Half a million EU passports given away to eastern Europeans by Hungary which allow them to live in Britain

Law introduced in 2011 has allowed 550,000 non-EU residents to apply

Gave citizenship to r esidents of former Austro-Hungarian Empire



System also attracted those who have little emotional attachment



Allows people to escape to wealthier countries, including Germany



Passport giveaway: A law introduced in 2011 has allowed an extra 550,000 non-EU residents to apply for Hungarian nationality and, with it, the right to live anywhere in Europe

A little-known loophole has enabled half a million people from some of eastern Europe’s poorest countries to obtain Hungarian citizenship and, as a consequence, a European Union passport.

A law introduced in 2011 has allowed an extra 550,000 non-EU residents to apply for Hungarian nationality and, with it, the right to live anywhere in Europe – including Britain.

The ‘passport giveaway’ was intended to enable people whose ancestors lived in the former Austro-Hungarian Empire to claim citizenship.

But the system has also attracted applicants who admit they have little emotional attachment to Hungary and only tenuous ancestry.

For some people in eastern Europe’s poverty-stricken nations, the scheme presents a chance to escape to wealthier countries such as Britain, Germany and Switzerland.

Yesterday a report by Her Majesty’s Chief Inspector of Borders and Immigration, John Vine, said the ‘European citizenship route’ was becoming ‘an increasingly important way into the UK for those whose origins lie outside the EEA (European Economic Area)’.

His report looked at more than 100 sample cases from the Home Office between April and September last year. It found that more than a third of Western European nationals applying for citizenship for their partner were born outside the EU.

The Hungarian passport giveaway is just one route. In neighbouring Serbia alone, 112,000 new passports were issued between 2011 and the end of March this year.

Thousands of Serbian residents are eligible for citizenship because the northern province of Vojvodina belonged to Austro-Hungary Empire until 1918 when Hungary – allied with Germany – lost the First World War and was forced to hand over two-thirds of its territory.

All applicants need is a basic command of the language and Hungarian ancestry – and for many the benefits of applying are obvious. The average salary in Serbia is £5,200 before tax, compared with £26,500 in Britain.

In the Serbian town of Subotica, on the Hungarian border – one of dozens of centres where applications are processed – more than 12,000 Serbians were granted Hungarian citizenship last year.

Hungary’s general consul in Subotica, Tamas Korsos, admitted many Serbian citizens applied for Hungarian citizenship merely ‘to travel more easily with a Hungarian passport’.

‘I do not condemn that in any way. Everyone looks after his own interests,’ he said.

Outside the consulate in Subotica earlier this year, the Mail interviewed several Serbian residents as they emerged with their yellow certificates declaring them Hungarian citizens.

Lorry driver Jozsef Szucs, 47, admitted he applied for dual nationality ‘so I can move to the UK’, where he will earn five times his £5,000-a-year salary.

Floodgates: A report by Her Majesty¿s Chief Inspector of Borders and Immigration, John Vine, said the 'European citizenship route¿' was becoming 'an increasingly important way into the UK for those whose origins lie outside the EEA (European Economic Area)'

Struggling to support his wife and 15-year-old daughter on his meagre wage, he trawled European recruitment websites and found ‘many jobs’ for HGV drivers in Britain.

‘England is a nice country and it will be a new challenge for me. I cannot make a good life for my family here,’ he said.

In the town centre, there is a large poster advertising an English language school with the motto, ‘Money is coming’.

Klara Agatics, 56, said her son moved to Warrington, Cheshire, to work in a factory last year after obtaining a Hungarian passport.

She said: ‘The [Hungarian] law is a very good thing. In a couple of years, I think there won’t be any borders – England, Serbia, Hungary, it won’t matter, you will just go where you can find a job.’

Applicants for Hungarian passports must prove that they have ancestors ‘who were Hungarian or lived on the territory of ex-Hungary and can prove it by death or birth certificates’.

However, the vague language requirement, which states simply that you ‘know the language’, is open to exploitation. There is no exam or standardised list of questions, so it is down to busy clerks in individual offices around Serbia and Hungary to assess the skills during a brief meeting.

The Home Office admitted it had no way of monitoring how many of the 500,000 new Hungarian citizens had made their way to Britain.

A spokesman said its EU migration figures did not include a breakdown of people’s country of origin.

Bulgaria and Romania have introduced similar laws to Hungary, offering national status to people living in non-EU states such as Moldova, Macedonia, Serbia, Ukraine and Turkey.

£13 PROFIT FOR EVERY UK PASSPORT

Under fire: HM Passport Chief Executive Paul Pugh Ministers were accused of ‘profiting from the public’s hardship’ last night after it emerged the shambolic Passport Office is making £13 profit on every document issued.

MPs said that, instead of the Government raking in £73million in surplus every year, the money should be poured into tackling the backlog of 480,000 outstanding passport applications that is threatening to wreck family holidays.

The Passport Office was forced to admit a profit margin of more than 20 per cent under pressure from the Home Affairs Committee.

In figures sent to MPs, under-fire chief executive Paul Pugh said the average cost of processing each application was just £59.40 – compared with a standard price of £72.50 for a passport.

He also released statistics which revealed ministers and officials should have realised as early as January this year that the service was heading for a crisis as there were 552,192 applications compared with only 482,356 in January last year.

The chaos has led to a huge increase in staff overtime, on rates of up to £70 per hour – with almost £1million being spent in May alone.

Almost three quarters of countries will not accept UK passports that have been given 12-month extensions under plans to alleviate the backlog in applications, it has been revealed.

Home Secretary Theresa May last week announced that expat Britons who need to renew their passports would be given one-year extensions.

But now the Government has admitted only 50 countries have confirmed they will accept the extended passports, with the US, Australia and India not on the list.