On general basis, a Third-country National has to obtain a residence permit if he/sheshe/he expects to stay in Hungary more than 90 days within any consecutive 180 days. However, in some cases (e.g., due to being a Family Member of an EEA Citizen) not residence permit, but other type of immigration document (a Residence Card) has to be obtained. Please see more details on obtaining a Residence Card.
If your primary aim with your Hungarian entry and stay is to research, a Residence Permit for the Purpose of Research might be appropriate for you. However, please kindly note, that this residence permit type can be otained only if your hosting institute (where you will perform your research) is accredited by the National Research, Development and Innovation Office.
When can you apply for this residence permit type?
If you have third-county nationality only.
If you are not living or traveling in Hungary toghether with a family member of you having an EEA citizenship.
If your receiving organisation (where your research will be performed) is accredited by the National Research, Development and Innovation Office. The list of these accredited organisations can be found at the following link at "Register of accredited research organisations (currently valid certificates)" section:
If the duration of your research project is less than one year, the expiry date of your Residence Permit for the Purpose of Research is in line with the termination of your research project.
not more than .
The legal Hungarian stay and work can be extended by further two years by applying for a residence permit extension at least 30 days before the expiry of the current residence permit. Therefore, you can stay and do your research in Hungary for a period longer than two years, however, in order for this, you need to go through a residence permit extension procedure. Please also kindly note that if you leave the territory of Hungary for more than 90 days within any 180-day period when holding a Hungarian reisdence permit, this residence permit cannot be extended but a new reisdence permit application procedure has to be initiated. The main difference between the residence permit extension and the new residence permit application is that if a new residence permit is applied for (i.e., it is not extended), you have to leave the territory of Europe when the current residence permit expires, and submit a new residence permit application at one the appropriate places below. In turn, if the residence permit is extended, the application for the extended residence permit has to be filed in Hungary.
Place of Application
The place of the residence permit application may differ based on your citizenship, your habitual residence or the fact whether you apply for a new residence permit (e.g. residence permit application at the first time) or a Hungarian residence permit extension.
A) if you have citizenship(s) only:
You have to apply for a "new" residence permit (i.e., technically it cannot be extended) if you do not have a valid Hungarian residence permit, or you have, but it remains valid less than 30 days when you submit your residence permit application.
Visa-required countries (Annex I of Regulation (EU) 2018/1806): Afghanistan, Armenia, Angola, Azerbaijan, Bangladesh, Burkina Faso, Bahrain, Burundi, Benin, Bolivia, Bhutan, Botswana, Belarus, Belize, Democratic Republic of the Congo, Central African Republic, Congo, Côte d'Ivoire, Cameroon, China, Cuba, Cape Verde, Djibouti, Dominican Republic, Algeria, Ecuador, Egypt, Eritrea, Eswatini, Ethiopia, Fiji, Gabon, Ghana, The Gambia, Guinea, Equatorial Guinea, Guinea-Bissau, Guyana, Haiti, Indonesia, India, Iraq, Iran, Jamaica, Jordan, Kenya, Kyrgyzstan, Cambodia, Comoros, North Korea, Kuwait, Kazakhstan, Laos, Lebanon, Sri Lanka, Liberia, Lesotho, Libya, Morocco,
Madagascar, Mali, Myanmar/Burma, Mongolia, Mauritania, Maldives, Malawi, Mozambique, Namibia, Niger, Nigeria, Nepal, Oman, Papua New Guinea, Philippines, Pakistan, Qatar, Russia, Rwanda, Saudi Arabia, Sudan, Sierra Leone, Senegal, Somalia, Suriname, South Sudan, São Tomé and Príncipe, Syria, Chad, Togo, Thailand, Tajikistan, Turkmenistan, Tunisia, Turkey, Tanzania, Uganda, Uzbekistan, Vietnam, Yemen, South Africa, Zambia, Zimbabwe.
Consulate of Hungary locating in the country of your citizenship, or
Consulate of Hungary locating in the country of your habitual residence.
B) if you have citizenship(s):
You have to apply for a "new" residence permit (i.e., technically it cannot be extended) if you do not have a valid Hungarian residence permit, or you have, but it remains valid less than 30 days when you submit your residence permit application.
Visa-free countries (Annex II of Regulation (EU) 2018/1806): Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia (only if having biometric passport) Andorra, United Arab Emirates (only if having biometric passport), Antigua and Barbuda, Albania (only if having biometric passport), Argentina, Australia, Bosnia and Herzegovina (only if having biometric passport), Barbados, Brunei, Brazil, Bahamas, Canada, Chile, Colombia, Costa Rica, Dominica (only if having biometric passport), Micronesia (only if having biometric passport),
Grenada (only if having biometric passport), Georgia, Guatemala, Honduras, Israel, Japan, Kiribati (only if having biometric passport), Saint Kitts and Nevis, South Korea, Saint Lucia (only if having biometric passport), Monaco, Moldova (only if having biometric passport), Montenegro (only if having biometric passport), Marshall Islands, Mauritius, Mexico, Malaysia, Nicaragua, Nauru, New Zealand, Panama, Peru, Palau, Paraguay, Serbia (only if having biometric passport and excluding holders of Serbian passports issued by the Serbian Coordination Directorate), Solomon Islands, Seychelles,
Singapore, San Marino, El Salvador, Timor-Leste, Tonga, Trinidad and Tobago, Tuvalu, Ukraine (only if having biometric passport), United States, Uruguay, Holy See, Saint Vincent and the Grenadines, Venezuela, Vanuatu, Samoa, Hong Kong (having passport of Special Administrative Region), Maca (having passport of Special Administrative Region), British nationals (Overseas), British Overseas territories Citizens, British Overseas Citizens, British Protected Persons, British Sibjects, Taiwan.
