Hungary: Limited Guest Worker Permit Forthcoming

UPDATE – OCTOBER 10, 2023 – This law has been revoked and will not come into effect on November 1, 2023.

Hungary’s parliament has adopted a law that will establish a limited two-year (extendable) guest-worker permit for qualifying foreign nationals, starting November 1, 2023. Only ‘special status’ employers will be able to apply for this permit, which will allow them to employ guest workers for a limited range of jobs for an initial period of two years, with the possibility of extending the permit for up to one year. The permit will be available to citizens of countries that do not neighbor Hungary and countries outside the European Economic Area.  This permit’s practical application appears limited, as the scope of ‘special status’ employers is confined to those entities that implement investments of ‘national economic importance’, hold partnership agreements under the Key Exporter Partnership Program, or are qualified temporary-work agencies. Furthermore, under the permit, guest workers will not be able to apply for either permanent residence or family unification, and the permit will not be convertible into other work permit types. Processing of the permit is expected to take 60 days (as opposed to the average of 70 days for other work permits). Employers will still need to conduct labour market testing.  Many elements of the permit are to be determined by a separate government decree (which has yet to be adopted), including the eligible nationals, eligible job types and quotas (for each job and country).