election Office examining the application for inclusion in the national minority register/removal from the national minority register no later than on the thirtieth day following the date of the decision.

The appeal must be submitted in writing to the National Election Office:

- by e-mail to: fellebbezes[at]nvi.hu or

- by post: National Election Office, 1397 Budapest, Pf. 547. or

- in person: 1054 Budapest, Alkotmány St. 3.

The National Election Office shall decide on the appeal no later than the fifteenth day following its receipt, or, in the case of an appeal against a decision taken after the election has been called, no later than the working day following its receipt, but not later than 3 p.m. on the second day before the polling day.

• If the National Election Office upholds the appeal, it will amend the register.
• If the National Election Office does not allow the appeal, it shall submit the appeal to the Budapest Metropolitan Court no later than the last day of the deadline for its consideration, which shall decide on the appeal on the fifteenth day following its receipt, or within three days following its receipt in the case of a decision taken after the election has been called, but no later than the day before the vote.

Legal representation is not mandatory in court proceedings.

If the court considers the appeal to be well-founded, it will amend the decision; otherwise, it will reject the appeal.

Other information

The National Election Office processes the application, makes and delivers the decision - for all application forms - by using the election IT system, without human intervention, in the framework of an automatic decision-making procedure, with the following exceptions:

• by an administrator in person or by proxy in the case of an application:
• • identification,
  • recording the request, transmitting the decision,
• the assistance of an administrator shall be provided in the cases specified in paragraph (5) of Article 93 of the Act on Electoral Procedure (e.g. discrepancy between the data in the applicant's application and the data in the central register). After the assistance of an administrator, the application shall be considered in the framework of automatic decision-making procedure.

The notification and the register of polling stations shall also contain the voter's national minority, if the voter is entered in the central register as a national minority voter on the basis of his/her application submitted no later than the 9th day before election day .

Relevant legislation

Act XXXVI of 2013 on the Electoral Procedure

Act CLXXIX of 2011 on the Rights of Nationalities

Definitions

address in Hungary: the registered domicile in Hungary; for persons with no registered domicile in Hungary nor abroad, the temporary place of residence in Hungary.

municipality-level residence:a residence for which the register of personal and address data of citizens contains the entry "without address" next to the name of the registered municipality.

national minorities: Bulgarian, Greek, Croatian, German, Polish, Armenian, Roma, Romanian, Ruthenian, Serbian, Slovak, Slovene, Ukrainian.