School

Steps

1. Register your stay and your children's (see HU-SEJOUR-TOUS-001): the school must check your right of residence at enrolment. The right to school on the same terms as Hungarians applies when the parent and child have a right of residence of more than three months.
2. Find the school or nursery school in your area through your town hall or the school district centre. Enrolments take place in spring: for the September 2027 start, enrolment in the first year of school (beiratkozás) takes place on 22 and 23 April 2027 (Decree 1/2026 OGYM, art. 8); nursery school enrolment takes place between 20 April and 20 May, on dates that the municipality or the operator announces at least 30 days beforehand (Decree 20/2012 EMMI, art. 20). During the year, enrolment remains possible.
3. For nursery school: the child must attend at least 4 hours a day from September of the year they turn 3. An exemption until age 4 (age 5 in special cases) can be requested before 15 April.
4. For school: the child becomes subject to compulsory schooling (tankötelezettség) in the year they turn 6 at 31 August. You can request an additional year of nursery school, no later than 18 January of the year of the school start.
5. Have their previous schooling recognised if needed: to continue their studies, it is the receiving school that recognises foreign reports; for another purpose (employment for example), recognition is requested from the MEIK, the equivalence centre of the Education Office (Oktatási Hivatal).
6. Request free meals if you are entitled to them (see costs): the request is made to the institution (for the income criterion, by declaration of the parent).

Documents

• Identity document of the child and the parents, residence registration certificate, address card (lakcímkártya).
• The child's TAJ card (social security number, see HU-SANTE-TOUS-001): schools record this number.
• Latest reports and school attendance certificates, with a translation if possible.
• For recognition at the MEIK: certified copy of the certificate and the list of subjects (or school attendance certificate for the last year), certified translation (by the OFFI, a Hungarian diplomatic or consular mission or an authorised Hungarian notary); an uncertified typed translation is accepted for certain languages: English, German, Romanian, Serbian and Ukrainian for the primary school certificate, with in addition French, Italian, Russian, Spanish and Slovak for the secondary school leaving certificate (lists on the MEIK pages), proof of payment, proof of identity and nationality.

Costs and timelines

• Public school and nursery school: free (basic education free and compulsory, secondary free up to the school-leaving exam, according to the law).
• School year: from 1 September to 31 August; lessons start on the first working day of September and comprise at least 180 teaching days. 2026-2027 year (Decree 1/2026 OGYM): lessons from Tuesday 1 September 2026 to Friday 18 June 2027, 180 school days; autumn break from 23 October to 1 November 2026 (resuming on 2 November), winter break from 19 December 2026 to 3 January 2027 (resuming on 4 January), spring break from 25 March to 4 April 2027 (resuming on 5 April). The school may move a few days by making up a Saturday.
• Meals (child protection Act, art. 21/B):
  • free in nursery (bölcsőde) and nursery school if the child receives regular child protection support (rendszeres gyermekvédelmi kedvezmény), if they or a child in the family has a chronic illness or disability, if the family is raising three or more children, or if monthly income per person does not exceed 130% of the net minimum wage (after tax and contributions);
  • free at school, from grade 1 to grade 8, for a child receiving this regular child protection support;
  • half price for primary and secondary pupils in a family of three or more children who are not already in the previous case;
  • other cases: price set by the municipality or the institution's operator; it varies from town to town, ask at enrolment.
• Recognition of a foreign certificate by the MEIK: HUF 15,000; decision in 45 days; appeal HUF 10,000.
• Private and international schools: free fees, often high.

Common pitfalls

• Not enrolling a 3-year-old. In Hungary, nursery school is compulsory from age 3, not just school.
• Missing the 18 January date if you want to keep your 6-year-old in nursery school for one more year.
• Arriving without a registered stay. The school checks your right of residence; without it, a foreigner may have to pay for public school.
• Confusing the two recognitions. To continue at school, the institution is enough; the MEIK is for other uses and costs HUF 15,000.
• Assuming there are Hungarian lessons everywhere. Support in Hungarian depends on the institution: ask at enrolment. As for the texts, the public education Act provides that the minister publishes education programmes for foreign children (Nkt., art. 92 para. 8), and Decree 20/2012 EMMI (art. 185 para. 3) says that, if lack of Hungarian or the gap between curricula prevents continuing, the head teacher may, with the parents' agreement, allow the pupil to repeat the year following only catch-up and language classes, whose duration and content the head teacher sets.

What changes by country of origin

• EU, EEA and Swiss citizens (free movement): same terms as Hungarians, as soon as parent and child have a right of residence of more than three months.
• British citizens (Scots included): same access if you have a Hungarian residence permit (Withdrawal Agreement or national permit); without a permit, public school may charge you, within the limit of the actual cost.
• French citizens: if your child attends an institution approved by the AEFE or the Mission laïque française, you can request a school grant from the consulate, under conditions. In Budapest, the Lycée français Gustave-Eiffel is approved for primary school, middle school and high school, from the first year of nursery school to the final year (general track), according to the order of 19 June 2026 (school website: lfb.hu).