Sur­­­vival tips – get­tin­g legal in Hungary

The business of getting legal in Hungary is easy if you’re an EU, EEA, or Swiss citizen. For non-residents of the old continent, it is not so simple.

8. September 2013 – by Stuart McAlister in Budapest Times

Work Permit

The obtainment of a work permit through your employer is the first step to gaining legal status. After this, you can apply for a residence permit based on your employment status.

A work permit is not required for managing directors of corporations. Your company will just need to prove that it has other employees doing the actual work.

Residence Permit

Application for residence can be based on full-time study at a recognised college or university, employment status, or declaration of sufficent savings.

If you apply for residence on the basis that you can finance yourself, you’ll need to show recent bank statements with a healthy cash balance or proof of retirement income. The level of savings generally accepted as being sufficient is around USD 1,000 a month. You’ll need to prove current residence at a legitimate address and proof of international health insurance.

If the purpose of stay is work then you’ll produce a valid work permit and work contract. If you’re being sent to work for the Hungarian office of a multi-national firm and will remain on home payroll, then you will need a letter of assignment.

 Residence Application Process

Theoretically the residence permit application for a non-EU citizen should take place at the Hungarian Embassy in their country of origin or current legal residence. However, certain nationalities are viewed more favourably by the authorities.

For people of these nationalities, an application for a residence permit in-country is often accepted. This is on the condition that the applicant has been in the country for under the 90-day limit for a stay in the Schengen Zone.

The process overall is not extraordinarily complicated, it just requires all your paperwork to be in order. There’s nothing worse than queuing for a couple of hours, only to find one of your documents is not up to scratch.

To simplify the process, it may be wise to engage an immigration service provider. They can ensure the application goes right first time and to save you time dealing with bureaucratic hang ups.