With the deadline of 31 December looming, the British Embassy in Budapest is urging all UK nationals wishing to stay in Hungary to take advantage of the free and relatively straightforward scheme to receive a new National Permanent Residence Permit. In practice, given the Christmas holidays, early December (absolute latest!) would be the cut-off point. The new permit replaces all previous documentation, which becomes invalid at the end of this year. After 2021, the procedure for any UK national wishing to stay in Hungary for any length of time is far more onerous.
With Brexit coming into force this year, UK nationals and their immediate family members living in Hungary should apply for the new National Permanent Residence Permit as quickly as possible. There is no fee for doing this and the process shouldn’t involve long queues or extraneous form-filling.
The British Embassy has issued guidelines for how to apply. You will also need to upload passport photos, copies of relevant pages in your passport and any current Hungarian ID cards. You may also apply for immediate family members living here.
For anyone with an address card (lakcímkártya) and/or
any other proof relating to living in Hungary before 31 December 2020
– a work contract or a flat rental agreement – applying online by using
this step-by-step guide should be fairly straightforward.
You can also apply in person at the National
Directorate-General for Aliens Policing at 1117 Budapest, Budafoki út 60, taking all relevant material with you.
Those who have already applied online, and have been notified within the system, must go to Budafoki út anyway to have their biometric details taken.
While this may seem trepidatious, especially for those with memories of queuing on a freezing street from early morning, the system is pretty smooth these days. The complex has been separated into different doors for different nationalities – UK nationals should enter the nearest one to Budafoki út from the building on Sztregova köz. This has cut down waiting times considerably, and you are usually seen within five to ten minutes. Most staff speak English and the procedure should take ten to 15 minutes.
Office hours are Mon-Thur 8am-2pm, Fri 8am-noon. The number 33 bus runs every 15 minutes from alongside the 6 tram stop on Móricz Zsigmond körtér to Hengermalom út five stops away, dropping you right by the office.
Once you have submitted your biometric data, within a couple of weeks you should receive a Tartózkodási engedély card in the post, proving your legal entitlement to stay. This is the first in a two-step process for which you will receive two cards.
Biometric data
UK nationals who gave their biometric data earlier this summer should have received a letter outlining that the Tartózkodási engedély cards sent out before September contained a technical error. They should go to the government office at 1135 Budapest, Szegedi út 35-37 between 2pm-4pm Mon-Thur to have their biometric data retaken before 30 October. Staff are extremely friendly and speak English. If you’re unsure, phone (+36 1) 550 1169. The office, a large grey building with the word TWIN over the doors, is on the corner of Reitter Ferenc utca. Buses 20E, 30, 30A and 230 go to Szegedi út from alongside Hősök tere.
Once you receive the Tartózkodási engedély
in the post, you will then be sent another letter requesting you go to your
local government office (Kormányablak) with this, your passport and your address card (lakcímkártya) in order to receive your new ID (Személyazonosító igazolvány), which will also be posted to you.
This is valid for five years, after which you will need to renew it, for which a fee will be charged.
For all queries, please contact the call
centre on +36
1 463 9292 (Mon-Thur
8am-4pm, Fri 8am-1.30pm).
You can keep up to date by following the UK Embassy's Facebook page and
UK government's Living in Hungary page. It's also useful to keep tabs on the British in Hungary Facebook page for all future developments.