Consulate of Hungary locating in the country of your citizenship,
Consulate of Hungary locating in the country of the your habitual residence, or
Immigration Office (official name: National Directorate-General for Aliens Policing) in Hungary. The appropriate directorate is located in the region of your prospective Hungarian accommodation.
C) (irrespectively whether you have visa-free or visa-required citizenship):
Residence permit extension means another residence permit application in Hungary if you have a Hungarian residence permit that remains valid at least 30 days counted from the date of the residence permit extension. Please kindly note that if you left the territory of Hungary for more than 90 days within any 180-day period when holding a Hungarian reisdence permit, this residence permit cannot be extended but a new reisdence permit application procedure has to be initiated. I.e. has to leave the territory of the EU and Schengen countries and apply for the new residence permit at one of the above-mentioned places.
Immigration Office in Hungary (the appropriate directorate is located in the region of your prospective Hungarian accommodation).
Application Fee
in case of new residence permit application at one of the Consulate of Hungary.
At some Consulates, this amount has to be paid in local currency, in USD or in EUR. The method of the payment might also be different: by bank transfer upfront, by credit card or in cash at the place of the application.
HUF 24 000, in case of a new residence permit application, when the application takes place in Hungary and initiated via the online application platform of the immigration authority. If the application is submitted without using the online application platform, i.e., all the documents are submitted in the Immigration Office in original, the application fee is HUF 39 000.
HUF 23 000, in case of a residence permit extension that is initiated via the online application platform of the immigration authority. If the application is submitted without using the online application platform, i.e., all the documents are submitted in the Immigration Office in original, the application fee is HUF 35 000.
Citizens of Ukraine and Belarus are exempt to pay the above-mentioned application fees.
Time period of decision-making:
not more than 60 days.
Rights:
Do your research in Hungary.
Stay in other Schengen country up to 90 days within any 180-day period without obtaining a C-type Schengen visa (passport and this issued residence permit is reuqired when staying in this Schengen country).
Obligations:
within three days (counted from the first day being in Hungary) and any further Hungarian address change.
The report has to be made in the Immigration Office on a prescribed form. This form has to be signed by your accommodation provider as well (if the Hungarian accommodation is not an own propoerty).
Report the birth of your child to the Immigration Office, if he/she was born in the territory of Hungary and has third-county nationality only.
Hand in your Residence Permit to the Immigration Office within eight days, if it becomes invalid.
Infographic: Residence Permit for the Purpose of Research in Hungary
Services & Pricing
Residence Permit for the Purpose of Research (your responsibility)
Service Title:
Obtaining Residence Permit for the Purpose of Research
We offer in this service:
compile a list of all the documents required for the application,
review the application documents,
assist in preparing the application package,
give guidance in booking an appointment at the Consulate of Hungary or at the Immigration Office to initiate the application procedure,
send the application package to you for filing purposes at the Consulate of Hungary or accompany you to the Immigration Office to file the application, if the application takes place in Hungary.
Pricing:
In case of more than one Researcher, we provide discount from our standard price of EUR 560*.
* As an introductory offer we provide 20% discount from our above-mentioned fees.
The above-mentioned fees do not include value added tax and reasonable additional costs, such as costs of posting or courier services (if any).
Notifications (your Research Organisation's responsibility)
Your Research Organisation has to notify the Immigration Office on the start or the lack of the start of your research, or if your research has been cancelled before its original termination date. We help your Research Organisation clarify what types of notifications have to be made and also assist in fulfilling those notifications. Please see for further details:
Service Title:
Fulfilling Notification Obligation
We offer in this service:
clarify the subject of the notification,
collect information required for the notification,
prepare the notification,
send the notification to the responsible authority.
Pricing:
In case of more than one Researcher, we provide discount from our standard price of EUR 20*.
* As an introductory offer we provide 20% discount from our above-mentioned fees.
The above-mentioned fees do not include value added tax and reasonable additional costs, such as costs of posting or courier services (if any).
Deregistration (your responsibility)
You have to fulfill a deregistratioin process if your residence permit becomes invalid (i.e., it expires, or you give up your Hungarian stay earlier than your residence permit's expiry date, or the conditions underlying the issuance of the residence permit has ceased to exist). As part of this process, the residence permit has to be handed over to the competent directorate of the Immigration Office. In case of a residence permit extension, the old residence permit has to be handed over to the Immigration Office at the same time, when the new one is collected (in this case our below deregistration service is not necessary).
We help you to meet this deregistration requirement according to the description below.
Service Title:
Completing Immigration Deregistration
We offer in this service:
collect the information required for the deregistration,
prepare the deregistration letter,
deliver the deregistration letter and your residence permit to the compentent directorate of the Immigration Office.
Pricing:
In case of more than one individual, we provide discount from our standard price of EUR 20*.
* As an introductory offer we provide 20% discount from our above-mentioned fees. The above-mentioned fees do not include value added tax and reasonable additional costs, such as costs of posting or courier services (if any).