Hungarian Card, Golden Visa, National Residence Card – All in one place about the new rules
“With migration on the rise again, we need a stricter immigration policy!” Reads the preamble of the law adopted by the Hungarian Parliament on 12 December to re-regulate the residence of third-country nationals in Hungary. We have set the mood with the quoted sentence, now it is time to see what it is all about. One of the most exciting new features is the introduction of the residence permit for guest investors, but there are also plenty of interesting changes worth mentioning, which we will briefly review in this article.
Titles of permanent residence
Before we start looking at the parts affected by the amendment, it is worth taking a look at what the titles of permanent residence are following the amendment.
A third-country national may reside permanently in Hungary on the basis of the following legal titles:
– for business or investment purposes
- as a guest self-employed,
- as a guest investor,
– for employment purposes as a guest worker
- with a residence permit for seasonal employment,
- a residence permit issued for the purpose of carrying out a project,
- a residence permit for employment purposes,
- guest worker residence permit,
– as a highly qualified person for the purpose of employment or as a person with skills in a field of high importance for the country
- with a Hungarian Card,
- EU Blue Card,
- as an intra-corporate transferee,
- as a researcher,
- for the purpose of relocating a company to Hungary, with a Business Card,
– for employment linked to citizenship or for other purposes under this Act, with a National Card,
– for other reasons specified in this Act, i.e.
- for study purposes,
- for training purposes,
- as a trainee,
- for official purposes,
- on the basis of an international agreement for the employment of tourists temporarily employed,
- with a White Card,
- for the purpose of mission,
- for medical treatment,
- for the purpose of carrying out voluntary activities,
- in the national interest,
- for the purpose of family reunification, or
- on humanitarian grounds.
In addition to an overview of the changes, we also look at the detailed rules for guest investors and the Hungarian Card.
Shortening the validity period of the “D” visa
This single-entry visa is essentially a visa for the purpose of obtaining a residence permit, which can be issued to a third-country national who has been authorised to obtain a residence permit under the relevant legislation. As described above, it entitles the applicant to a single entry and a stay of up to thirty days in the territory of Hungary.
The validity of the visa for residence has been limited to a maximum of three months, up from one year.
Procedure for the renewal of the authorization
An application for a residence permit of a third-country national residing in Hungary may be granted if it is submitted no more than forty days before the expiry date of the permit.
This used to be 90 days.
Permanent residence permit = national residence card
It is important to note that the main conditions have not changed with the amendment. A national residence card for permanent residence in Hungary may be issued to third-country nationals who
- has a residence permit,
- a temporary settlement permit or
- a temporary residence card, and
– has resided legally and uninterruptedly in the territory of Hungary for at least three years immediately prior to the submission of the application,
– has lived as a dependent ascendant in a family cohabitation with a Hungarian citizen or a third-country national with long-term residence status or recognised as a refugee for at least one year immediately prior to the submission of the application,
– the spouse of a Hungarian citizen, a third-country national with long-term residence status or a third-country national recognised as a refugee, provided that the marriage has been contracted for at least two years prior to the submission of the application,
– was a Hungarian citizen but has lost his/her citizenship or his/her ascendant is a Hungarian citizen or was a Hungarian citizen, or
– a minor child of a third-country national who has the right of permanent residence or is recognised as a refugee.
A third-country national may be granted a national residence card only if he/she
- his/her long-term residence is in the interest of Hungary, and
- fulfils the conditions for social coexistence laid down by law.
Having or not having higher education
The Act also introduces the concept of guest worker and the Hungarian Card. These are worth mentioning because from now on it will be more important whether the third-country national has higher education or not, as it will be decided accordingly which permit he/she applies for.
The guest worker category includes the following permits:
- with a residence permit for seasonal employment,
- a residence permit issued for the purpose of carrying out an investment project,
- a residence permit for employment purposes,
- guest worker residence permit.
It is very important to highlight for family reunification that no family member may join a third-country national holding this type of residence permit.
The Hungarian Card (formerly a permit for the purpose of a gainful activity) is applicable to persons who are highly qualified persons for the purpose of employment or who have skills in a field of high importance for the country. The new rules do not affect this category in substance, but the legislation provides them with more favorable conditions.
In summary, the Hungarian Card is available to third-country nationals,
- whose purpose of residence is to carry out, for consideration, actual work for or under the direction of another person on the basis of an employment relationship, or
- who, as owner or managing director of a company, cooperative or other legal person established for gainful purposes, carries out actual work in addition to the activities falling within the scope of that activity.
