Hungary diplomatic passport revocation review

The Hungarian Ministry of Foreign Affairs is conducting a large-scale review and revocation of diplomatic passports issued under the previous administration. The ministry identified 943 documents that were issued as gestures rather than for legitimate diplomatic or foreign policy interests. As of late August, approximately 335 of these targeted passports had been officially invalidated or returned.

Investigations into these irregular issuances have highlighted specific cases, such as professional footballer Balázs Dzsudzsák, who obtained a passport in 2019 following a personal request to the former Foreign Minister. While the previous administration justified such documents by citing roles like national team captaincy, current Foreign Minister Anita Orbán has moved to revoke these authorizations.

While some high-profile figures have voluntarily returned their documents, others, including prominent government communications figure Árpád Habony, have yet to comply. The ministry has not yet clarified the consequences for individuals who fail to return the documents by the established deadline.