Before you start

A qualifying ground — an employment contract, a highly skilled role, remote foreign employment, study, family or investment
An application submitted through the Enter Hungary portal or at a Hungarian mission
Accommodation in Hungary and an owner willing to sign the declaration of accommodation
Health insurance valid in Hungary and proof of means of subsistence
Documents legalised and translated into Hungarian where required

Step-by-step

1
Establish which permit category applies to you
Employment, Guest Worker, Hungarian Card, EU Blue Card and White Card are separate documents under the 2024 law with different consequences. Employment and the Hungarian Card allow family and can lead onward to permanent status. Guest Worker allows neither and caps at three years from first issuance. The White Card allows no family reunification and no national residence card at all.
OnlineWho: You and your employer
2
Apply through Enter Hungary
Applications for most categories go through the state electronic portal, either from abroad before travelling or, where permitted, from inside Hungary. Uploads are format-sensitive and a rejected document restarts the queue rather than pausing it.
OnlineWho: You
3
Secure the landlord's declaration of accommodation before you need it
The befogadó nyilatkozat is the property owner's written consent to your registering the address. Where a flat has several owners, all of them may be asked to sign. Landlords who let undeclared will refuse. Establish willingness at the viewing stage — this is the step that derails Budapest moves.
In personWho: Your landlord
4
Register the address at a kormányablak and collect the lakcímkártya
The kormányablak government window offices handle address registration. Bring the residence permit, passport, lease and the owner's declaration. Practice differs between offices and most counters operate in Hungarian only; taking a Hungarian speaker is the standard advice for a reason.
In personWho: You
5
Get the tax number and the TAJ card
The adóazonosító jel comes from NAV and is required before an employer can legally pay you. The TAJ health card follows from employment and social security registration. Both depend on the address card existing first.
In personWho: YouFirst month
6
Renew in good time and watch the category ceilings
Renewals go through Enter Hungary. Category ceilings bind: a Guest Worker permit cannot be extended past three years from first issuance, and a White Card extends only once. Someone intending to settle needs to change category well before the ceiling, not at it.
OnlineWho: You

Documents you’ll need

Passport and the residence permit or visa
Employment contract or other evidence of the ground
Lease and the owner's declaration of accommodation (befogadó nyilatkozat)
Health insurance certificate
Proof of means of subsistence
Certified Hungarian translations where required

Things most newcomers don’t know

Without the address card you are locked out of the country's entire administrative system.

The lakcímkártya proves your registered address, and the tax identification number, the TAJ health card, most bank accounts, company directorships and school enrolment all depend on it. It requires the property owner's signed consent or a properly attested lease — and where the flat has multiple owners, potentially all of their signatures. A landlord who lets the flat undeclared has a direct reason to refuse. Asking about address registration at the viewing is not an awkward question here; it is the standard one.

Source: Hungarian government window (kormányablak) practice

Act XC of 2023 abolished the single permit, and the replacement categories are not interchangeable.

From March 2024 Hungary graded its work permits by intended permanence. Employment and Hungarian Card holders can bring family and can progress toward a national residence card. Guest Worker holders can do neither, and their permit cannot run beyond three years from first issuance. White Card holders are expressly excluded from the national residence card. Two people doing similar jobs can end up on completely different life trajectories depending on which form their employer filed.

Source: OIF

The White Card is a legal stay, not a move, and its restrictions are enforced by withdrawal.

Hungary's digital nomad permit requires EUR 3,000 net a month evidenced for the six months before entry, runs for one year and extends once. Family members are not granted residence permits on that basis. The authority will withdraw the permit if the holder works for or on behalf of a Hungarian employer or acquires a share in a Hungarian company. Someone treating it as a soft landing before taking a local job is describing a route that ends the permit.

Source: OIF — White Card factsheet

Certified translation in Hungary is a specific institution, and the wrong certification wastes a month.

Hungarian authorities are strict about who may certify a translation. The state translation office OFFI's certifications are accepted everywhere; some other certifications are accepted for some purposes and not others; a translation certified abroad is frequently refused outright. It is expensive and slow, which is precisely why people try a cheaper route first and then have to do it twice. Ask the receiving office what it will accept before commissioning anything.

Source: community-reported

Common mistakes to avoid

Signing a lease without confirming the owner will sign the declaration of accommodation.
Accepting a job without asking which permit category the employer intends to file.
Assuming a Guest Worker permit can be extended past three years or converted freely.
Taking on Hungarian clients or a Hungarian company share while holding a White Card.
Commissioning translations that the receiving office will not accept.

Some of this may be out of date. Spotted something inaccurate? Help us keep it right for the next newcomer.