A new travel restriction has been imposed by the United States on Hungarian citizens. The restriction cites some concerns about the insufficient verification of approximately one million foreigners in the past nine years who were given Hungarian passports.
The new restriction is applicable to the United States Waiver Program that permits individuals with a passport from forty countries to live in the United States for a period of ninety days without any visa. The period of Validity for individuals with a Hungarian passport has been reduced to one year, and each visitor to the U.S. will only be permitted a single entry.
The move to tighten restrictions against Hungarian passport holders comes after security concerns were highlighted. According to the anonymous government official, criminals were assuming fake identities, which posed a serious security risk to the United States Security.
According to the government official, the restriction was passed after the Hungarian government failed to provide any assistance in alleviating the security threats. The government official provided the information anonymously for the purpose of preserving diplomatic relations.
The announcement of the restriction coincided with a boycott led by the ruling party in Hungary; the boycott was against the attendance of a Parliament meeting which was scheduled for Monday. The boycott was a way of curtailing the opposition’s efforts of endorsing Sweden’s move to the North Atlantic Treaty Organization.
The Hungarian Government has been providing citizens with a naturalization procedure under the authority of Viktor Orban, the Hungarian Prime Minister. The procedure allows individuals to declare Hungarian ancestry even if they don’t live in Hungary.
Approximately two million Hungarians residing in bordering nations like Ukraine, Serbia, and Romania have successfully gained Hungarian citizenship as a result of the procedure. Most have criticized the program for permitting Hungarians who don’t pay tax to vote in the elections; allowing Hungarians living in other countries to vote provides the governing party, which is led by Orban with an electoral advantage.
