The first thing most newcomers learn about Hungary is a word they cannot pronounce. The second is that Hungarian names put the family name first, so the clerk who calls "Kovács János" is calling János Kovács. Moving to Hungary is full of small surprises like that, but the paperwork behind it follows a clear order, and for an EU citizen it is lighter than you might expect.
This guide gives you that order. Each step links to a longer article when you need the detail.
What does moving to Hungary involve for an EU citizen?
You do not need a visa or a work permit. Your identity card or passport is enough to stay for the first three months, and you can work from day one. After that, three administrations matter: the Immigration Office (Országos Idegenrendészeti Főigazgatóság, OIF) for your right to stay, the tax authority (Nemzeti Adó- és Vámhivatal, NAV) for your tax number, and the government offices (kormányhivatal, with counters called kormányablak) for your papers and your social security card.
Hungary is in the EU and in the Schengen area, but it does not use the euro. Your salary, your rent and your fees will be in forints (HUF), and that shapes a few steps below.
Which steps come first?
Here is the order that works for most people.
- Find an address you can declare. A lease, a free-accommodation declaration or a property title all work as proof of address. Without one, the next step stalls. See renting in Hungary.
- Register your stay at the latest on the 93rd day after you enter. You apply online on Enter Hungary, the platform of the OIF, and pay 1,000 HUF. The certificate (regisztrációs igazolás) is normally issued on the spot when your file is complete. The full walk-through is in residence in Hungary for EU citizens.
- Wait for your address card (lakcímkártya). The registration also records your first address, so the population register gives you a personal identification number and the card is posted to you.
- Get your tax number with form T34 at the tax authority, unless your employer does it for you. See the Hungarian tax number guide.
- Apply for your TAJ card, your social security number, at the government office of your home. See healthcare in Hungary.
- Pick a family doctor (háziorvos) and open a bank account.
How does the online side work?
Almost every state website asks for Ügyfélkapu+, a secure login with two factors, or for the state mobile app, Digitális Állampolgár (DÁP). Since 16 January 2025 these are the only connections the state sites accept. An EEA citizen can sign up for Ügyfélkapu in person with an identity card or a passport, at a kormányablak, a document office or a large tax office counter. Online sign-up needs a Hungarian electronic ID, which you will not have at first.
Book an appointment online at the government offices' booking site rather than queuing, and note that the government helpline 1818 answers at any hour. Many portals are in Hungarian only. The OIF and the tax authority publish some pages in English.
If the order of these steps depends on your case (employee, freelancer, retiree, child at school), Moovy can sort it into a personal checklist. It does not queue at the counter for you; you do the steps yourself.
What will the first month cost?
The state fees are small. The OIF registration costs 1,000 HUF, the first tax card is free and the first TAJ card is free. Replacing a lost tax card or TAJ card costs 4,000 HUF each. Your real costs are the deposit and the first rent, which the lease sets, and a possible lawyer if you buy. For rent levels and wages, read the cost of living in Hungary.
Which numbers will you collect?
You will end up with three numbers and they do not replace each other:
- a personal identification number, attached to your address card, issued through the OIF registration;
- a tax number (adóazonosító jel), issued by the tax authority;
- a social security number (TAJ), issued by the government office.
Banks and employers may ask for one or the other, so keep all three cards together.
What mistakes do newcomers make?
- Missing the 93rd day. The OIF page does not give a penalty, but registration is an obligation. Do it as soon as you have your housing.
- Thinking the registration also gives you a tax number. It does not. The tax authority is separate.
- Relying on the European Health Insurance Card. It covers a temporary stay, not a settled life. Once you live here you need cover through work, an S1 or the monthly health contribution.
- Planning an errand on a public holiday or in August. Offices, banks and shops close on national holidays, and many small businesses close for a week or two in August.
What if you are not an EU citizen?
Swiss citizens follow the same route as EU citizens, because the OIF treats them as EEA nationals. British citizens who arrived after 2020 need a residence permit instead; see moving to Hungary from the UK.
Where can you get help and what is the emergency number?
In an emergency call 112, which is answered 24 hours a day in Hungarian, English and German. For anything else, start with the government helpline 1818. Learn two words, jó napot (good day) and köszönöm (thank you). Shopkeepers notice, and they tend to answer in English with a smile.
Rules and fees change, so check the official pages before each step, and treat this guide as a map and not as legal advice.
What does a realistic timeline for moving to Hungary look like?
Nobody does everything in a week, and nobody needs to. A sensible rhythm looks like this.
Before you leave. Check that your identity card or passport will be valid for the whole stay. If you are a retiree, ask your pension fund for an S1 form. If you work for an employer abroad, ask whether your social security cover stays with your home country. And decide what you will do about your home bank account: you can keep it, but Hungarian rent and bills are paid in forints.
Week one. Sign a written lease, or arrange a declaration of free accommodation. Hungarian law requires a written lease to be valid; a handshake is not enough. A Hungarian mobile number is handy: the state app asks for one, and foreign numbers are accepted.
Weeks two to six. File your registration on Enter Hungary, then collect the certificate. Ask for the tax number and the TAJ card as soon as the address card arrives. If you are employed, hand your employer the numbers they ask for.
Before day 93. The registration must be done. Anyone relocating to Budapest with an employer should ask the HR team whether they handle part of this; many do the tax number request for you.
How much money should you plan for before moving to Hungary?
State fees are small, so the budget is about housing and the first months of living costs. According to EURES, a flat of 50 to 70 square metres costs roughly 170,000 to 220,000 HUF a month before utilities, depending on the region. Add a deposit and, if you use an agency, its fee, which is set freely by contract. The statutory minimum wage in 2026 is 322,800 HUF gross a month, and 373,200 HUF for jobs requiring at least a secondary-school qualification, which gives you a sense of local pay at the bottom of the scale. Our article on the cost of living in Hungary goes through the numbers.
If you are not insured through a job, remember the monthly health contribution of 12,300 HUF (2026) once you have been resident for a year.
Do you need to speak Hungarian?
No law requires it, but daily life is easier with a few words. Hungarian is unrelated to its neighbours' languages. Young people often speak English, older people sometimes only Hungarian, German or Russian, and the national tourist board advises not to expect foreign languages everywhere. Official portals and forms are mostly in Hungarian, with some English factsheets from the OIF and the tax authority. Start with polite forms: use the formal form of address (magázás) with strangers, elders and officials, and let the other person suggest switching to the informal one.
What if you plan to work or run a business?
Employees do not need a work permit. If you plan to freelance, you will register as a sole trader with the tax authority, so check the current regimes with it before you start. For employee rights, leave and unemployment benefit, see working in Hungary. If you want help choosing a town before you commit, the best places to live in Hungary compares the main cities.
Hungary rewards people who prepare. Do it in the right order, keep your papers together in one folder, and the first weeks become less frightening than the language suggests.