Part 10 - My Journey to Hungarian Citizenship
- Tara
- Mar 25
- 3 min read
The Oath Ceremony: A Day full Emotion and Pálinka!
Note: In March of 2023, I took my Hungarian Citizenship Oath. It was a lot of work and dedication to get there, and I know many others are on a similar journey through the Simplified Naturalization Procedure. I'm writing a 10-part series of posts with details of my citizenship process. I hope this will help and inspire others.
As you may understand now, after reading this 10-part series, I took the Hungarian citizenship process very seriously.
So, after receiving the invitation to my citizenship oath ceremony, I didn't just sit back and relax. Instead, I signed up for a specialized language course to prepare for the ceremony!
I knew I wanted to go to my oath ceremony feeling confident and calm. So I went back to Hungarian Language Solutions and worked with a tutor to get ready. We practiced the kind of small talk I might encounter at the consulate on Oath Day. I practiced introducing my guests, and talking about my Hungarian heritage.
I also practiced (over and over) the oath I would take:
Én, Gadomski Tara esküszöm, hogy Magyarországot hazámnak tekintem. Magyarországnak hű állampolgára leszek, az Alaptörvényt és a jogszabályokat tiszteletben tartom és megtartom. Hazámat erőmhöz mérten megvédem, képességeimnek megfelelően szolgálom. Isten engem úgy segéljen.
I typed those words onto my computer screensaver so I would see them dozens of times a day. I recited the oath in the shower, while driving, and at anyone who would listen.
I was allowed to bring up to four guests to the ceremony with me, so some of my family came along, as well as my friend and teacher, Olívia. The ceremony was at 10:30 AM, and I made sure to get there very early.
Though each consulate or embassy will have different specifics, this is how it all unfolded in New York.
On entering the consulate, I signed in (as did my guests) then they were directed to go to the ceremony room and sit, while I signed more paperwork, and, excitingly, received my Hungarian ID card! Then I, along with the other oath takers entered the ceremony room (there were 12 of us that day.) Placecards with our names were on the seats (I believe in alpabetical order) and we sat down.
The consulate made remarks (in Hungarian of course) about the importance of the day. Then we stood and took the oath. The words were spoken, line by line, by a representative for the consulate, and we repeated them.
Then we sung the national anthem.
At that point, we were called up, one by one, and handed our citizenship certificate by the consulate, who congratulated us.
Then we were toasted with champagne! We mingled and chatted.
The event was a whirlwind. It was emotional and exciting, but also felt right. I had been hoping for this day for so many years, and when it finally arrived, I felt very peaceful and like I was in the correct place that I both deserved and earned.
Afterwards, my friends and family and I went across the street to an Irish pub to celebrate. My Hungarian friends snuck in some pálinka and we toasted. It was one of my favorite days ever.
On the day, I thought many times of my great-grandparents who had to leave The Old Country to survive. And I thought of their children - my grandparents -- who had worked so hard to help me have an easy life in the US.
I believe that I honored them that day and continue to do so by being celebrating our culture, through my work and my life. I hope they are proud of me.
You can see video of the day here:
For those of you on this immigration journey, or indeed going after any other dream, I hope this blog post helps inspire you.
Subscribe to the blog here. And thank you for reading! I loved reliving this process through this 10-part series. Please let me know if you have any questions or thoughts. Köszönöm!