Hungary: Manufacture, distribution, prevalence and use of fraudulent documents, including police, court, and medical documents; ability of a person to obtain valid identity documents using false information (2012-March 2015)

1. Fraudulent Documents

Information on the manufacture, distribution, prevalence and use of fraudulent Hungarian documents was scarce among the sources consulted by the Research Directorate within the time constraints of this Response. For further information on fraudulent documents in Hungary, see Response to Information Request HUN103946.

In correspondence with the Research Directorate, the International Communications Office of the Hungarian Government provided responses from the Hungarian National Police (HNP) and the Hungarian Office of Immigration and Naturalization (OIN) (Hungary 13 May 2015). The response by the HNP stated that, based on information obtained from the Department of Crime Analysis and Evaluation of the Hungarian National Police Headquarters, it is not possible to "filter private documents by type" from the database available to the police and that there are no statistics on the reasons why forged private or administrative documents have been used (ibid.). The same source further stated that they are unable to establish the number of "false or forged police, medical, court or other document[s] or those with untrue contents" that have been "used in immigration procedures" (ibid.). In correspondence with the Research Directorate, an official at the Embassy of Hungary in Ottawa provided information obtained from the Ministry of Interior (MoI), indicating that the prevalence of fraudulent Hungarian documents is not high (Hungary 3 July 2015). The same source further stated that no statistics are available and that "cases are so few that there are no codes specified for police investigators and public prosecutors to register the forgery" of police, court or medical documents (ibid.).

The response from the Hungarian MoI states that it is possible for police, court and/or medical documents to be forged "relatively easily as the documents themselves have no security features" and only require forging the stamp and the signature of the authenticating person (ibid.). However, the same source stated that the use of such forged documents is "extremely rare in Hungary," since the contents can be easily verified (ibid.). In addition, the MoI indicated that they have no information regarding the involvement of organized crime in document forgery and that perpetrators typically act alone (ibid.). Further and corroborating information could not be found among the sources consulted by the Research Directorate within the time constraints of this Response.

According to the US Department of State's Country Reports on Human Rights Practices for 2013, in April 2013, a police officer received a fine of 375,000 forint (US$1,700) for the "forgery of public documents" in relation to the use of force and threats during a police interrogation of three high school students (US 27 Feb. 2014, 3). Corroborating information could not be found among the sources consulted within the time constraints of this Response.

Information about cases of fraudulent medical records could not be found among the sources consulted by the Research Directorate within the time constraints of this Response. However, in a report about corruption in the medical field, the EU's European Commission reports that "informal payments" for health care in Hungary are a "problem" (EU Oct. 2013, 249). The same source quotes a 2010 study which found that 21 percent of people surveyed had made informal payments to physicians and 44 percent had made informal payments at hospitals during a one year period (ibid.). The European Commission further notes that such payments are "not necessarily perceived as a corruptive practice" nor do the regulations "explicitly forbid these payments" (ibid.). Further and corroborating information could not be found among the sources consulted by the Research Directorate within the time constraints of this Response.

2. Ability to Obtain Valid Identity Documents with False Information

The response provided by the MoI states that fraudulent police, court or medical documents "cannot be used to obtain legitimate Hungarian identity documents," such as ID cards, passports, or driver's licenses, as they "are not issued on the basis of such documents" (Hungary 3 July 2015).

Without providing further detail, the OIN stated that "[i]n rare cases, it happened that Hungarian documents were handed out to someone who used false documents to identify him/herself" (Hungary 13 May 2015). Further and corroborating information could not be found among the sources consulted by the Research Directorate within the time constraints of this Response.

According to sources, in 2010, Hungary amended its citizenship legislation to allow individuals outside of Hungary to apply for Hungarian citizenship on the basis of having Hungarian ancestry and a basic knowledge of the Hungarian language (EUDO Citizenship July 2010, 2; BBC 7 Nov. 2013; The Budapest Beacon 18 Sept. 2014). According to the Hungarian Spectrum, a Hungarian news analysis website run by a former Yale professor and with guest contributions from other academics (Hungarian Spectrum n.d.), an applicant is required to have at least one ancestor who was a Hungarian citizen before 1920 or between 1940 and 1945 (ibid. 16 Sept. 2014). Sources indicate that the aim of the amendment is to address the needs of ethnic Hungarians in territories that formerly belonged to Austro-Hungary prior to 1920, including in the neighbouring countries of Romania, Slovakia, Serbia and Ukraine (Euronews 28 Jan. 2015; BBC 7 Nov. 2013).

