The validity period of ESTA has been reduced as the Hungarian Government failed to meet the security requirements of the Visa Waiver Program (VWP), the US Embassy in Budapest wrote in a statement published on its website and social media platforms.
According to the USG, between 2011 and 2020, the Hungarian government granted Hungarian citizenship to nearly one million people through a simplified naturalisation procedure without allegedly conducting adequate security checks related to their identity. Considering the Hungarian government’s decision not to address the security vulnerabilities arising from the simplified naturalisation process, the procedures for participation in the Visa Waiver Program (VWP) will be modified for all Hungarian passport holders, the statement read.
‘Today, we informed the Hungarian Government that the validity period of travel authorization obtained through the Electronic System for Travel Authorization (ESTA) will be reduced from two years to one year for individuals holding Hungarian passports. Additionally, the validity of ESTA for Hungarian passport holders will be limited to single-use’, the statement added.
The embassy added that the United States government made significant efforts over the years to avoid this modification and address the longstanding security risk resulting from the Hungarian simplified naturalisation process. However, the Hungarian government decided not to address the concerns raised and did not take the necessary steps to fully comply with the VWP requirements. The VWP is an extensive security cooperation between the United States and designated partners aimed at safeguarding the safety of American citizens and travellers to the United States.
The modification takes immediate effect and will remain in place until the underlying security concerns are addressed. The reduction in the validity of ESTA will only affect new ESTA applications submitted after the effective date of this statement and will not be retroactive. ESTA permits issued before 1 August 2023, will continue to remain valid for two years and multiple entries, the embassy statement concluded.
Back And Forth With The US
The Hungarian Interior Ministry has already called a spade a spade and stated that the measure is nothing but ‘revenge.’ (According to mandiner.hu, the US has resorted to this step because
the Hungarian administration has refused to share with them the data of all Hungarian dual citizens,
in particular those of the Transcarpathian and Vojvodina Hungarians.)
This move that Politico has called unprecedented may come as a surprise but is in fact only one in many in the recent past, all obviously meant as retaliation to ‘punish’ a defiant Hungarian government. Last year, the United States terminated the 1979 double taxation avoidance agreement with Hungary. The US took this step in response to the Hungarian government not giving its consent to the introduction of the global minimum tax. The Orbán administration at the time did not want to take action on the matter until negotiations with the OECD were successfully concluded, but an agreement has been reached by now.
Earlier this year, the Ambassador David Pressman announced at a press conference that the United States is proclaiming sanctions as of 12 April against 50 institutions and individuals. The sanctions are related to Russia, and Hungarian citizens were involved because of their role in the Budapest-based International Investment Bank (IIB). ‘We are concerned that Hungary’s leaders are striving to establish ever closer relations with Russia, despite its brutal aggression. A close economic cooperation with the Russians is feeding the Russian war machine, and endangers the security of the trans-Atlantic alliance,’ the ambassador said in April. He noted that the purpose of the sanctions was to make it difficult for the Russians to access the goods necessary for continuing the war. He reminded that his country expressed concerns to Budapest as soon as the bank moved its headquarters here from Moscow, but Hungary would not acknowledge those concerns. At the end of his statement, Ambassador Pressman, somewhat ironically, stressed that the United States considers Hungary an important ally and intends to maintain a constructive relationship with Budapest, and the sanctions announced in fact were necessary for that very reason. Soon after the sanctioning of the Hungarian nationals, the Hungarian government announced that it is withdrawing from the IIB.
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