Guidance

Hungary: how to apply for residency

Published 10 August 2021

This guide explains the residency registration process for UK nationals covered by the Withdrawal Agreement so you can continue to live in Hungary.

UK nationals living in Hungary before 1 January 2021

If you were living in Hungary before 1 January 2021, you must apply for a new biometric residence permit, the National Permanent Residence Permit (‘Nemzeti Letelepedési Engedély’) to continue to live in Hungary and be covered by the Withdrawal Agreement.

You must apply for this permit before 31 December 2021, even if you already have a residence document. Your existing residence document is valid until 31 December 2021 only.

The application process is free and there is no minimum period requirement for residency.

You can find further information on the scheme at the National Directorate-General for Aliens Policing website.

Family members

Third country (non-EEA) national family members of UK nationals (including UK nationals not eligible under the Withdrawal Agreement) are eligible to apply for a National Permanent Resident Permit if:

• the UK national is lawfully living in Hungary with permanent resident status

• the family relationship was established before 1 January 2021 and the relationship exists at the time of submitting the application

‘Family member’ means spouses or registered partners, children or grandchildren under the age of 21, dependent children and grandchildren, dependent parents and grandparents. It includes any person whose entry and residence has been authorised by the competent authority on grounds of family reunification.

Each eligible family member must complete a separate application form.

Frontier workers in Hungary

If you are a frontier worker or self-employed frontier worker in Hungary, you need to follow a separate process. See our frontier worker guidance.

How to apply

You can apply either online on the Enter Hungary portal or in person with a paper form at your local branch of the Hungarian immigration authority (the National Directorate-General for Aliens Policing).

Whether you apply online or in person, you will be asked to provide the same supporting documentation: your existing residence documents or documents showing you were living in Hungary before 1 January 2021 eg a work contract or a house rental agreement.

If applying in person you should book an appointment through the immigration authority’s website. Your biometric data will be collected at this appointment.

If applying online you must book an appointment to provide your biometric data within 15 days of submitting your application. The Enter Hungary platform will send you a reminder about this, but you can book your appointment before the reminder is sent. If you do not do this, your application will automatically be refused.

How to apply online

Step 1: Submit your residency application online

Apply on the Enter Hungary website.

If you already have a valid Hungarian registration certificate, residence card or permanent resident permit, you need to upload a copy of this. You also need to provide copies of the data page in your valid passport and your address card ‘lakcímkártya’, if you have one.

If you do not yet have a valid Hungarian residence document but you were living in Hungary before 1 January 2021, you need to include evidence that you were living in Hungary before 1 January 2021. This may include:

• an employment contract

• a flat or house rental agreement

• a certificate of student status

• a certificate issued by a medical institution for a long-term treatment

• a certificate issued by the Hungarian tax authority evidencing regular income from activities carried out in Hungary

After the introductory page, you should follow these steps:

1. To access the application form, you need to create an account on Enter Hungary first.

2. On the registration page, select your registration type (private individual, lawyer/proxy or employer). Enter your personal details (surname, first name, phone number, date of birth and email address). If you register as a lawyer or employer, follow the instructions. If you register as a private person, you will receive your password by email.

3. After you receive the confirmation email with the password, sign in to your account on Enter Hungary using your email address and password.

4. You must change your password by using the ‘Profile’ button. Your new password must be at least six characters in length and must contain at least one lower case letter, one upper case letter and a number.

5. Begin your application. Select ‘My Cases’ from the menu on the top right: ‘new application’.

6. Select the case type: ‘Preferential application procedure for the citizens of the UK and their family members’.

7. Read the guidance and select “National permanent residence permits (pursuant to the Memorandum of Understanding)”.

8. Complete the automatically generated application form. All fields marked with an asterix (*) are mandatory. You will be asked to add information under the following headings:

Headings	Details to complete
Receive the issued document at	Provide your contact details (email address, phone number) and select “Receive the issued document by post”.Your new residence permit will be posted to your address.
Personal data of the person applying for residence	You only need to fill in the fields marked with an asterix (*).
‘Passport details of the applicant’	Add your current passport details.
Details of your future place of residence in Hungary	Enter your current place of residence. You only need to fill in the fields marked with an asterix (*). The “name of public place” refers to the name of the street.
Other personal details related to the applicant	Respond to the Yes/No questions.
Select the country you plan to return to after you finish your residency status in Hungary	This is a standard, mandatory question for all third country nationals. It does not oblige you to leave Hungary. You can renew your residence status as many times as you wish. Those covered by the Withdrawal Agreement get lifelong rights to live in Hungary but will need to renew their residence permit every 5 years.