Two sources report the findings of a two-part investigation by the Hungarian news website Index, which found that the amendment to the citizenship legislation resulted in fraudulent applications by individuals who did not speak Hungarian nor possess Hungarian ancestors, primarily from Ukraine and Russia, and that this was facilitated by criminal networks and corrupt officials who accepted bribes to sign-off on applications (The Budapest Beacon 18 Sept. 2014; Hungarian Spectrum 16 Sept. 2014). According to the Budapest Beacon, a news website that reports on events in Hungary (The Budapest Beacon n.d.), Index's investigation found that Ukrainian and Russian applicants pay up to 10,000 euros (US$13,000) to obtain Hungarian citizenship, and a "'citizenship dealer'" alleged that a village mayor in eastern Hungary requested 1,000 euros each to sign off on 200 citizenship applications without asking for proof of Hungarian language proficiency (ibid. 18 Sept. 2014). According to the Hungarian Spectrum, applicants who do not have Hungarian ancestry can have documents forged to invent Hungarian relatives that costs between 6,000 and 25,000 euros [C$8199 and C$34,166] and Russians can access companies and lawyers that first create a Ukrainian identity for them (Hungarian Spectrum 16 Sept. 2014). The same source further states that from January 2011 to September 2014, of the more than 700,000 applications, 20,897 had been rejected, most of them since March 2013, when the rules were changed and "only government offices of jarasok, sub-units of counties, could handle citizenship matters" (ibid. 17 Sept. 2014). Prior to this, "even village notaries or mayors were allowed to grant citizenship" (ibid.). The same source details the application rates as follows:

Ukraine: 91, 275 applicants were made and 80,000 were successful;

Serbia: 124,811 applications were made; and

Romania: 420,345 applications were made.

According to Euronews, a multi-lingual EU news source (Euronews n.d.), since 2011 the majority of new citizens came from Romania (268,006), Ukraine (28,395) and Serbia (87,529), and a further 261,214 applicants who were living in Hungary were given citizenship, though no detail on their nationality was given (ibid. 28 Jan. 2015).

According to the Hungarian Spectrum, Serbian, Russian and Ukrainian applicants typically used their new Hungarian citizenship documents to obtain a Hungarian passport in order to gain access to other EU countries (17 Sept. 2014). Further and corroborating information about corruption in processing citizenship applications could not be found among the sources consulted by the Research Directorate within the time constraints of this Response.

3. State Efforts

According to the HNP, the use of a "forged private document" is penalized under Section 345 of Act C of 2012 on the Criminal Code as a misdemeanour punishable by up to one year imprisonment (Hungary 13 May 2015). Legislation regarding the forgery of documents is addressed in Sections 342 to 345 of Act C of 2012 on the Criminal Code as follows:

Forgery of Administrative Documents

Section 342

Any person who:

prepares a forged administrative document or falsifies the contents of an administrative document;

uses a falsified or forged administrative document or an administrative document issued under the name of another person;

collaborates in the inclusion of false data, facts or declarations in an administrative document regarding the existence, changing or termination of a right or obligation;

is guilty of a felony punishable by imprisonment not exceeding three years.

Any person who engages in preparations for the forging of administrative documents as defined in Paragraph a) or b) of Subsection (1) is guilty of misdemeanor punishable by imprisonment not exceeding one year.

Any person who performs the forging of administrative documents under Paragraph c) of Subsection (1) by way of negligence shall be punishable for a misdemeanor by custodial arrest.

Section 343

Any public official who, by abusing his official competence:

prepares a forged administrative document;

falsifies the contents of an administrative document; or

includes falsely any essential fact in an administrative document;

is guilty of a felony punishable by imprisonment between one to five years.

