The US imposed new travel restrictions on Hungarian citizens due to insufficient verification of nearly 1 million Hungarian passports granted to foreigners over nine years. The restrictions reduce the validity of travel under the Electronic System for Travel Authorization to one year and limit each traveller to a single entry.
These are the only restrictions among the 40 Visa Waiver Program countries. The change followed unsuccessful attempts to resolve security concerns with Hungary’s government, according to a senior US official.
The simplified naturalization procedure offered by Hungary’s government allowed many ethnic Hungarians from neighboring countries to acquire Hungarian citizenship, leading to criticism and recategorization as a provisional member of the Visa Waiver Program.