Hungary: Eligibility Limited for Two Work Permits

• New criteria. Under the new rules, the permit applicant’s country of origin must satisfy at least one of the two following readmission-related criteria:
  • First possible criterium – a signed readmission agreement. The foreign national’s country of origin must have signed a ‘readmission agreement’ with Hungary or the European Union, which is a document that addresses the return of foreign nationals ineligible to remain in Hungary to their country of origin; or
  • Second possible criterium – a country-of-origin readmission organization. The foreign national’s country of origin has an officially recognized organization or office in Hungary that commits to ensuring the readmission of their nationals staying illegally in Hungary.
• ‘Readmission’ annex. In addition to the above, the foreign national’s country must be listed in an annex which includes all countries which have satisfied the above requirements. Only Armenia, Georgia and the Philippines are currently listed in this annex.
• Applicability timeframes. These changes only apply to applications filed after January 1, 2025. They do not apply to current pre-2025 permits, or permit applications pending before 2025 for either permit type. Meanwhile, future renewals of Employment Purposes Residence Permits issued before 2025 are not subject to the new rules; whereas renewals of pre-2025 Guest Worker Residence Permits are subject to the new rules.

• Limited impact. Although these reforms have an impact on future hiring strategies, they do not require any immediate changes, since they do not apply to current or pending permit holders, or renewals of Employment Purpose Residence Permits. These reforms also do not apply to other residence permit types. Furthermore, there are other work permit options in Hungary from which foreign nationals can choose, if they qualify.
• More countries to be added to list. Though this new policy limits the scope of eligible applicants for two work permit types, experts expect Hungary to add more countries to the eligibility list over time. We will update this alert if additions are made.

• Trend of restrictive policies. This policy aligns with Hungary’s current trend of seeking to increase controls on foreign labor, including as part of protecting the domestic labor market.

• Increased control of foreign national population. By linking work permits to a country’s willingness to readmit its nationals, this policy may strengthen Hungary’s ability to deport individuals who subsequently overstay, giving Hungary greater control over the country’s population of foreign nationals.

Hungary is likely to implement other policies that could restrict foreign labor.

We will monitor the progress of this change and report on related developments.