The provisions of this Section shall also apply to those members of the judicial and law enforcement authorities of a foreign State who operate in the territory of Hungary pursuant to statutory authorization.

Forgery of Secure Identification Documents

Section 344

Any person who:

makes a forged secure identification document for entry provided for in specific other legislation;

falsifies the contents of a secure identification document for entry;

uses a falsified or forged secure identification document or a secure identification document issued under the name of another person;

is guilty of a misdemeanor punishable by imprisonment not exceeding two years, insofar as the act did not result in a more serious criminal offense.

Use of a Forged Private Document

Section 345

Any person who uses a falsified or forged private document or a private document with untrue contents for providing evidence for the existence, the changing or termination of a right or obligation, is guilty of a misdemeanor punishable by imprisonment not exceeding one year. (Hungary 2012, Sec. 342-345)

Information on the effectiveness and implementation of the legislation could not be found among the sources consulted by the Research Directorate within the time constraints of this Response.

This Response was prepared after researching publicly accessible information currently available to the Research Directorate within time constraints. This Response is not, and does not purport to be, conclusive as to the merit of any particular claim for refugee protection. Please find below the list of sources consulted in researching this Information Request.

References

British Broadcasting Corporation (BBC). 7 November 2013. "Hungary Creating New Mass of EU Citizens." [Accesed 17 Apr. 2015]

The Budapest Beacon. 17 April 2015. "Semjen Denies Existence of Passport Mafia in Hungary." [Accessed 17 Apr. 2015]

_____. N.d. "About." [Accessed 21 May 2015]

Euronews. 28 January 2015. Chris Harris. "What's the Link Between WWI and Hungary's 675,000 New Citizens?" [Accessed 24 June 2015]

_____. N.d. "The Channel." [Accessed 29 June 2015]

European Union (EU). October 2013. Directorate-General Home Affairs. Study on Corruption in the Healthcare Sector. (HOME/2011/ISEC/PR/047-A2) [Accessed 15 Apr. 2015]

European Union Democracy Observatory (EUDO) Citizenship. July 2010. Update: Changes in the Hungarian Citizenship Law and Adopted on 26 May 2010. [Accessed 27 May 2015]

Hungarian Spectrum. 17 September 2014. "Hungarian Citizenship Offers Escape Route from Troubled Ukraine." <<http://hungarianspectrum.org/2014/09/17/hungarian-citizenship-offers-escape-route-from-troubled-ukraine/?relatedposts_hit=1&relatedposts_origin=12061&relatedposts_position=0> [Accessed 17 Apr. 2015]

_____. 16 September 2014. "The Lucrative Citizenship Business: Hungarian Passports for Russians and Ukranians." [Accessed 17 Apr. 2015]

_____. N.d. "About." [Accessed 27 May 2015]

Hungary. 3 July 2015. Embassy of Hungary in Ottawa. Correspondence from the Consul to the Research Directorate.

_____. 13 May 2015. International Communications Office. Correspondence with the Research Directorate.

_____. 2012. Act C of 2012 on the Criminal Code. [Accessed 24 June 2015]

United States (US). 27 February 2014. Department of State. "Hungary." Country Reports on Human Rights Practices for 2013. [Accessed 27 May 2015]

Additional Sources Consulted

Oral sources: The following were unable to provide information for this Response: Hungarian Helsinki Committee; Hungary - Civil Registrar (Budapest), Ministry of Justice, National Tax and Customs Administration; Transparency International - Hungary.

Attempts to contact the following were unsuccessful within the time constraints of this Response: Rózsakert Medical Center.

Internet sites, including: The Budapest Times; Daily News Hungary; ecoi.net; EUROPOL; Factiva; Freedom House; Hungary - Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Ministry of Human Capacities, Ministry of Interior, Ministry of Justice, Ministry of National Police; INTERPOL; IRIN; Jane's Intelligence Review; Keesing Reference Systems; K-Monitor; Public Intelligence; Transparency International - Hungary; United Kingdom - Home Office, National Crime Agency; United Nations - Office on Drugs and Crime, Refworld.