Until recently I was eagerly telling everyone interested that so far the fact that we are not married with Emese has not brought any trouble to us. Well, that was wrong. I simply never understood well the reason why we had to wait for over a month to get Maia's birth certificate issued back in 2006. Neither did Emese, apparently, as she had told me the reason for the delay was that both of us were foreigners - which indeed was the case back then.
With Emese having obtained Hungarian citizenship and Bulgaria having joined the EU in the meantime, I was ready to fight for a speedy issuing of Ivan's birth cetificate when I went to the local municipality's office of Budapest's seventh district last Wednesday. And there the truth came out crystal clear: the reason for making us wait was not our foreign passports but, rather, the fact that we are not married.
I may have told earlier in this page how proud I felt signing a special declaration that acknowledges my paternity over my expected children. I did it for Maia two years ago, and for Ivan, back in June. The ceremony was quite formal, I needed to bring over Emese, as the expectant mother to confirm my claim, as well as an independent translator, to confirm that I understand what I am signing. The independent translator last time was Fiduzs. We went together the five of us - as I had decided to bring over my mom and Maia - in a pouring rain up to the first district's municipal ritual hall, up in the castle. Having been through this process, and holding the official certificate of paternity (which, by the way, needs to be signed prior to the child's birth in order to be valid I was told by Emese) had made me believe that all is settled between me and the Hungarian law.
But as the registry officer explained to Emese on the phone, while I was sitting in front of her with this and other papers certifying Ivan's birth, a detailed check was still necessary before his birth certificate would be issued. And the check would take about 30 days. I protested energetically that they should not be segregating me as a EU citizen, to which she apologetically explained that it is not about me being Bulgarian, it is about me being not married for Emese that causes the delay.
Even though I was caught by surprise (and so was Emese) by this twist of faith, I still argued that this is our second child in a raw, and if they already took a month to check us for the first one, why would they need a month for the second one as well. The woman at the desk was very sympathetic and promised to argue may case. She also gave me a phone in the office in question - a weird place, which I could translate as the National Registration Office - where I could check things myself next week. My experience with this office in the summer, when we needed to get registered there as owners of our newly bought flat, was that they are very kind and willing to help, as soon as a non-Hungarian speaking foreigner with a baby in his hands walks into their office. So, should need be, I will try the same trick on them next week.