Under the new Hungarian immigration law that came into force this year, the Hungarian work permit has been split into several categories. Which work permit types will be relevant to your Hungarian company? Read on to find out!
New immigration law in Hungary as of 2024
The new immigration law will be relevant to your employees only if they are third-country nationals. Regulations pertaining to the employment of Hungarian and EU citizens remain the same.
The residence permit third-country nationals need to apply for always depends on the purpose of their stay, the requirements of the job, and their qualifications. While there are currently 6 types of residency related to employment in Hungary, in fact only some of them will be interesting to most employers.
Hungarian work permit types relevant to most Hungarian companies
Residence permit for the purpose of employment
This is the most generic type of work permit currently, which does not require any special qualifications nor is it tied to the employer participating in any government backed initiative.
- High qualification is not necessarily required (this depends on the position; in any case, you need qualification or expertise relevant to the job)
- Valid for 2 years, may be extended up to 3 years*
- No family unification available
- The holder will not be eligible for permanent residency
- The holder cannot apply for another type of residency from within Hungary
Hungarian Card
The Hungarian Card offers several benefits compared to the “basic” work permit described above, but it is available only to “highly qualified” employees. In this sense, highly qualified means that the qualifications the employee needs are included in an official list of eligible qualifications. You can find the list here in Hungarian, but each item has a FEOR code next to it, based on which you can identify it in English too.
Please note that according to the latest communication from the Immigration Office, only non-Hungarian certificates are accepted in IT, engineering, or science.
- High qualification required
- Valid for 3 years, may be extended for another 3 years*
- Family unification available
- The holder will be eligible for permanent residency
- The holder can apply for another type of residency from within Hungary
EU Blue Card
The EU Blue Card offers even more benefits to holders, while it comes with stricter requirements. The EU Blue Card is available only to highly qualified employees with a high salary. At the same time, it offers longer validity, and after 1 year it ceases to be tied to the employer. This makes the EU Blue Card especially attractive to employers that have multiple affiliates in various EU countries and might want their employees to move freely between these.
- High qualification required
- Valid for 4 years, may be extended for another 4 years*
- High salary requirement: 1.5 times the average salary of the year before the last (in 2024 in Hungary, this means HUF 773,700, ca. EUR 1,900 monthly)
- More freedom of movement: the permit ceases to be tied to the employer after 1 year
- Family unification available
- The holder will be eligible for permanent residency
- The holder can apply for another type of residency from within Hungary
Intra-corporate transfer
This option might be relevant to you if your Hungarian company is a branch office or subsidiary of another, foreign business. In this case, while the employee lives and performs work in Hungary, they remain on payroll with the foreign company.
- High qualification is not necessarily required (this depends on the position; in any case, you need qualification or expertise relevant to the job)
- Valid for 1-3 years, depending on the position
- Family unification available
- The holder will be eligible for permanent residency
- The holder can apply for another type of residency from within Hungary, but not at the same company
National Card
This type of work permit is available only to Serbian and Ukrainian nationals who want to work in Hungary. Since it offers the same benefits as the Hungarian Card and the EU Blue Card, it is especially favorable to citizens of Serbia and Ukraine.
- High qualification is not necessarily required (this depends on the position; in any case, you need qualification or expertise relevant to the job)
- Valid for 2 years, may be extended for another 3*
- Family unification available
- The holder will be eligible for permanent residency
- The holder can apply for another type of residency from within Hungary
UPDATE: As of 9 July 2024, the National Card is available for several more nationalities. Click here for the updated list.
Hungarian work permit types NOT relevant to most Hungarian companies
The below listed work permit types are tied to specific forms of employment and specific projects. As a result, they are not relevant to most company owners in Hungary.
Residence permit for seasonal employment
As the name suggests, this type of residence permit is given for seasonal work. As a result, its validity is pretty short, even in cases when it is extended.
- No high qualifications required
- Valid for 6 months, ma be extended for another 6 months (but only if the total time spent in Hungary within 12 months remains less than 6 months)
- No family unification available
- The holder will not be eligible for permanent residency
- The holder cannot apply for another type of residency from within Hungary
Residence permit issued for the purpose of implementing an investment
This type of work permit is relevant only in investment projects backed by the Hungarian government. The employer needs to conclude an agreement with the Minister of Foreign Affairs and Trade, which includes details concerning the employment of a group of foreign workers.
- No high qualifications required
- Valid for the validity of the group employment agreement, but at most for 3 years*
- No family unification available
- The holder will not be eligible for permanent residency
- The holder cannot apply for another type of residency from within Hungary
Guest worker residence permit
Guest worker residency is available only to specific employers, which are either registered as a preferential employer or a certified labor rental agency. Workers cannot be employed in certain positions – here you can find a list of 300 jobs complete with FEOR codes. Of course, these jobs are relevant only for this type of residency; workers can still be brought to Hungary to work in these positions, but they will need to apply for another type of residence permit.
- No high qualifications required, but not available for certain jobs
- Valid for the validity of the group employment agreement, but at most for 3 years*
- No family unification available
- The holder will not be eligible for permanent residency
- The holder cannot apply for another type of residency from within Hungary
*Residency renewal under the new immigration law
While the new work permit types specify for how long they can be extended, this does not mean that your employee will have to leave Hungary once their permit expires. They can simply apply for a new permit of the same type from within Hungary while their residence permit is still valid.
“Extension” and “renewal” are words often used when we talk about letting people stay longer in Hungary. However, under the new Hungarian immigration law, the meaning of an “extension” got more limited and more defined. As a result, even if you see that a work permit cannot be extended, you can rest assured that you will be able to apply for a new one.
Work permit assistance with expert help
Helpers offers assistance with work permit and residency applications as well as business setup in Hungary. Thanks to our almost 20 years of experience, we can offer tailored solutions in every situation.
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