Check all the fields marked with an asterix (*), and save your application.

To complete your application, attach your supporting documents. Select the “file attachments” tab. Rows marked with a red background indicate missing attachments.

You need to attach a signed application form and a full copy of your passport:

Your signed application with a photo

You can:

• submit your application without attaching a signed application. The immigration office will ask you to send the signed document to them. Print the PDF generated in the ‘My Cases’ tab. You can then print, sign, scan and send to the immigration office or

• print the online form, complete and sign it. Attach a passport photo to the first page, scan, upload and attach to your online application

For both options you need to take the paper copy of the form to your biometric data appointment.

Copy of every page in your valid passport

You need to upload your additional supporting documents under one of the following three headings, depending on your circumstances:

Option 1

“Mandatory attachments for holders of a registration certificate or a permanent residence permit” - you should upload your residency document issued under EU rules, if you have one. You should also attach your Hungarian address card ‘lakcímkártya’, if you have one.

Option 2

“Mandatory attachment for UK nationals, who habitually resided within the territory of Hungary, but do not hold a valid permit entitling to reside issued by the Hungarian authorities” - if you do not yet have a valid Hungarian residency document but you were living in Hungary before 1 January 2021, you need to attach documents credibly proving that you were living in Hungary before 1 January 2021. These may include:

• an employment contract

• a flat or house rental agreement

• a certificate of student status

• a certificate issued by a medical institution for a long-term treatment

• a certificate issued by the Hungarian tax authority evidencing regular income from activities carried out in Hungary

Option 3

“Mandatory attachments for third country national family members of a UK national” - if you apply as a third country national family member of a UK national eligible under the Withdrawal Agreement, you need to attach the following documents:

• your residency document and Hungarian address card ‘lakcímkártya’, if you have one; or a document credibly proving that you are living in Hungary. This may include an employment contract, a flat or house rental agreement, a certificate of student status, a certificate issued by a medical institution for a long-term treatment or a certificate issued by the Hungarian tax authority evidencing regular income from activities carried out in Hungary

• a birth or marriage certificate if you do not hold a valid residency document issued by the Hungarian authorities

To upload a document, select the “Upload” link in the relevant row. This will direct you to the file upload page. The document type is already selected and cannot be changed. Type a name for the new document, then press ‘Select file’ to open a document from your computer. You can also use the camera on your smartphone/tablet.

If your document has more than one page, use a scanner and convert the document into a multi-page PDF file. This is because only one file can be uploaded for a given document type.

Select the green ‘Upload’ button. This uploads the document to your ‘Storage’. Then the document is ready to be attached to any of your applications. You should check the documents have uploaded correctly using the ‘file attachments’ tab of your application.

A yellow background indicates a document has been uploaded but is not attached to your application. Use the dropdown menu to select the document to attach. Only correctly attached documents can be seen by the immigration office case workers processing your application.

After you have uploaded all your supporting documents and reviewed your application, select ‘submit application’ at the bottom of the page.

If there are missing documents, you will receive a red message saying ‘The application does not seem finished, please check the attachments once more.’ Not all documents are mandatory. Or if you want to avoid having to manually complete the application form, skip this warning and press submit again.

You will receive an email confirmation that there is an official document in your Enter Hungary account. This is an automatic receipt and confirms that your application has been received and is available for the immigration office case workers to access. In your Enter Hungary account, go to ‘Storage’ in the main menu to see your uploaded files and documents from the immigration office.

If the immigration office needs more supporting documents to assess your application, you will receive a notification, listing the type of document you need to upload or correct. You should follow the instructions in your “To Do” menu.

The authorities have 30 days to examine your application.

Step 2: Attend your appointment

The Enter Hungary platform will send you a reminder to book an appointment at your local branch of the Hungarian immigration authority to provide biometric data (photo and fingerprints). You must arrange this appointment within 15 days of submitting your online application. If you do not, your application is automatically refused.

Step 3: Receive your new residence permit by post.

You will receive your new residence permit by post. Once you have your new National Permanent Residence Permit, you also need to apply at your local government office (‘kormányhivatal’) for a Hungarian personal identification (ID) card (in Hungarian).

You will need to present your National Permanent Residence Permit and your address card (lakcímkártya), if you have one.

Check the status of your application

You should monitor your emails from the immigration authority: check your email and spam folder regularly. They will contact you if anything is missing, or incorrect, or if they have questions on your file.

You should respond promptly to requests for further information, so that the immigration authority can process your application quickly.

If you have questions about your application, contact the National Directorate-General for Aliens Policing Call Center.