Living in Hungary

Hungarian Immigration Law

Tourist Visits

Citizens of the United States may travel to Hungary without a visa and can stay for maximum 90 days during the 6 month period from the date of their first entry.

As of December 21, 2007 Hungary is a member of the Schengen Area, and applies the Schengen legislation in full. 22 of the 27 member states of the European Union (Austria, Belgium, the Czech Republic, Denmark, Estonia, Finland, France, Germany, Greece, Hungary, Italy, Latvia, Lithuania, Luxembourg, Malta, the Netherlands, Poland, Portugal, Slovakia, Slovenia, Spain and Sweden) as well as Norway and Iceland are part of the Schengen Area. Some members of the European Union (Bulgaria, Cyprus, Ireland, Romania and the United Kingdom) are not yet part of the Schengen area.

Visas and residence permits issued by Schengen member states are valid for Hungary, and vice versa, visas and residence permits issued by the Hungarian authorities are also valid for the Schengen area. However, the Schengen visa and entry regulations are only applicable for stays that do not exceed 90 days. Rules for a long stay exceeding 90 days are laid down by the national law of the member states concerned.

Residence Permits

Foreigners who plan to stay in Hungary for an extended period of time (more than 90 days) are required to obtain a tartózkodási engedély (residence permit) from the regional directorates of the Office of Immigration.

The residence permit application can be submitted directly to a regional directorate of the Office of Immigration and Nationality in Hungary. A list of these offices can be found here: http://www.bmbah.hu/teruleti_szervek.php

There are two offices in Budapest:

• 1102 Budapest, District 10, Harmat u. 131., Tel: 06-1-433-0492, 06-1-433-0494, or 06-1-433-0482
• 1117 Budapest, District 11, Budafoki u. 60., Tel: 06-1-463-9233

As a general rule, the regional directorate processes the application within 30 days. It is recommendable to apply for the residence permit on time, at the latest 60 days after arrival to Hungary.

For general information on the residence permit, please visit the web site of the Hungarian Embassy (http://www.huembwas.org/) in Washington, D.C.  Here you can find the list of documents to be submitted as well.

Last updated: 04/17/2008