Residence in Hungary is one of the lightest procedures in Europe for an EU citizen, and one of the easiest to get slightly wrong. There is no permit to wait for. You stay, you work, and sometime before the 93rd day you tell the Immigration Office where you live. The office hands you a certificate and sets the rest of your paperwork in motion.
This article explains who must register, what to bring, what happens afterwards and when permanent status becomes possible.
Who needs a registration certificate for residence in Hungary?
Any citizen of the EU or the EEA (Norway, Iceland, Liechtenstein), and any Swiss citizen, who plans to stay in Hungary for more than 90 days within a 180-day period. The Immigration Office (Országos Idegenrendészeti Főigazgatóság, OIF) lists Swiss citizens among "EEA nationals", so they follow the same procedure, with the same conditions and the same fee.
For the first three months, your valid identity card or passport is all you need. The notification is due at the latest on the 93rd day after you entered the country.
Which conditions must you meet?
Your right of residence beyond 90 days rests on one of three situations:
- You work. Employee, self-employed, company manager, or job seeker with a genuine chance of finding work.
- You have enough resources and comprehensive sickness insurance. Typical for retirees and people living on savings.
- You study at a recognised institution, with enough resources and insurance.
If you do not work, the OIF asks for proof of insurance covering your whole stay. Our article on healthcare in Hungary explains how to arrange it.
How do you apply and what does it cost?
- Create your file on Enter Hungary, the OIF's electronic platform, and send it to the regional directorate for your future home. An in-person visit is possible only in particular circumstances that you must justify.
- Declare your first address in the same procedure. The form is called "Issue of Registration Certificate and Notification of First Place of Residence".
- Pay 1,000 HUF, by bank card or by bank deposit using the cheque the regional directorate gives you.
- Receive the certificate (regisztrációs igazolás). When the file is complete and the conditions are met, the OIF issues it immediately. Missing documents can be sent later, by post or online.
Which documents do you need?
- A valid passport or identity card (the certificate is valid only with it).
- Proof of your purpose: an employment contract, company documents or a business licence if you work, or an admission certificate if you study.
- Proof of funds if you do not work: a bank statement, a pension or benefit statement, or maintenance income.
- Proof of health insurance.
- Proof of your Hungarian address: a lease, a free-accommodation declaration, or a certified title deed copy issued within the last 30 days.
- A statement on whether you have certain infectious diseases listed by law.
The OIF may ask for more, and the time you take to complete the file does not count in its processing time.
If you are unsure which of the three conditions fits you, or what a freelancer or a retiree should attach, Moovy can help you build the list of documents for your own situation. You submit the file yourself.
What happens after you register?
The OIF passes your address to the population register, which gives you a personal identification number. The address card (lakcímkártya) is issued by the government agency of the city of Budapest and posted to you. The OIF page gives no cost and no delay for it. Keep the card with your certificate.
Your next stops depend on it. The tax authority asks for the address card when you ask for your tax number, as explained in the Hungarian tax number guide, and the government office asks for the certificate and the card when you apply for your TAJ card. If you move later, declare your new address at the district office of your new home.
What should you watch out for?
- The 93rd day. The OIF page does not state a penalty, but the notification is an obligation.
- Going to a counter. The normal route is online. Children aged six or older must attend in person, even if a parent files for them.
- Losing the certificate on its own. It is valid only with your identity document. Report any loss or theft of a document to the regional directorate.
- Leaving for good without telling anyone. If you leave Hungary for good, inform the OIF and give your new country of residence. The certificate then becomes invalid.
- Mixing up the numbers. The personal number from the address card is not your tax number or your TAJ number.
When can you get permanent residence?
After five years of legal and continuous residence you can ask for a permanent residence card. The fee is 1,500 HUF, the application is made online and in person, and the OIF decides within 70 days. An appeal costs 47,000 HUF.
What changes if you are British?
British citizens who arrived after 31 December 2020 are third-country nationals: 90 days in any 180 without a visa, and a residence permit beyond that. Those who were already resident before 2021 hold a national document. Both cases are covered in moving to Hungary from the UK. For the full sequence of steps, start with moving to Hungary.
Fees are in forints and are updated by the OIF, so check its fee page before you pay.
What do you need for residence in Hungary as a worker, a retiree or a student?
The documents shift with your reason for staying, so here is the detail the OIF gives for each.
Employees attach the employment contract. Company managers and partners attach the contract or a statement showing the company's name, its registration number and its tax number. Self-employed people attach an authorisation from another member state or their Hungarian private entrepreneur's number. Job seekers attach evidence of active job hunting. You will find the rules for contracts and leave in working in Hungary.
Retirees and savers do not work, so they prove two things: resources and insurance. A bank statement, a pension statement from an EEA country or income from a fund counts as proof of resources. Insurance is shown by a document proving access to care for the whole stay, which for many retirees is the S1 form described in healthcare in Hungary.
Students bring an admission certificate or a student status document, plus funds and insurance.
What if you rent, own or live with friends?
The OIF accepts several proofs of housing: a lease, a declaration of free accommodation, a certified title deed extract issued within the last 30 days, or another proof. Your home does not have to be permanent. It has to be a real address where the address card can be sent. If you plan to rent, our guide to renting in Hungary explains why the lease must be written.
What if you want to bring your family?
A parent can file for a minor child. A child of six or older must attend in person. Family members who are themselves EU citizens register in the same way. Family members from outside the EU follow different rules, so check with the OIF before you travel. For children's schooling, you will need your own registration first; schools in Hungary explains why.
What can you do online and what needs a counter?
Registration is online by default, through Enter Hungary. Collecting the address card is done by post. Getting your Ügyfélkapu+ login, the secure access to most state portals, requires one visit in person to a kormányablak with your identity card or passport. Plan that visit early, because the tax return, the sole-trader registration and many other procedures need it afterwards.
Whatever your route to residence in Hungary, keep your documents in a folder with copies, since each administration asks for something slightly different, and keep your certificate and your passport together at all times.