Parliamentary Secretary of State in the Ministry of the Interior, Pence Ritvari, responded in a statement to the statement of US State Department spokesman Matthew Miller. As we reported, Miller spoke at a press conference about how the Biden administration is changing the visa exemption rules for Hungary because, to their knowledge, several non-Hungarian criminals obtained Hungarian passports between 2011 and 2022.
For this reason, the United States announced on August 1 that it would change visa regulations for Hungary due to security concerns.
According to them, the examination and verification of the identity of applicants for Hungarian citizenship between 2011 and 2022 was insufficient. The spokesman even claimed that there were people who obtained passports without strict scrutiny, while the Hungarian government did not respond to the American concerns raised.
Pence Ritvari: The statement is misleading
Pence Retvari, Parliamentary Secretary for the Home Office, responded to Miller’s statement in a statement sent to MTI. According to the KDNP politician, the statement of the US Foreign Affairs spokesman is misleading and false, he claimed, “because Hungary has acted in every specific US law enforcement investigation,” and then added that within the framework of this, criminal prosecution is also taking place, that is, it has been Those who violated the law had their Hungarian citizenship revoked.
In addition, Retvari assessed the change in visa rules as follows, similar to the Home Office’s previous statement:
“The U.S. government is demanding data on Hungarians living abroad,” and since the government refuses to hand them over, he said, the U.S. is retaliating against the Hungarians.
He also said that, in his opinion, if the Hungarian government handed over the data of nearly 900,000 Hungarians living abroad, it would jeopardize the security of Hungarians living abroad. As an example, he mentioned the Hungarians in Transcarpathia, because according to him there is no guarantee that Washington will not hand over their data to Kiev, which would have serious consequences due to Ukrainian laws prohibiting dual citizenship.
A harsh message from America
At the same time, not everyone agrees with the point of view of the Ministry of the Interior or the Pence Rituals. As mentioned, Istvan Sint-Ivanyi, former Hungarian ambassador to Ljubljana, member of parliament and foreign policy expert, stated regarding the situation: vehicle To his newspaper that
The Orban government is becoming increasingly hostile to the United States and the West, and the current American adjustment is actually a message.
Szent Ivany believes that Prime Minister Viktor Orbán, in his speech in Tosvane this year, clearly sided with the latter between the United States and China, and believes that America has indicated its current move: if the Hungarian government follows such an approach. Politics, there will be consequences.
As we reported on the index, the United States announced on August 1 that it would change visa regulations for Hungary due to security concerns.
As part of the US Visa Waiver Program, citizens of participating countries can travel to the United States for up to ninety days without a visa for tourism or business purposes, as Hungary was also part of the Visa Waiver Program (Visa Waiver Program, VWP). For this, they only need the so-called Electronic Travel Authorization System (ESTA, Electronic System for Travel Authorization).
However, starting from August 2, because between 2011 and 2020, according to the United States, the Hungarian state did not provide sufficient information to applicants for passports issued during this period,
The validity of the Esta has been reduced from the previous two years to one year, and furthermore, it only entitles you to one entry.
(Cover image: Bence Ritvari. Photo: Boglarka Bodnar/MTI)
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