A third-country national may obtain a Hungarian Card only if, even if the conditions set out above are met
– has the professional qualifications specified in the Communication of the Minister responsible for higher education,
– is a professional sportsperson or professional coach,
– a performer, or
– a third-country national who is actually working in a film production company registered by the professional authority for the cinema under the Cinematographic Exhibition Act.
The Hungarian Card is valid for a maximum period of three years, which may be extended by a maximum of three years at a time renewable for a further period of three years.
Third-country nationals without higher education can apply for a residence permit as a guest-worker.
No residence permit for other purposes
Finally, “other” has been made more specific, so that a specific type of permit must be indicated when an application for a residence permit in this category is submitted, for example: for voluntary activities or for humanitarian reasons.
Guest investor visa and residence permit
Let us now look at the details of the guest investor visa and permit.
- The zeroth step on the path to a guest investor residence permit, the guest investor visa.
This is a visa for a stay of more than ninety days and multiple entry within one hundred and eighty days, entitling the holder to apply for a Guest Investor Residence Permit in Hungary.
A guest investor visa is granted to a third-country national,
– whose entry and stay in Hungary is of national economic interest in view of his/her investment in Hungary (it means the mentioned investment opportunities in this article),
– who fulfils the following conditions:
- holds a valid travel document,
- has the necessary authorization for return or onward travel,
- proof of the purpose of his/her entry and stay,
- have sufficient resources to cover their accommodation and subsistence expenses for the entire duration of their stay, as well as the cost of their departure,
- is not subject to an SIS alert,
A SIS alert contains information about a specific person or object and instructions to the competent authorities on what to do if the person or object is found.
– who declares that he/she has or intends to have at least one of the investments described in this article,
– who certifies that he or she holds an amount of money of legal origin equivalent to at least one of the investments described in the article, which must be available or transferable within the territory of Hungary,
– whom submits a written undertaking to make at least one of the investments of the amount and type specified in the paragraph described in this article within three months of entering the territory of Hungary on the basis of a guest investor visa.
A third-country national who undertakes to carry out one of the investments defined in the legislation may therefore be granted a residence permit as a guest investor:
1. The acquisition of investment bonds of at least EUR 250,000 issued by a real estate fund registered by the Hungarian National Bank.
The applicant must have held for at least five years an investment bond issued by a real estate fund which
– at least 40 % of the net asset value of the fund consists of investments in residential real estate in Hungary, and
– its real estate fund manager holds at least a simplified site security certificate or is listed in accordance with the legislation specified in the law.
2. The acquisition of residential real estate in Hungary, registered in the Real Estate Register by parcel number, free of legal title, encumbrances and claims, with a value of at least EUR 500,000.
For real estate investment, the requirement is that
– at the time of acquisition of ownership of the residential property by a third-country national, a prohibition of alienation and encumbrance of the residential property shall be registered in the Land Register for a period of 5 years from the date of conclusion of the sale and purchase contract, under the conditions specified by law,
– for a period of five years, the immovable property may only be
- by a third-country national, or
- jointly owned by one or more family members, as defined by law, of the third-country national who has submitted the application for a residence permit as a guest investor.
3. To make a financial donation of at least EUR 1 million to a higher education institution maintained by a public trust with a public-service mission, for the purpose of supporting educational, scientific research or artistic creation.
The validity period of the guest investor visa is up to two years, so it allows for stays of more than ninety days in any one hundred and eighty days and multiple entries within two years.
– Our next stop is the Guest Investor Residence Permit.
This is a residence permit which entitles the holder to reside in Hungary and to
- to engage in an activity as an independent person for remuneration in accordance with the law, or
- to act as a managing director of a company, cooperative or other legal person established for gainful purposes.
The period of validity of the permit is a maximum of ten years, which may be extended by a maximum of ten years for the same purpose only, and the period of validity of the permit may exceed the period of validity of the applicant’s travel document.
Family members who base their application on the same investment may also be granted a residence permit for 10 years. The legally defined family member of a third-country national holding a residence permit for a guest investor may enter and reside in Hungary in accordance with the law under discussion.
Applications for the new residence permit for guest investors can be submitted from 1 July 2024.
The above does not constitute legal advice, if you have any questions regarding the above, please do not hesitate to contact us.